Getty Images First, the newsy bit: the Hudson River Park Trust and the Park Advisory Council are holding a meeting Thursday night to talk about the future of Pier 40, which is one of the half dozen sites — and the most attractive one — that Major League Soccer is considering for its not-yet-proposed-but-certainly-exciting-nonetheless New York stadium.
The meeting won’t produce any results, although it will give residents and other concerned citizens a place to ask questions and voice their issues. Nor will anyone from MLS be directly involved. (There are reports that MLS plans to present its vision for the future of the park at a meeting in June.)
There are plenty of issues to be resolved, however, before we even begin to think about getting an MLS stadium on the West side of Manhattan. From an April New York Times article:
Before anything happens many significant hurdles must be cleared, including repairing the dilapidated pier, which could cost about $100 million; finding money to build a stadium; and winning over skeptics who park at the pier and use the existing soccer fields. M.L.S. also has to find an owner for the new team.
The good news is that everyone involved seems to want to figure this all out sooner rather than later, so we should have an answer — or at least an idea of whether the stadium could eventually become a reality — at some point in the nearish future.
The PST quick take: It would be an incredible showcase piece for MLS and a fantastic fan experience. But man, oh man are there a lot of hoops to jump through before it happens. (And how would the New York Red Bulls feel about suddenly becoming the New Jersey Red Bulls?)
(For those interested in an overview of the entire situation, check out this mid-May story from Downtown Express.)
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- jerichowhiskey - May 31, 2012 at 2:13 PM
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Makes me wish AEG hadn’t decided to try to sell the team with the stadium in NJ. It’s not their fault entirely, but they certainly have a part in the current situation.
There is no way Garber does not realize that this would significantly harm the Red Bulls building at Pier 40. Lower Manhattan is the connection to Harrison and putting a stadium right smack in the middle of it cuts off the Red Bulls from people in NY considerably and may even take away Jersey City/Hoboken fans. Build it in Queens, Brooklyn, or the Bronx. Just not there.
I live in Queens by the way and if they build it at Flushing Meadows, I’d still go to Red Bulls games.
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- hate23putt - May 31, 2012 at 3:35 PM
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Build the stadium at Pier 40 that is what would be best for the MLS a strong presence in NY with the Cosmos in that building would be great.
I understand the Red Bull issue but the Red Bulls built a stadium in NJ, they should be rebranded as the NJ Red Bulls. The Red Bulls attendance is down this year and they get no media attention in NY.
WIth a stadium in Manhattan and the Cosmos in the MLS the league will get a real boost.
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- jerichowhiskey - May 31, 2012 at 3:56 PM
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Please explain how shanking the Red Bulls would be in MLS’s best interest. Also if it wasn’t for Metrostars or NY/NJ or NY Metrostars, no one would even contemplate on a second team in NY.
There is a way to have a stadium in NYC and not harm the Red Bulls team. I guess back in the NASL days, Cosmos should’ve rebranded themselves the NJ Cosmos while they played in Giants Stadium too, oh wait.
