Ever since last Tuesday’s announcement that New York City would be getting a new USL team called Queensboro F.C. in 2021, I’ve been trying to figure out where exactly this second-tier (soccer’s term for the top minor league) team would play. That was the holdup when the franchise was first rumored last winter, and while last week’s announcement mentioned a “new, modular stadium at York College in Queens that will have a capacity of around 7,500,” none of the news outlets appeared to have actually called York College to see who would build it or where it would go, important questions given that the campus, though conveniently located right by a major subway terminal, isn’t exactly bursting with huge swathes of vacant land.
So, I called. And was directed to a press spokesperson for the City University of New York school, who said she’d get back to me with a statement from the school’s president, but couldn’t “promise it will be today.” That was Thursday; it’s now Tuesday, and still no statement has been forthcoming.
I next tried the team itself, whose press representative told me yesterday they’d be back to me “shortly”; I’m still waiting. After that, it was on to city councilmember Francisco Moya, who has helped shepherd the team into existence and declared himself one of its first fans, whose communications director actually replied:
Queensboro FC will be playing in a modular stadium, which will be 100 percent privately funded through the club. The City is not involved in the arrangement between QBFC and York College.
That is slightly more of an answer, but not much of one. Where will this stadium be built? Does a “modular stadium” just mean a bunch of temporary bleachers that can be taken down and stored away when York College needs to use its track? Is York College being paid anything for use of its land? And does the public university have to get any city or state permissions before repurposing public land?
These are all kind of important questions, and it’s reflective of the sad state of journalism in this city (and in this country, and on this planet) that no one seems to have asked them — or, worse, has asked them and when they didn’t get answers, didn’t bother to mention that in their articles. (It’s also sad that an entire minor-league baseball team in Staten Island has been marked for elimination, and none of the city press has deigned to report on borough residents’ thoughts on that — or has just forgotten that Staten Island is a part of New York City, which is a thing that happens.) I’ll report back here if I learn of anything to add, but in the meantime: Friends don’t let friends reprint sports team owner press releases without at least trying to check their facts, okay?
Phoenix Rising’s stadium is a modular one. Basically it is a semi-permanent structure. Kind of Tinker Toys but can be dressed up to look more permanent. They put it up pretty quickly and it’s not a bad venue.
Of course, it’s on a bunch of open land by a freeway and easy to get to. That doesn’t sound like the case here.
Yeah, looking at photos of the Phoenix Rising stadium, it looks 1) perfectly cromulent for USL and 2) not something that’s going to easily fit on the York College campus without seriously disrupting student use of the athletic fields.
Neil, it’s not often that someone out-vocabularies me, but you have done it. I looked it up, and now I know what cromulent means.
Happy to embiggen your vocabulary!
The bigger question was there anyone in Queens clamoring for a minor league soccer team? Cause I don’t see anyone giving a crap about this team. I give it a year before it folds and where does this modular stadium go then?
I wonder about this as well. I know soccer has risen in popularity. However, I can’t see a minor league soccer team being that big of a draw, but I suppose with ticket prices for major league sports in NY being so high it might make sense as a lot of families could be attracted to a low cost alternative and NYC doesn’t have major college sports (St Johns Basketball hasn’t been relevant in years)