I’ve seen a few articles about Willets Point this week. First the quote….
“Yet to this day, it’s still a blight. When we hosted the World Series at Citi Field, that’s the Queens that folks saw from all over the country,” Katz said. “How about a hockey and soccer stadium? Just imagine if we, the World’s Borough, hosted the World Cup or the Stanley Cup. Willets Point is 62 acres. The market and constituencies are here, we have needs, and there is inherent demand.”
Source: Katz delivers ‘State of Borough’ address • TimesLedger
Well sure let’s imagine that The World’s Borough hosts the World Cup.
Are we retrofitting Citi Field to be a World Cup level soccer stadium? Throwing the pitch in the OF doesn’t work at that level.
Are we building a stadium just to host the first round (capacity requirement is 40,000) or for the semis (60,000) or for the final (80,000)?
What will happen to this stadium after the 2026 World Cup? Will the NYCFCs play there? In an 80,000 seat stadium?
Let’s move on to “hosting the Stanley Cup.” Sounds awesome! Presumably the Rangers are not moving to Queens, so we’re looking forward to the Queens Islanders hosting a Stanley Cup. I guess that would be neat, but I’m not sure The People would find this all that exciting. Are we building a hockey arena in the hope that the Islanders get Super Awesome and host 5 cups in ten years, or is there a real plan here.
Will the arena compete for concerts against MSG and Barclays and Prudential? Will Islanders fans come from Suffolk County to see a game against the Wild on a Tuesday night? (Go home Islanders.)
Who is paying for these arenas?
This article suggests that it was said that a school is a possibility. I thought we were getting affordable housing and schools?
