NYC FC is "considering" building an approximately $400M stadium at Columbia Univ.’s Baker Athletics Complex near the northern tip of Manhattan, according to Charles Bagli of the N.Y. TIMES. NYC FC, which currently plays home games at Yankee Stadium, is proposing to "build a new, larger stadium that could be used" by the MLS team and Columbia’s football team. The idea "is in an exploratory stage, and no commitments have been made." But club execs, who continue to look at other sites, said that if it "was feasible and the sides could come to terms, it might be the best solution." But the 23-acre complex "might not look like a suitable candidate." The site’s sloping land "is already crammed with facilities for football, soccer, softball, field hockey and lacrosse." There also is a "gymnasium, a tennis center, a boating center and a building housing athletic offices." A source said that the plan "would be to demolish the 17,000-seat Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium and replace it with a 25,000-seat stadium." The franchise "would also spend as much" as $30M to rehabilitate the surrounding fields for the Ivy League school (N.Y. TIMES, 4/29).
