NYCFC wants to build a stadium on a piece of land near Cohen’s stadium.
The owner of Major League Baseball’s New York Mets franchise, Steve Cohen, does not like the neighborhood that houses his team’s stadium. Cohen should not be complaining too much about the neighborhood as across the street from the stadium in Queens is the National Tennis Center and Flushing Meadows Corona Park and a highway system. The part of the neighborhood that irks Cohen is loaded with junkyards. That land could soon be the home of Major League Soccer’s NYCFC franchise as there is a plan to build a stadium for the club on a piece of the land. Cohen wants the junkyards gone and in its place should be a casino. A casino that Cohen would have an interest in. New York State has authorized three casino licenses for New York City, Long Island and Westchester and Cohen wants to place a casino next to his ballpark as a way of invigorating a neighborhood, a neighborhood that never existed in the nearly 60 years that the Mets franchise has played on New York City parkland in two stadiums.
“There’s nothing going on. The only thing you can do is get your hubcap changed or maybe get back a catalytic converter. The way I would describe it is 50 acres of cement. The fans want something to do before the game, after the game.” Putting up a casino is Cohen’s way of giving the fans something to do. There is no guarantee Cohen will get a license and Cohen may be thinking about something else. Stopping the soccer stadium-village plan. The soccer stadium construction cannot start until a deal is reached between Cohen and NYCFC over parking lots that Cohen controls. He wants a casino instead and is making that clear to politicians and he wants their support for his casino or else.
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