Gotham FC women's soccer team relocating to Queens stadium from New Jersey

The Gotham FC women’s soccer team will relocate from New Jersey to a stadium being built in Queens near Citi Field, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday.

Starting in 2028, the team will play at the stadium, called Etihad Park, which will hold 25,000 and is under construction, moving across two rivers, from Harrison, New Jersey.

"Instead of begging their parents to have to take them to New Jersey, girls growing up in Jackson Heights, Sunnyside and Flushing will now be able to get on the 7 train after school and watch some of the greatest soccer players in the world go to work," Mamdani said.

Donovan Richards, the Queens borough president, appeared at City Hall with Mamdani to make the announcement, celebrating that women’s soccer would join the New York City FC men's team at the new stadium.

"To soccer fans across Queens," he said, "we scored another goal today."

Gotham FC is part of the National Women's Soccer League, which consists of 16 teams.

Phil Murphy, then the future governor of New Jersey, founded the team in 2006 with his wife, Tammy, as the Jersey Sky Blue. The team played in both a semi-professional and professional league before joining the newly formed NWSL in 2013. In April 2021, Sky Blue changed its name to Gotham FC.

Fans from New Jersey on Tuesday expressed disappointment that the team was leaving the state, with some season ticket holders vowing on social media to not renew their agreements. For Gotham FC, the move has the potential to boost the team's fan base — mostly in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Westchester County — by playing home games in closer proximity to Long Island, Brad Sims, the president and CEO of NYCFC, told Newsday.

"It really opens up the Long Island market for us," said Sims, who described Long Island as a "a huge soccer hotbed."

"The LIRR stop is right there, at our stadium," he added.

It's been a tall order, Sims said, to get fans on the Island to make the trip to Harrison, where Gotham FC currently plays in the home stadium of the MLS's New York Red Bulls. NYCFC will continue to play home matches at Yankee Stadium until Etihad Park opens.

"You have to be really, really hard core to go over multiple bridges and tunnels to get to New Jersey or the Bronx from depending on where you are on Long Island," Sims said.

Construction of Etihad Park began in December 2024. The projected opening is set for the summer of 2027 for the start of MLS season after the league switched to a summer-to-spring schedule to coincide with most European leagues, The Associated Press previously reported.

Etihad Park will also host soccer matches during the 2028 Summer Olympics.

"From day one, our ambition has been bigger than championships," said Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, Gotham FC governor, in statement provided by Hochul's office. "We are building one of the world’s most iconic clubs and helping define the future of women’s sports. Our move to Etihad Park reflects that ambition, and we are deeply grateful to New York City FC for their vision and commitment to helping make this historic moment possible."