Metropolitan Park Project Gets Gaming License Recommendation
Steve Cohen is going to build it. He hopes many will come.
On Monday, the New York State Gambling Facility Location Board met at the Proshansky Auditorium at CUNY Graduate Center in Midtown Manhattan to vote on who would be granted gambling licenses. The board recommended a gaming license for the Cohen and Hard Rock International’s $8 billion Metropolitan Park project. The board also voted to recommend issuing gaming licenses for the Bally’s and Resorts World projects. All three projects now have to go through the formality of a “character and fitness test” before it’s officially official.
The final step before each project officially receives the license would be for the project to pay the $500 million license fee.
It will be built on 50 acres of asphalt parking lots next to Citi Field. A casino will anchor the development. Per the executive summary submitted to the board, construction will start in January 2026 and is estimated to take four years, with the target open date coming in June of 2030.
The project will include a Hard Rock hotel, a live entertainment venue, restaurants, a convention center and retail space. One of the biggest questions for Mets fans has been regarding parking. Have no fear: there will be three multi-story parking garages, including one each on either side of the stadium.
“Backed by billions in private investment from New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International, this shovel-ready proposal will create tens of thousands of union jobs, billions in tax revenue, unprecedented community engagement, with significant minority ownership,” according to the executive summary.
Also in Metropolitan Park will be a Taste of Queens Food Hall, with about 20 local food vendors. There will be 25 acres of new public park space, including athletic fields, playgrounds and improvements to the local train station. Affordable housing units will be built in Corona, and annual grants will be awarded to Queens-based nonprofits focused on education, job development and culture.
The developers called it a “generational opportunity to create the most inclusive, community-forward and impactful destination deeply rooted in Queens.”
The casino will include 5,000 slot machines, 375 live-dealer tables, 30 poker tables and an 18,381-square-foot sportsbook and bar. The hotel will have 1,000 luxury rooms, including 393 luxury suites. The live theater will have a capacity of 5,650.
The project will create 17,100 direct construction jobs, 25,000 induced and indirect construction jobs, 6,081 direct permanent jobs with 2,077 part-time jobs and 13,500 indirect and induced permanent jobs, per the summary. Once up and running, the resort is estimated to generate $33.5 billion in new tax revenue over 30 years and $6.6 billion annually in economic impact.
Cohen, 69, bought the Mets for $2.4 billion in 2020, and the project has been in the works for four years. Community input was gathered at 16 workshops attended by a combined 1,800 residents. A Community Advisory Council approved the plan with a 6-0 vote in September.
“It’s time New York got the sports and entertainment park it deserves,” Cohen noted. “When I bought this team, fans and the community kept saying we needed to do better. Metropolitan Park delivers on the promise of a shared space that people will not only want to come to and enjoy, but can be truly proud of.”
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