Major League Soccer Announces Expansion Team

[epjr]

Major League Soccer Announces New York Expansion Team:
New York City Football Club

Partnership of Two of the Biggest Names in Sports,
Manchester City and New York Yankees; Club Expects to Begin Play in 2015


NEW YORK (May 21, 2013) - Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber announced today that a partnership of global sports powers, Manchester City Football Club and the New York Yankees, has acquired the League's 20th expansion club. The new team will be named New York City Football Club (NYCFC) and expects to begin play in 2015.

"We proudly welcome two of the most prestigious professional global sports organizations to Major League Soccer," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber . "This is a transformational development that will elevate the league to new heights in this country. The New York area is home to more than 19 million people, and we look forward to an intense crosstown rivalry between New York City Football Club and the New York Red Bulls that will captivate this great city."

"New York is a legendary sports town, as well as a thriving global city with a rapidly expanding soccer fan-base," said Ferran Soriano, CEO of Manchester City Football Club , who will oversee the process of filling top New York City FC leadership positions in the weeks to come. "We are thrilled to contribute to the energy and growth of New York City Soccer. In the Yankees, we have found the absolute best partner for developing a world-class sports organization and a winning team that will carry the New York City Football Club name with pride."

Manchester City will be the majority owner of the new Club. As an investor, the Yankees will be an active member of the ownership group. The New York Yankees and Manchester City Football Club have an existing commercial relationship through Legends Hospitality, LLC, an international entertainment, hospitality and marketing organization. Yankee Stadium is pleased to be hosting Manchester City on Saturday, May 25 for a "friendly" match against Chelsea FC, giving New York area fans a rare opportunity to see two outstanding English Premier League clubs up close.


www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2013/05/21/major-league-soccer-announces-new-york-expansion-team-new-york-city-football


website: www.nycfc.com/
facebook: www.facebook.com/newyorkcityfc
twitter: twitter.com/nycfc
www.reddit.com/r/NYCFC/

[epjr]

MLS officials discuss NYC expansion plans,
eye on 2016


NEW YORK — For the first time since identifying Flushing Meadows-Corona Park as a potential stadium site for the league's 20th expansion team, MLS officials are now openly discussing details of the project with local residents and media.

The latest installment of those grassroots meetings involved a Wednesday roundtable with local Hispanic media at the league headquarters in midtown Manhattan, where league president Mark Abbott answered questions about the plans.

It's a project that's been in the works since August 2011, when the league first put a team together to investigate more than 20 different locations for a stadium site in New York City.

Earlier this year, that search honed in on Flushing Meadows Park in Queens, which has the available land and is also close to public transportation, including both the NYC Subway and the Long Island Railroad.

But as importantly, it is the "home of soccer in New York City right now," according to Abbott.

The plans call for a 25,000-seat stadium (expandable to 35,000 seats) to be constructed on the current site of the park's Industry Pond, a 6.5-acre cement structure that was built for the 1966 World Fair but that is no longer operational (at ight).

The economics are straightforward: The stadium will be entirely funded by the club's owner and it will create an estimated 2,200 construction jobs, 160 full-time jobs and 750 part-time gameday jobs.

www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/10/10/mls-officials-discuss-nyc-expansion-plans-eye-2016

[epjr]

New York City FC name Claudio Reyna director of football operations


New York City FC have their first employee.

The Major League Soccer expansion club named former US national team star Claudio Reyna as its director of football operations on Wednesday, one day after it was unveiled as the league’s 20th club, set to debut in 2015. The club will be co-owned by English Premier League power Manchester City and the New York Yankees.

Reyna, 39, has strong ties to both MLS and Manchester City, and is one of the most decorated figures in American soccer history. He spent four seasons playing for Manchester City from 2003-07 before returning to MLS, where he joined the New York Red Bulls as the franchise’s first Designated Player. He appeared in 29 matches for the club before injuries forced him to retire midway through the 2008 season.


www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2013/05/22/new-york-city-fc-name-claudio-reyna-director-football-operations

[epjr]

New York City FC owners have long-term goal
of building team core from academy

NEW YORK — With Manchester City as the majority owners of new MLS expansion side New York City FC, many fans are already fantasizing about the star power that could make its way to the Big Apple when the team kicks off in 2015.

But NYCFC's owners have a greater vision for their club than merely signing big names. In fact, the philosophy sounds more akin to academy-oriented Barcelona than free-spending English giants Manchester City.

"Our intention is to work with kids from a really young age and, in the future, beginning at the age of five years old," Manchester City CEO Ferran Soriano told ESPN Deportes Radio's Jorge Ramos y Su Banda. "And we want these kids to be from New York and to learn with us how to play soccer, but first to love soccer.

www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2013/05/22/new-york-city-fc-owners-have-long-term-goal-building-core-first-team-academy

[epjr]

Borough battle:
Bronx president ready to compete with Queens
for NYCFC stadium


Even after the May announcement of Major League Soccer's 20th team, New York City FC, nearly two years remain before the expansion club begins play in MLS. For now, the club's plans for a home stadium, which are still undetermined, continue to be the biggest talking point.

We already know that NYCFC will play at a temporary home in the New York area for "two years, maybe three" when they join the league in 2015. Now we also know that there's legitimate competition and lobbying within the city to land what is expected to be a $340 million soccer stadium, funded by NYCFC's owners.

Before unveiling NYCFC, the MLS league office spent several months working with local officials on a stadium proposal for Flushing Meadows Corona Park area. But NYCFC's owners, which include baseball's New York Yankees, are now in charge of the stadium search and the newest development comes in the form of an open letter, drafted by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. to MLS Commissioner Don Garber, in which Diaz states his desire to bring the world's game to his borough.

www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2013/06/13/borough-battle-bronx-president-calls-out-queens-over-nycfc-stadium-sideline

[epjr]

New York City FC:
How Will the Club's Entrance into MLS Realign the Conferences?


Houston should therefore be the Western Conference addition. On the one hand, it will be great to return to our old conference and play Dallas three times a year; but when the Dynamo go to the west coast, which will be fairly often, the games always start late here, at 9pm or 10pm. When they travel east, the game usually starts no later than 6:30pm.


bleacherreport.com/articles/1742656-nycfc-how-will-the-clubs-entrance-into-mls-realign-the-conferences

[epjr]

NYCFC Makes its Case to New York City

The expansion club will strive not only to be an MLS giant, but eventually one of the world’s elite football clubs

Last Friday morning on Jan. 10, I was invited to attend the first official press conference of Jason Kreis as manager of New York City FC. Joining Kreis on the dais at the Grand Hyatt Hotel was NYCFC Sporting Director Claudio Reyna, Manchester City and NYCFC CEO Ferran Soriano and Manchester City Director of Football Txiki Begiristain.

The theme of the day, besides welcoming Kreis, seemed to be that of the new club’s leaders stating their case to New York City and to the North American soccer nation, many of whom have been quite incredulous as to the Manchester City owner’s agenda in establishing the club.

www.reddit.com/tb/1vjs3w