Queensboro FC (QBFC) announced on Tuesday that they will play their home games for their inaugural season in 2022 at a stadium to be constructed at CUNY York College in Queens.
It’s an enormous achievement for the expansion club, which becomes the first pro soccer team in New York City to get a home specifically built for them. QBFC will play in the USL Championship, which is the second tier in North American soccer under only Major League Soccer, which features the New York Red Bulls and New York City Football Club (NYCFC).
While the Red Bulls play their home games in their specially-designed home in New Jersey, NYCFC plays its home games at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
“Today is an exciting day for Queensboro FC,” Jonathan Krane, owner of QBFC, said. “The announcement of our home stadium site at York College represents a bold new chapter for professional sports in New York City. More importantly, we are proud to deliver our QBFC fans a dedicated soccer-specific venue, built by and for the Queens community, bringing us all together to celebrate the beautiful game.”
The stadium will seat 7,500 fans with a modular turf surface that “will deliver an innovative and unique fan experience in the post-COVID era, with year-round sports, entertainment, and community events.”
Submitting a requesting the summer of 2020, QBFC was awarded a contract by CUNY to build and operate a stadium on the York College campus that will “support the university’s academic and athletic mission, as well as enhance the college experience for its students, create local jobs, grow neighborhood businesses, and develop the surrounding area of Jamaica, Queens.”
Along with QBFC games and training, the new stadium will also host York College’s commencement and CUNY Athletic Conference tournament games.
“The City University of New York is proud to partner with Queensboro FC in bringing a professional soccer stadium to York College in Queens, a place world-renowned for its cultural and linguistic diversity, and for its love of el fútbol,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “This new stadium is a great addition to the York College campus and will benefit not only CUNY students and the local community but all New Yorkers and fans of soccer.”
