Still No Permanent Home For Yankee's New York City Football Club

The proposed field configuration for NYC Foottball Club which is 25% owned by the NY Yankees. The team has their sites on a nearby parking garage operated by the Parks Department to build the  $ 350 million stadium. 

No conversations yet however regarding replacing the public parkland permmanently lost to build Yankee Stadium.

Bronx

By Geoffrey Croft

Are negotiations to acquire the Parks Department-run parking lot near Yankee Stadium to build the
$ 350 million,  25,000 -30,000 seat soccer stadium going well?

From the looks of the faces of team officials earlier today maybe not well enough.  

In a somber press conference this morning the Yankees and New York City Football Club announced that Yankee Stadium will be the team's home for the foreseeable future. 

Last week the NY Times reported that the first three seasons of the fledgling new soccer club will be played at Yankee stadium.

Officials refused to confirm or commit to a timeline.

With no permanent home in site officials were peppered with questions about securing a permanent new home.

"This is the one thing missing from all these announcements is how long do you think this particular arrangement is going to last at Yankee Stadium. At Least three years,"  asked a reporter addressing the elephant in the room.

"It's gonna last for as long as it doesn't last," said Yankee President Randy Levine speaking as if he was at a funeral. 

"We're not going to put any timetables on it. This is the home of the New York City football club and if there's a change we'll let you know."

New York City FC Chief Business Officer Tim Pernetti also addressed the issue several times.

"We're not going to put a time line on it, said Mr. Pernetti.  "I think  that our goal will be to find the right relationship, the right community to build a soccer specific stadium and to be in that stadium as soon as possible."

He said they are still pursuing a goal that would build a soccer specific stadium in the five boroughs but they will not create an artificial deadline.

Officials also asked if they were "absolutely committed" to the notion of finding a stadium within the five boroughs and if finding one in Westchester or Long Island would be "a deal breaker."

"We are going to build a soccer specific stadium in New York City," Mr. Pernetti said later.  

"We are going to take what ever time is necessary to get it right."  he said.


The Parks Department run garage on E. 153rd Street & River Avenue, the proposed site of a $ 350 million, 28,000 seat soccer stadium is located 80 feet away from residents.   (Photo: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge. 

Scheduling Conflicts?

With the MLS schedule running through October and the playoffs in November, the overlap with the Yankees post season play is high.

A reporter sensibly asked the Yankees if it was safe to assume that October would be off-limits for soccer dates in order to accommodate the Yankees. 

"I think its pretty clear we are not going to do anything that affects the Yankee schedule,"   said Randy Levine, who was barely audible during the press conference. 

Levine said they didn't expect any scheduling conflicts.

"If there is, there are other venues in the city," he said.  

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NY Yankees Looking to Seize More Bronx Parkland To Build Major League Soccer Stadium
A Walk In The Park -  December 11, 2013 - By Geoffrey Croft

NY Yankees Looking to Seize More Bronx Parkland To Build Major League Soccer Stadium

The proposed soccer stadium would be directly across the street from residential buildings in the top center portion of this overhead view of Yankee Stadium. (Photo: Kevin P. Coughlin /New York Daily News)

The proposed public park land deal - just south of Heritage Field, the site of the old Yankee Stadium - would also require City, State and Federal appovel including requiring State alienation approval in order to use the land for the non-park purposes.


The Parks Department owned garage on E. 153rd Street & River Avenue, the proposed site of a $ 350 million, 28,000 seat soccer stadium is located 80 feet away from residents.   (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge. 

Bronx

By Geoffrey Croft

Step right up for the next Yankee Bloomberg public parkland giveaway.

The New York Yankees are hoping to squeeze one last gift out of the Bloomberg gravy train in the final days of the administration.

The deal would also test park policy from incoming Mayor Bill de Blasio almost immediately after taking office under the proposed new deal.

The team is currently negotiating a behind closed door deal that would secure the rights to build on a parking garage on 153rd Street and River Avenue owned by the Parks Department in order to build a new 28,000 seat Major League Soccer stadium.

The proposed site is directly across the street from residential buildings. 

The lucrative gift involves using $300 million in tax-free bonds that would allow the Yankees and a royal from the United Arab Emirates to tear down one of the bankrupt Yankee Stadium garages and build the soccer stadium according to the New York Daily News.  

The team would pay virtually no rent for 38 years as part of a 99 year lease.


The proposed soccer stadium site is located 80 feet away from residents.

The soccer team is eighty percent owned by billionaire Sheik Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and twenty percent owned by the Yankees. 

Mayor Bill de Blasio would then have within 30 days of his inauguration to decide whether to approve the deal for the new soccer franchise, the New York City Football Club.

On Wednesday Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio's camp said they had some concerns.

The Times reports that Bill de Blasio was not briefed on the deal until Wednesday and did not immediately embrace the proposal, in part, because the Bloomberg plan entails tax breaks, the sale or lease of public land and public financing.

“We have real concerns about investing scarce public resources and forgoing revenue to support the creation of an arena for a team co-owned by one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, and will review any plan with that in mind, ”   said Lis Smith, a de Blasio spokeswoman.

Approvals

The proposed land deal would also require City, State and Federal approval. 

The public park land would require State alienation approval in order to use the land for the non-park purposes.  

The Federal government would also have to sign off  because an exit ramp from the Maj. Deegan would be impacted.    

The previous disastrous land deal allowed the Yankees to seize 25.3 acres of  historic parkland in Macombs Dam Park and Mullaly Park to build a new Yankee Stadium. The community lost several acres of parkland in the controversial deal. 

The Bloomberg and City Council debacle also forced the tax-payers to shell out more than two hundred the sixty-five million dollars in associated costs to replace the park land alone.

The Yankees also received hundreds of millions of dollars in tax-free bonds and forced the building of new parking garages which are now going bankrupt.

The New York Yankees and Manchester City have a deal to tear down a bankrupt parking garage on E. 153rd St. to build a soccer stadium on the site. GAL Manufacturing, a producer of elevator equipment that employs more than 350 workers, would also need to be relocated for the deal to go through.  (Photo: James Keivom/New York Daily News) 

The 86-year-old GAL Manufacturing Corp.,  an elevator equipment company, is located directly across the street from the garage on 153rd street  The City would de-map 153rd Street and close off the Maj. Deegan exit ramp.  (Photo: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge. 


More land Needed For Soccer Stadium 

The Yankees are negotiating a deal to buy out a nearby elevator equipment company, GAL Manufacturing Corp.  which operates a 100,000 Square foot manufacturing facility  at 50 East 153rd Street,   located across the street from the garage.

In order to qualify for the tax exempt bonds the Yankees would then give the land to the city.

One of the sticking points is the company is requiring they be relocated near by.  The tax payers could be further be on the hook if the city is needed to help acquire land. 

Earlier this year Major League Soccer had launched an aggressive campaign to try and build the stadium in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park but strong community opposition  in Queens killed that proposal.


Under the new proposal  Heritage Field would be sandwiched between two professional sports stadiums.  The City would de-map 153rd Sreet (above) and close off the Maj. Deegan exit ramp. 

Read More:

Deal for Bronx Soccer Stadium in Works as Clock Ticks
New York Times - December 11, 2013 - By Charles V Bagli 

Gonzalez: Bronx soccer stadium deal near Yankee Stadium offers big incentives to Arab firm

New York Daily News - December  11, 2013 - By Juan Gonzalez

As Bloomberg departs, a soccer arena deal emerges

Capital NY - December 11, 2013