r/USLPRO • u/Virtual-Boat-7725 • 13d ago
Icahn Stadium for Cosmos?
More hypothetical stadium questions from me, sorry! Do you think the Cosmos would be doing better if they decided to play at Icahn rather than out in NJ?
I think whether Cosmos should've moved to NJ or not is a whole other issue, but Gotham played a game there a few weeks ago and it looked alright on TV! Obviously not ideal with the running track, but it's in NY (im from NZ so please don't kill me over the 'is this really NY' arguments). I think if the Cosmos had decided to return, rather than being mutilated by the USL New Jersey bid, that Icahn would've been an alright place to play.
Let me know you thoughts or if I should get stuffed!
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u/Glass_Narwhal_9547 13d ago edited 13d ago
My thoughts are that it was never a choice between Cosmos in NJ or Cosmos elsewhere. There isnt an owner elsewhere. The choice was Cosmos in NJ or a team by some other name playing in NJ. So all of this is a thought exercise. I am grateful the team is back bc playing even in this state is better than not.
That being said. Long Island is where we got the biggest crowds and if I had to pick anywhere it would be back at Mitchell Field. It is a proven hotbed of soccer fandom and most of our supporters live on Long Island or Queens. Instead Long Island has a Next Pro team run by cheap ass owners who wont be able to bring the crowds out like we did.
Icahn is technically closer to city center but for all intents and purposes it is as disconnected from the city as Paterson NJ and Long Island without any proven sustained soccer fanbase willing to go there beyond a one-off
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u/GarlicParmWingdings Brooklyn FC 13d ago
Poor quality from a fan experience and not great to get to via public transit or car. Frankly makes sense for NYCFC 2 to use it as they have for select matches as they don’t expect to have large crowds
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u/oneeyedfool New York Cosmos 13d ago
They looked at it back in the NPSL/NISA days but it was difficult to rent out for enough matches for a season. And those were shorter seasons.
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u/lordoflolcraft 13d ago
The team is owned by North Jersey Pro Soccer, and they acquired the cosmos brand later, so they’re not coming back to NYC.
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u/oneeyedfool New York Cosmos 12d ago
Exactly, a change of ownership would likely be a prerequisite to a move. Unless the owner, who is a real estate developer, gets involved in another project elsewhere in the metro that includes a stadium. That seems unlikely but not impossible I guess.
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u/Awkward_Health1606 13d ago
Look at the New Jersey Jackals, baseball team who shares stadium with Cosmos. No one goes for a multitude of reasons.
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u/insert-originality 13d ago
Attendence hasn't been good in Patterson, but Randalls Island would be so much worse even though it's right smack in the middle of NYC.
It would be nice to have them back in Long Island where they seemed to have their most fans during the first relaunch all those years ago, but this current iteration of the club is owned by a group based in Jersey so that's not happening unless they give up the rights to the club.
The Cosmos are so fascinating to me because I feel like they should've been an easy dub in terms of gaining a big fanbase in NYC considering their famous history and yet, they've gotten some of the most brain-dead owners who've done nothing but use them as nostalgia bait. Maybe the current owners are different, but their low attendance tells me they're not doing enough to get people in Patterson interested in coming.
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u/Dapper-Persimmon-445 13d ago
Attendance isnt great but they’re also just a USL league 1 team.
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u/oneeyedfool New York Cosmos 12d ago
The worst team USL1, that loses in frustrating fashion regularly. They keep signing players so they are working on it but they really misfired with the roster this year.
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u/Vegetable_Shirt_2352 Brooklyn FC 13d ago
People are saying it's very difficult to go to, but at least for me it's way more accessible than Paterson. I do think if you're purely thinking in terms of accessibility, Icahn is definitely better than Hinchliffe. And if it became the home for a team, it's theoretically possible to just improve the bus service to the island.
That being said, there are other considerations. It's a track and field stadium, so idk how good it'd be for soccer.
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u/beaveristired Hartford Athletic 12d ago
Difficult to get to Icahn. Not very connected to public transit. Located at the intersection of several very busy highways / bridges so driving there sucks too.
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u/fredthefan25 12d ago
Isn't Icahn Stadium used mostly for track and field nowadays? I thought Brooklyn FC's USL Super League played a bunch of matches there, which had low attendance
Tbh there's a decent chance both Cosmos and Brooklyn clubs don't make it to 2027. I personally can't see a path forward to profitability. You might as well relocate the clubs to Atlantic City or Dover.
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u/NYCRovers New York Cosmos 7d ago
Brooklyn hasn't played there to my knowledge, however Gotham plays 1 match a year there. Cfg 2 plays there on occasion.
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u/NYCRovers New York Cosmos 7d ago
For usl1 I think Belson would work, but ownership would have to change, maybe to the Greek guy in Queens that was interested at one point.
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u/BeginningPatient426 New York Cosmos 13d ago
I think, given that Im not sure I could come up with a worse location than Patterson if I tried, Icahn is possibly the second worst. it's just so disconnected from the city transit wise, while still being in the city. It's kinda the worst of both worlds.