MLS franchise joins fellow CFG club Manchester City in having home ground sponsored by UAE airline.
Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise New York City FC (NYCFC) have announced a naming rights deal for their new stadium with United Arab Emirates (UAE) flag carrier and longstanding partner Etihad Airways.
Confirmed:
- 20-year deal will see 25,000-seater stadium called Etihad Park
- Agreement was jointly facilitated in-house without an external agency
Context:
NYCFC struck an agreement to build a new US$780 million stadium at Willets Point in Queens back in 2022. The venue will be the club’s first soccer-specific home having predominantly played its games at baseball’s Yankee Stadium since debuting in 2015. It will be part of a wider redevelopment project that will include a public school, a hotel, and approximately 2,500 units of affordable housing.
The 2021 MLS champions are one of 13 clubs either majority or part-owned by City Football Group (CFG), a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), which has close ties to Etihad.
The airline has served as NYCFC’s shirt sponsor since their inaugural season and the pair have collaborated on various community initiatives throughout the partnership.
In addition to NYCFC, the company is the main shirt partner of several other clubs in the CFG portfolio, including Premier League champions Manchester City, whose home ground is also sponsored by Etihad, Spanish side Girona, Melbourne City in Australia and India’s Mumbai City.
The US is becoming an increasingly important market for Etihad, which operates two daily flights between New York and Abu Dhabi.
Comment:
“For over a decade, we’ve been investing in New York with a vision of building the city into one of the soccer capitals of the world,” said NYCFC chief executive Brad Sims. “Etihad Airways has been alongside us every step of the way and we’re thrilled to be making this announcement with them.
“Etihad Park will be the physical evidence of our deep and longstanding investment in New York City and will become a cathedral of soccer in the United States.”
Coming next:
Construction of Etihad Park is expected to begin before the end of the year and the club plans to open the venue ahead of the 2027 MLS season.
Credit: https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/new-york-city-fc-new-stadium-etihad-park-naming-rights-sponsor-november-2024/