Gotham FC is shifting to the Massive Apple.
The NWSL membership will be a part of in calling Etihad Park residence after years of enjoying in New Jersey, Gotham FC introduced Tuesday.
The membership will transfer into the brand-new soccer-specific stadium being in-built Willets Level, Queens, starting in 2028, marking the primary time within the franchise’s existence that Gotham FC will likely be primarily based within the 5 boroughs.
Gotham FC midfielder controls the ball throughout a recreation towards San Diego Wave FC on July 4, 2026. Denis Poroy-Imagn Pictures
earlier this summer season that Gotham FC and NYCFC had been in talks concerning the NWSL facet shifting to Queens to share Etihad Park with their MLS counterpart.
Commercial
Tuesday’s information comes somewhat greater than per week earlier than Gotham get their first style of enjoying in Queens after they host the Washington Spirit at Citi Subject in what has been dubbed “The Queens Traditional,” happening on July 15.
“From day one, our ambition has been greater than championships,” Gotham FC governor Carolyn Tisch Blodgett mentioned in an announcement. “We’re constructing one of many world’s most iconic golf equipment and serving to outline the way forward for girls’s sports activities. Our transfer to Etihad Park displays that ambition, and we’re deeply grateful to New York Metropolis FC for his or her imaginative and prescient and dedication to serving to make this historic second doable.
“World-class athletes deserve world-class environments, and this transfer permits us to maintain elevating the usual for our gamers, supporters and the sport itself. Gotham FC is exhibiting what is feasible whenever you make investments boldly in girls’s soccer, and we’re dedicated to constructing an expertise worthy of the followers who’ve believed on this membership from the start.”
It’s the second main announcement that Gotham’s possession has made in lower than a month after it had mentioned it could be taking up the previous coaching facility in Whippany, N.J., and turning it right into a state-of-the-art coaching facility for Gotham.
Commercial
Gotham has lengthy had a connection to New Jersey, courting again to their days as Sky Blue FC, and thru the franchise’s historical past has at completely different occasions known as Rutgers’ Yurcak Subject and Sports activities Illustrated Stadium its residence.
Etihad Park, a soccer-specific stadium, is taking form in Queens. New York Metropolis FC
Gotham has averaged 8,148 followers this season at Sports activities Illustrated Stadium, with the most important crowd being for a 1-1 draw towards Boston Legacy FC on Might 9, with 11,308 followers within the stands. That determine was boosted by a partnership with Mayor Zohran Mamdani to promote 1,000 tickets for $5.
The NWSL facet will play one remaining season in Harrison, N.J., in 2027 earlier than shifting into their new residence.
Commercial
Etihad Park will formally open its doorways for the 2027-28 MLS season when NYCFC strikes into their new digs after spending their total existence as nomads, enjoying residence matches at Yankee Stadium, Citi Subject, Sports activities Illustrated and a handful of different venues.
The addition of Gotham FC to the stadium’s record of tenants fulfills an ambition of NYCFC’s. Membership executives weren’t shy about their want to have a girls’s workforce at Etihad Park, with NYCFC CEO Brad Sims mentioning it throughout interviews and COO Jennifer O’Sullivan saying in March that it was a “assure” that it could occur, she simply wasn’t positive when.
“Welcoming Gotham FC to Etihad Park is a crucial step in delivering on that promise and constructing a world-class residence for the sport in New York Metropolis,” NYCFC co-vice chairman Marty Edelman mentioned in an announcement. “We’re grateful to Carolyn and the whole Gotham possession group for his or her partnership in making this second doable, and we stay up for working collectively to raise the sport, encourage the subsequent era, and form the way forward for soccer in New York Metropolis and past.”