It’s no secret that practically from their inception, New York City FC have been pursuing a soccer-specific stadium of their own, and sporting director Claudio Reyna discussed the topic in a recent “ESPN FC Boot Room” interview segment with Herculez Gomez.
“We continue to explore a few options, and it’s ongoing. It's absolutely a top priority for the club, and we know that it's an important decision,” Reyna told Gomez.
Since their MLS expansion debut in 2015, NYCFC have drawn solid crowds to the atmospheric, centrally-located Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. That venue’s compact pitch and baseball-oriented sightlines make it a fundamentally imperfect home for a club that has committed to expansive, possession-oriented soccer for most of its existence, however.
“We have to get it right, it's a decision for the next 50 years for this club,” said Reyna. “So there’s a lot of work going into it, it's extremely important and we’re all looking forward to that, of course, from players to fans, supporters. We have a situation right now with the Yankees where we play our home games, and it’s a good location, but we continue to look and explore the opportunities that we have.”
Asked whether a stadium announcement will come before the end of the year, as some reports have suggested, Reyna said he “couldn’t really answer,” and acknowledged the frustration expressed by some NYCFC supporters.
“I think there is [frustration]. I mean, we all know and are excited about it – you travel to these other teams in the league and you see their stadium, and it’s extremely important,” he said.
“We have a good home, we have a great atmosphere at our games … and the players feel it. So we love the support we are getting when we play at Yankee Stadium, but we look forward to hopefully having a stadium for sure.”
