New York City FC’s new stadium will be called Etihad Park.
The move extends the MLS club’s partnership with Etihad Airways, the airline ultimately controlled by a United Arab Emirates sovereign wealth fund.
NYCFC say the Etihad has a 20-year deal for the exclusive naming rights for the club’s new 25,000-seater stadium, which is due to open in 2027.
Etihad has been partnered with NYCFC since the club’s inception in 2013 and has been the team’s front-of-shirt-sponsor since 2014.
Etihad is also the principal sponsor of several other clubs under the UAE-owned City Football Group (CFG) umbrella. It is the front-of-shirt sponsor of Premier League side Manchester City, Spanish club Girona and Melbourne City FC of Australia. City’s 53,000-capacity Etihad Stadium in Manchester has also been sponsored by the airline since 2011.
Work was scheduled to begin on Etihad Park this fall but that has been pushed back until 2025. The club still expects the stadium to be ready in time for the beginning of the 2027 MLS season.
NYCFC continues to play at several venues in New York, primarily at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field.
Required reading
- New York City’s first soccer stadium — funded by the UAE but a good deal for New Yorkers?
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(NYCFC)
