The New York Cosmos Stadium was a proposed 25,000-seat

soccer-specific stadium Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada to refer to a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi-pu ...

and multipurpose facility. It was to be located in the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...

in Nassau County, just over the city border. Plans were submitted to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Empire State Development Corporation Empire State Development (ESD) is the umbrella organization for New York's two principal economic development public-benefit corporations, the New York State Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and the New York Job Development Authority (JDA). T ...

. Upon completion, it would have been the home stadium of the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independe ...

. The plan was abandoned in 2016.

Plan

The stadium was intended to be part of a privately financed $400 million entertainment complex known as Elmont Town Crossings, designed to be built within

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

. Along with the stadium, the project would have included a Cosmos museum, nearly 250,000 square feet of retail space and restaurants, a 175-room hotel, a pedestrian bridge over

Hempstead Turnpike New York State Route 24 (NY 24) is a east–west state highway on Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. The highway is split into two segments, with the longest and westernmost of the two extending from an interchange with ...

, better road access along the Hempstead Turnpike and

Cross Island Parkway The Cross Island Parkway is a parkway in New York City, part of the Belt System running along the perimeter of the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. The Cross Island Parkway runs from the Whitestone Expressway ( Interstate 678 or I-678) i ...

, improvements to the

LIRR The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island. With an average week ...

Belmont Park station Belmont Park is a seasonal-use Long Island Rail Road station on the grounds of the Belmont Park racetrack in the New York City borough of Queens. The station is a terminus of a spur line that lies south of and between the Queens Village and Be ...

, new parking space, a new 4.3-acre park, a youth soccer field, and remodeled recreational soccer fields nearby. Team officials said the project would have created 500 construction jobs and 3,000 permanent, full-time jobs. A team of architects, engineers, and contractors were assembled for the stadium project including Populous, the Spector Group, Cameron Engineering,

Turner Construction Company Turner Construction is an American construction company with presence in 20 countries. It is a subsidiary of the German company Hochtief. It is the largest domestic contractor in the United States as of 2020, with a revenue of $14.41 billion in ...

, and

McKissack & McKissack McKissack & McKissack is an American architecture, engineering, program management and construction firm based in Washington, D.C. It is the oldest minority-owned architecture and construction company in the United States. The firm was founde ...

Uses

The Cosmos had said the stadium would be host not only to their own matches but also to national and international soccer events, other sports (such as rugby and lacrosse), music concerts, and other local sports teams. Given the site's location away from subway lines, and close only to a infrequently-serviced

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...

spur line, soccer consultant Jeff L’Hote questioned whether it would be "an attractive location" for a soccer stadium. Sports commentators speculated that, once built, the Cosmos stadium might be used as leverage to join

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

on favorable terms if the league was unable to build its own a stadium in the city.

Timeline

In 2012, the

issued a request for proposals (RFP) to develop an area of underutilized land at Belmont Park. In January 2013, the New York Cosmos submitted their plan. While the RFPs were being evaluated, the New York Cosmos began play at

James M. Shuart Stadium The James M. Shuart Stadium is an 11,929-seat multi-purpose stadium and sports facility, the facility serves as the home to Hofstra's lacrosse teams on the campus of Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. First opened in 1963, and remodeled in ...

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...

. The new stadium was originally aimed to be completed in 2015 and opened by 2016, but had to be pushed back as time elapsed without a decision from the ESDC. In November 2015, the ESDC asked all bidders to revise and re-submit their proposals. The Cosmos revised their plan to remove one parcel of land. The project was one of four proposals resubmitted to the ESDC. On December 9, 2016, the Empire State Development Corporation officially withdrew the RFP, rejecting all four plans. After a second round of proposals (in which the Cosmos did not participate), the NHL's

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

were chosen in December 2017 to develop the site with an 18,000 seat arena.

References

External links

Gallery of renderings at Spector GroupNew York Cosmos Stadium video animation
{{NewYorksportsvenues New York Cosmos Multi-purpose stadiums in the United States North American Soccer League (2011–2017) stadiums Soccer venues in the New York metropolitan area Sports venues in Hempstead, New York Sports venues in Nassau County, New York Sports venues in the New York metropolitan area Proposed buildings and structures in New York (state) Unbuilt stadiums in the United States