Etihad Park

37-11 126th Street | Willets Point | built 2026

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The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 2024

    November 21

    NYCFC names its Willets Point stadium Etihad Park in a 20-year airline deal

    On November 21, 2024, New York City FC announced that the stadium would carry the name of Etihad Airways, the club's jersey sponsor since its founding, under a 20-year naming-rights deal. Early renderings had shown the placeholder "Naming Rights Sponsor Stadium" across the roof, which some fans joked online might stick. Supporters also floated "The Valley of Ashes," after the dumping ground in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, as a nickname.

    Source: Wikipedia

  2. 2024

    December 4

    Officials break ground on Etihad Park, New York City FC's soccer stadium

    MLS commissioner Don Garber, Mayor Eric Adams, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and Council member Francisco Moya turned out for the groundbreaking that started construction on December 4, 2024. The City Council had approved the project 47-1 that April. The club is paying the full $780 million construction cost while leasing the land from the city, an arrangement the Independent Budget Office estimated would cost at least $516 million in lost property taxes.

    Source: Wikipedia

  3. 2024

    City design panel approves HOK's stadium plan for a narrow, jagged site

    HOK fit the stadium onto an irregular footprint: Willets Point Boulevard clips its southeast corner and the northwest corner is cut to match, which the club likened to Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. The Public Design Commission gave conditional approval after a May 20, 2024 hearing and final approval that September. Plans include a seven-story entrance called the Cube, wrapped in LED screens, and an all-electric design, a first in MLS.

    “…with the southeast corner cut off by the existing Willets Point Boulevard, and the northwest corner framed to match…”

    Source: Wikipedia

  4. 2026

    February 3

    Organizers of the 2028 Summer Olympics pick Etihad Park for soccer matches

    On February 3, 2026, the 2028 Summer Olympics organizing committee named the unfinished stadium one of seven venues for the Olympic soccer tournaments. Nine matches are planned there, a men's quarterfinal among them. While the Games run, it will be called "New York Stadium," since the IOC does not allow corporate-sponsored venue names.

    “Etihad Park was selected as one of seven stadiums to host matches during the Olympic soccer tournaments. The stadium will host a total of nine matches…”

    Source: Wikipedia

  5. 2026

    July

    Gotham FC agrees to play its home matches at Etihad Park from 2028

    In July 2026 the National Women's Soccer League club Gotham FC said it would join NYCFC as a tenant starting with the 2028 season, leaving Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey. The initial lease was reported at five years, with options that could stretch it to 15, and includes the team's own locker room and merchandise areas.

    Source: Wikipedia

Further reading

Nearby

All 4 buildings with stories in Willets Point