Let’s take a break from Steve’s Casino Project to look at the other side of the street. The New York Times asks: Will New York City’s Soccer Stadium Cost Taxpayers $0 or $516 Million? An independent budget analysis suggests that the city will be losing $516 million in tax revenue from its deal to place a new soccer stadium in Queens.
The Times writes:
In a new analysis, the city’s Independent Budget Office has concluded that the actual cost to taxpayers for the new soccer stadium in Queens will be at least $516 million, spread over the course of the 49-year term of the New York City Football Club’s lease.
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Because the city chose to lease the land in the Willets Point neighborhood to the developers rather than sell it, no property taxes will be generated.
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The stadium’s other developers, a joint venture of Related Companies and Sterling Equities, are also not without substantial resources. Stephen M. Ross, the founder and chairman of Related Companies, is worth nearly $12 billion, according to Forbes magazine. Sterling Equities was co-founded by Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, who, with Jeff Wilpon sold the Mets to Steven A. Cohen, a hedge fund manager, for $2.4 billion in 2020.
Well, at least it isn’t parkland.
