This is how the Metropolitan Park is going to look in the future. Images courtesy
The team behind Metropolitan Park—led by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International—officially submitted an application to the New York State Gaming Facility Location Board for one of three downstate gaming licenses. This milestone advances a transformative vision to turn 50 acres of asphalt surrounding Citi Field into America’s next great sports and entertainment district, anchored by 25 acres of new public park space and athletic fields as well as the world-class Hard Rock Metropolitan Park hotel and casino.
Metropolitan Park Video Rendering
Backed by unprecedented community support, Metropolitan Park offers the greatest overall benefit for the city, the region, and the state of any proposed project, while delivering what the local Queens community says they want and need.
“This is a major milestone in our efforts to bring Metropolitan Park to life,” said New York Mets owner Steve Cohen. “This is the product of over four years of working hand in hand with the community, local leaders, and Mets fans. Now, with this application, we’re one step closer to delivering thousands of good-paying union jobs, a vibrant new park, and year-round entertainment that reflects the energy of Queens.”
“Hard Rock Metropolitan Park will be a one-of-a-kind global destination that will serve as an economic engine for Queens, bringing jobs, investment, and long-term opportunity,” said Jim Allen, Chairman of Hard Rock International. “This project was developed in partnership with the community, from the first conversations to the final design. We’re proud to be taking this important step to turn that vision into reality.”
New York’s First True Stadium District
Strategically located at the heart of New York’s most vibrant sports corridor, Metropolitan Park will become the city’s first true stadium district – centered between baseball at Citi Field, tennis at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, and professional soccer coming soon to Willets Point. These venues already bring millions of visitors to the area every year. And the site also sits adjacent to LaGuardia Airport, which welcomes over 22 million travelers annually, positioning the project as a global gateway to Queens.
Hard Rock Metropolitan Park will be an unmatched and world-class integrated resort that perfectly fuses these venues into a cohesive entertainment district. This reimagined space will unite fans, neighbors, and visitors, offering a Hard Rock hotel, casino and sportsbook, restaurants and bars, retail shopping, and versatile meeting spaces. This entertainment destination will also feature Hard Rock Live Metropolitan Park, a world class 5,650-capacity theatre-style venue dedicated to welcoming a wide range of entertainment events. Additionally, Hard Rock is partnering with Mario Carbone and Major Food Group to anchor the culinary experience at Metropolitan Park, celebrating Queens as one of the most vibrant and diverse culinary capitals on the planet.
Metropolitan Park will include the Taste of Queens, a community-oriented food market that will operate year-round and feature Queens-based food vendors that celebrate the rich culinary and cultural diversity of the community.
With new year-round entertainment and open public park space, Metropolitan Park is expected to draw 8.6 to 10.3 million visitors in its first year alone.
Unmatched Community Support
Metropolitan Park is the result of more than four years of engagement, including 16 public workshops, over 1,000 stakeholder meetings, and nearly 45,000 doors knocked. With a community-driven vision, Metropolitan Park has achieved a level of local support that is unparalleled.
The overwhelming support from elected officials, unions, and the local community has led to unprecedented success in New York’s land use processes. Metropolitan Park is the only downstate casino project that has undergone a rigorous state and city review process, and the only project approved by a Community Board, with all six local Community Boards voting in favor.
Metropolitan Park has also been endorsed by Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, local City Council Member Francisco Moya, State Assembly Member Larinda Hooks, and State Senator John Liu.
The Best Deal For New York
Metropolitan Park is poised to deliver the greatest overall benefit for the city, the region, and the state. This project is anticipated to generate $33.5 billion in new tax revenue over 30 years, while acting as an unparalleled catalyst for regional economic development for years to come.
With a private investment of $8 billion, Metropolitan Park will also deliver the most community benefits to its local neighborhoods of any proposal, including 450 units of all-affordable housing, and $1 billion in direct support for community organizations and programs.
Metropolitan Park will create 23,000 good-paying permanent and construction union jobs. Due to a Queens priority hiring strategy, an independent Local Impact Study, conducted by BJH Advisors, projects about 89% of the project’s employees will come from in-state, with 55% coming from the local community. Many of these will be good-paying jobs with career development opportunities. Hard Rock anticipates that the full-time permanent team members at Hard Rock Metropolitan Park will earn approximately $140,631 on average – nearly triple the current average median wage in Queens.
Metropolitan Park’s economic impact will create a ripple effect for local businesses. The independent Local Impact Study confirmed Metropolitan Park’s belief that our project will have a positive impact on local restaurants, driving an annual average of 9% to 11% more visitors to local surrounding neighborhoods. Additionally, Hard Rock New York anticipates spending $100 to $150 million with local vendors each year, including with contractors, and food and services providers.
Metropolitan Park will also launch a first of its kind MWBE lending program that will provide minority and women owned businesses with new opportunities for growth. This will include subsidized small business loans, as well as helping entrepreneurs navigate the complex MWBE certification process.
The Park Queens Deserves
Metropolitan Park will transform a sea of underutilized asphalt into a vibrant, year-round destination anchored by 25 acres of new public park space, athletic fields, and playgrounds. This represents nearly one-third of the project’s total footprint – 25 out of 78 acres – and will create more new park and community space than Bryant Park, the High Line, and Union Square Park combined. By comparison the casino will take up just 10% of the project’s size.
The project will also bring safer neighborhood connectivity to an area long isolated from the surrounding community. Metropolitan Park will deliver $1.75 billion in infrastructure updates that will transform the Mets-Willets Point 7 Train station into a welcoming entrance to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park and create long-overdue ADA accessibility. These updates will also include significant improvements to the local roadway and highway network to rationalize traffic patterns. The project will also add almost 11,000 additional feet of bike lanes, improve pedestrian paths to increase walkability and cycling access, create easy and safe waterfront access, and create a clear path to the Passerelle, which will link Metropolitan Park and Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
A World Class-Team
Brought together by a shared desire to deliver a transformational project for Queens, Cohen and Hard Rock International have assembled an ownership team that is substantially owned by minority enterprises. The ownership team includes Hard Rock International, owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida; New Green Willets, LLC, owned by Steve Cohen; McKissack & McKissack, the nation’s oldest minority and woman-owned professional design and construction firm; and Siebert Williams Shank & Co., LLC, a minority and women-owned investment bank.
