ALBANY – In a world where movers and shakers, dreamers and schemers are considered unlikely to make a dime, the idea that an 8,000-seat soccer stadium could be built in downtown Albany isn't all that fanciful. Maybe.
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“We know that soccer is not on the decline, it's on the rise,” Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said. “There's still a lot of growth to come in professional football.”
Sheehan believes the area is perfect for a Major League Soccer franchise and is confident the city is working to make that happen.
“I'm very excited about this and this process is quite advanced,” she noted. “That’s why I’m so insistent on this.”
MLS officials in Albany earlier this week spoke with husband and wife Ed and Lisa Mitzen, who will build an 8,000-seat stadium downtown that will be the centerpiece of a $300 million entertainment district that will include hotels, restaurants, apartments and more. He was reportedly impressed by the plan.
“Any smart person could see that this is definitely going to be a huge help to my business,” said Shane Spilenger, who opened Ophelia's Restaurant on the corner of Broadway and Hudson Street six weeks ago. I think so,” he said.
The proposed site for the soccer stadium complex is in his backyard.
“We hear about these pie-in-the-sky things a lot, and they die down from time to time, but the excitement and the potential behind them is just as strong as some of the others I've heard in the past. “It seems like it's a little more advanced than that,” he said.
The key to attracting a team to Albany is building a stadium. The key to building the stadium is receiving funding from New York state.
“MLS is getting a tremendous amount of approach from urban areas, and they love this area,” said Ed Mitzen, who owns the soccer franchise with his wife, Lisa. “We're the only ones in upstate New York, but they can't afford to waste time. We're not going to last three years.”
“I know New York state supports stadiums elsewhere,” Sheehan noted. “This is a relatively small amount compared to what it would cost to build a large soccer field or baseball stadium.”
If all goes to plan, the unsightly dilapidated buildings and crumbling asphalt parking lots that currently characterize the stadium site could be transformed into a soccer paradise by June 2026.