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Report: Group suing to stop NYCFC from practicing at Manhattanville College

New York City FC

 

By TIM FONTENAULT

New York City FC’s quest to build a training facility has hit a snag in the road.

A civic group in Purchase, New York is suing to prevent 2015 MLS expansion side New York City FC from building a practice field at Manhattanville College, according to a report from Westfair Communications. The Purchase Environmental Protective Association has filed a lawsuit against the club, the college and the town of Harrison’s Planning Board with New York’s Supreme Court.

The group’s lawsuit is the result of concerns about traffic and fear that the club will continue to practice at the facility after their lease expires. The NHL’s New York Rangers tried to build a facility at the school in the mid-1990s, but the project was shut down due to community opposition, and the school’s own hockey team was consequentially left without an on-campus facility.

New York City FC have promised to gift the facility to the school after the lease expires, but not even that has convinced everyone that the deal on the table is a good one.

Co-owned by the New York Yankees and Premier League champions Manchester City FC, NYCFC will begin playing at Yankee Stadium in 2015 while continuing its search for a permanent location for a soccer-specific stadium. The club has reportedly expanded its search for that out of the five boroughs and is considering locations in Westchester County.

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What do you make of this development? Do you see NYCFC training at Manhattanville College when things are all said and done? What other places do you think they could possibly (and realistically) train at? Worried about the whole NYCFC project right now?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Fos a so-called US soccer focused website promoting American’s domestic league, there sure is alot of schadenfreude here about this news. If you want MLS to grow beyond the League 1/bottom table league championship league that it currently is, you need clubs like Miami and NYCFC to be financially successful even if not MLS cup winners. The eyes of the soccer world will be on teams like NYCFC and Miami far more than they will be on Sporting KC or St. Louis or whatever else.

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  2. While some people will be tired of hearing this, but this is another reason we need a pro-rel system. The MLS “if we build it they will come” motto is not working in NYC or Miami. You need a small club to form, build a fan base, establish a connection with the community prove themselves in lower divisions and then get promoted/accepted into the “big time” of MLS. It’s a tried and true system around the world. The top down, shove it down their throat attitude of MLS is failing.

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    • LOL! You must be dreaming. That will never happen. Nobody in the US is going to support a league that 2 to 4 teams always dominate and the rest of the league never aspires to achieve anything but to avoid relegation. This is not Europe. It won’t work.

      How is MLS failing? MLS is in better financial shape than many other leagues around the world and is developing players for the USMNT. England has promotion and relegation and their national team sucks. Just because you say it is failing, it doesn’t make it true.

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      • You know what the problem is? its American arrogance. Things we aren’t the best at we push aside and act like we don’t care. If we aren’t the best then it doesnt matter.

        where other places, maybe there’s a deeper connection and more of a feeling of a togetherness to where it doesn’t matter the quality of play, but the pride of a community.

        people who have been to other countries, could you tell me if any of this is remotely accurate? thanks

    • yes yes yes brian the reason people are tired of hearing about it is IT WILL NOT HAPPEN IN OUR LIFETIMES so PLEASE stop bringing it up.

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  3. another thing, I don’t see either NYC soccer teams getting taxpayer $$$ to built a 25000-30000 seat stadium w/ one across the river NJ.

    The argument will. Where is the demand. Hate to say it NYCFC & Cosmos needs to be co-tenent. See Jets & Giants.

    They had to sell PSL to affords stadium even w/taxpayer money added

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    • Jspech, super nice, I think that’s a good idea.
      Having New York City Fried Chicken (NYCFC), and the Cosmos,
      as co-tenants, cohabitants. +10 Pele thinks that would be a good thing.

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  4. I’m sure that NYCFC will find a place to practice. It just a matter of finding the proper ward bosses to bribe, and it is only natural that foreigners might find it difficult in the beginning. It’s sort of like learning to drive on the right which comes with time. That said these issues are sending internationally sucky vibes about putting a business in NYC.

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    • Good point, it’s really about the TV revenue and deals the owners will make from a NYC team. They already have a TV home – YES network.

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  5. Sure, attack the team and not the people are are standing between the school and a state of the art soccer training facility

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  6. NY has limited space. If the giants/jets/yankees/mets has issues getting NY stadia, I don’t know why ManCity thinks they can. Yankees and Mets only got it because they essentially just switched their existing park/parking lot space and stadium space (build on their parking lot and adjacent park, knock down their old stadium and turn that into parking and land space. There was no loss of land. Good luck to NYCFC, I don’t see this happening anytime soon. Land is too valuable in NYC and this was clearly very poorly thought out.

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    • This is suburban Purchase/Westchester. You’re dealing with NIMBYs complaining about the use of a campus that is already owned by MC and not on the market, as opposed to trying to buy and zone land for a stadium. One assumes this is going in right where MC already has its field house and sports fields already. Since it’s already soccer fields probably, this is about the neighbors trying to say they can’t renovate soccer fields for use as soccer fields. That’s lame. The only real argument is traffic and the question then is how many people would actually go. This is millionaires implying it will be a nusiance in defense of property values when the reality is a handful of people probably come and watch who aren’t already going to MC.

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  7. What a tough crowd. The thing about NY is it’s hard to break through but once you can break through and actually embed yourself in the culture and community you’ll be set in stone forever. If NYCFC can crack this market and put a Stadium on ground they could be bigger than Seattle.

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    • I don’t know, I’m not so sure I see that happening… We have a stadium across the river. Basically, it’s a long trip to get any place in the five boroughs. There are too many teams in NY and I’ll be really surprised if a second MLS team catches on.

      Thing about soccer is that it really is the people’s sport. NYers play it throughout the city, and there’s obviously a lot of people like you and me who would love to see a Seattle-type scene, but hm, I don’t know… At any rate, I like the crowd at RB Arena, it gets loud, the team is fun to watch.

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    • This is one of the reasons why Red Bull Arena ended up in an abandoned industrial waste land in NJ. No one wanted a stadium in their backyard. NYC FC is going to have a really hard time finding a suitable site for their stadium. They will be playing in Yankee Stadium for many years.

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      • They have a plan sitting on the table for that bankrupt garage company right next to Yankee Stadium. That helps everyone, the city because they have loans they owe, it bronx by bringing another venue to that area with good mass transit access, etc. NYCFC is not looking anywhere outside the 5 boroughs. They are conducting a survey of potential fans limiting the site possibilities to all 5 boroughs including Staten Island to see fans interest in different things from seat pricing, luxury and loge box interest, etc..

    • the NY market is consistently one of the highest rated for EPL games. They just havent cracked the nut yet.

      that said, what a joke this team is becoming!

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      • This situation is hard to pin on NYC FC and/or MLS. Manhattanville College is surrounded by million dollar homes. The millionaires who own these homes are opposed for a variety of reasons – including traffic, etc. But, ultimately, they feel the practice facility will negatively impact the value of their homes. It all comes down to money. Good luck with this NYC FC – these folks have deep pockets. It’s going to get ugly!

      • They’re okay with MC having the very same facilities as long as they are unpopular, and they are over-stating the likely contingent of people who will come watch soccer practice. The sensible solution would seem to be the facilities are for practice only, no parking lots or improvements that would attract more people, and if they want to play small games like USOC go rent someplace else.

  8. Westchester? Ha ha, that’s not in New York City… Harrison, NJ, Harrison, NY, Cathedral in the Bronx, Shea/ Citi Field, Corona Park, it’s all a slog to get around.

    Btw for Sunday’s match in Harrison, keep in mind that the WTC Path station is closed on the weekends for repair work etc. Found out the hard way a few weeks ago…

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      • The PATH is only out of service at WTC/Exchange Place. You can access the PATH From 33rd and all the way down to Christopher St for access to NJ, switch at Journal Sq to Newark

      • PATH is very crowded if you get on at Christopher or 9th street. Yes, thanks for adding that correction. I’m planning to take the Path train.

      • Thanks so much for the heads up, Matt!! had no idea and was going to get to the Turkey game the way I always do, via WTC (I live in BK too.)

    • Can we be real about this? MC already has a soccer team, soccer field, and a field house. So what’s the zoning complaint, that the facilities are being renovated? In terms of traffic, how many people besides personnel and staff (and maybe the college kids) do they really think are coming to watch soccer practice? That’s probably why the traffic study and zoning approval went without a hitch.

      And then, if you want lame, the circular complaints about whether the team might get a (initial or) followup lease would seem to beg the question.

      It radiates NIMBY and this is Westchester.

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  9. Good job MLS! Everything is going as planned on this team thus far… There were no other suitable options for teams with already existing stadiums.

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