Location | Randalls Island, Manhattan, New York City |
---|---|
Coordinates | 40°47′35.90″N73°55′31.23″W / 40.7933056°N 73.9253417°W |
Owner | New York City Department of Parks and Recreation |
Operator | Randalls Island Park Alliance (RIPA) |
Capacity | 5,000 |
Surface | FieldTurf |
Construction | |
Opened | April 23, 2005 |
Construction cost | $42 million |
Architect | RMJM, Zurita Architects |
Structural engineer | Geiger Engineers |
Tenants | |
Adidas Grand Prix (IAAF Diamond League) (2005–present) New York City FC II (MLS Next Pro) (2024–present, part-time) | |
Website | |
randallsisland |
Icahn Stadium is a 5,000 seat track and field and multipurpose facility located on Randalls Island in Manhattan, New York City. Designed within the former site of Downing Stadium, it opened on April 23, 2005. Icahn Stadium is named after American businessman Carl Icahn, who made a $10 million donation towards the construction of the new stadium. [1] The stadium features a World Athletics Class 1 certified running track with a 400-meter Mondo Super X Performance surface, and it has been the site of many international, national, and regional track and field events.
Icahn Stadium was built to replace Downing Stadium, which was originally opened in 1936 as part of a larger New York City Parks project that included the construction of the Triborough Bridge. The opening of Downing Stadium made history as the facility hosted the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1936, at which Jesse Owens qualified for two events in the upcoming Berlin Olympics. Downing Stadium also made history in 1939 as the site of the first televised college football game, Fordham vs. Waynesburg. The site was subsequently home to the New York Cosmos soccer team, as well as various sporting events and summer concerts. The stadium lights, which had been taken from Ebbets Field after it was torn down, [2] were left in place to light the new field.
After years of use, the old facility was in need of renovation. In order to maximize the potential of the site, the old stadium was razed, and Icahn Stadium was constructed in its place along with Field 10, a FIFA-certified soccer field, on the north side. The track and field built is one of only five International Association of Athletics Federations Class 1-certified tracks in the United States (along with Hutsell-Rosen Track, Hayward Field, John McDonnell Field and Rock Chalk Park ). The 5,000 seat stadium is partially sheltered by a cantilevered roof, and is illuminated by a pair of lighting towers. In addition, the soccer field on the north of the stadium is outfitted with a scoreboard, fencing, lighting, and bleachers for spectator events.
Run by the Randalls Island Park Alliance (RIPA), Icahn Stadium serves the residents of New York City and beyond. [3] It houses some of RIPA’s various Randalls Island Kids (RIK) programs, including the Jesse Owens track club, RIK Dance programs, and components of RIK summer camp. RIPA was founded in 1992 as a public–private partnership to work on behalf of Randalls Island Park. The Alliance, in conjunction with City leadership and the local community, works to realize the Island’s unique potential by developing sports and recreational facilities, restoring its vast natural environment, reclaiming and maintaining parkland, and sponsoring community-linked programs for the children of New York City. RIPA runs free youth sports programs that bring over 14,000 under-resourced public school children from Harlem and the South Bronx to the island annually.
Since its opening, Icahn Stadium has hosted more than 200,000 high school, college and professional athletes and spectators during the track season. Each year, the number of meets and events that are scheduled has grown, bringing larger numbers of people to the facility. [4]
In 2005, the Reebok Grand Prix was created and held at the stadium. Currently known as the Adidas Grand Prix of the Diamond League, the annual summer tournament welcomes top runners from around the world. From its inception it has distinguished itself as one of top meets to feature Olympic and World Champions. [5]
In December 2012, the New York Lizards of Major League Lacrosse announced that the team would play two home games at Icahn Stadium for the 2013 season. [7] [8] The team played at the venue on June 6 and 13, 2013. [9]
On June 27, 2013, the New York Cosmos revealed that their annual Cosmos Copa NYC soccer tournament would hold its final at the stadium, as many of the games were held at Randalls Island. [10] Due to scheduling issues, the final was relocated. [11] However, the site was used as a venue for the 2014 Cosmos Copa group stages. [12]
In 2023, New York City FC donated $3 million to install a Kentucky bluegrass soccer field at Icahn Stadium. The club's reserve side, New York City FC II, will play part of its MLS Next Pro schedule starting in 2024. [13] NYCFC will also host its annual NYPD/FDNY charity soccer match at Icahn in 2024.
Following the installation of the new field by NYCFC, rugby is set to be played at the stadium. [13]
Icahn Stadium was incorporated as a training center into the New York City bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics. [14] [15] Future Olympic bids will also potentially use the stadium as a training facility, as it already meets IAAF specifications.
Dignity Health Sports Park is a multi-use sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, California. The complex consists of the 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park soccer stadium, the Dignity Health Sports Park tennis stadium, a track-and-field facility, and the VELO Sports Center velodrome. It is approximately 14 miles (23 km) south of downtown Los Angeles, and its primary tenant is the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer (MLS). The main stadium was also home to the Los Angeles Wildcats of the XFL in 2020. The LA Galaxy II of MLS Next Pro play their home matches at the complex's track and field facility. For 2020 and 2021, the stadium served as the temporary home of the San Diego State Aztecs football team.
The Mitchel Athletic Complex is part of the Mitchel Field complex, located in Uniondale, New York, on the site of the decommissioned Mitchel Air Force Base. The facility is owned by Nassau County. It is used mostly for football and soccer and also sometimes for athletics. The athletic complex was built in 1984 and was renovated in 1997; it hosted track and field and soccer events during the 1998 Goodwill Games. Mitchel Field is also home to Nassau Coliseum, Nassau Community College, Hofstra University, Lockheed Corporation, and the Cradle of Aviation Museum.
Randalls Island and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Island, in New York City. Part of the borough of Manhattan, is separated from Manhattan Island by the Harlem River, from Queens by the East River and Hell Gate, and from the Bronx by the Bronx Kill. A channel named Little Hell Gate separated Randalls Island to the north from Wards Island to the south; the channel was filled by the early 1960s. A third, smaller island, Sunken Meadow Island, was located east of Randalls Island and was connected to it in 1955.
Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field is a stadium in East Hartford, Connecticut. It is primarily used for football and soccer, and is the home field of the University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies. In 2010, it was home to the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League. The stadium, which opened in 2003, was the first stadium used primarily by an NCAA Division I-A team to open in the 21st century. The permanent stadium capacity is 40,000, consisting of 38,066 permanent seats with a standing-room area in the scoreboard plaza that can accommodate up to 1,934 people. It also has a game day capability to add approximately 3,000 temporary seats as it did for UConn football vs. Michigan in 2013. Connecticut played on campus at Memorial Stadium in Storrs, before 2003.
Downing Stadium, previously known as Triborough Stadium and Randall's Island Stadium, was a 22,000-seat stadium on Randalls Island in New York City. It was renamed Downing Stadium in 1955 after John J. Downing, a director at the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. It was demolished in 2002 and the current Icahn Stadium was built on the site.
Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium, officially known as Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium at Baker Athletics Complex, is a stadium in the Inwood neighborhood at the northern tip of the island of Manhattan, New York City. Part of Columbia University's Baker Athletics Complex, it is primarily used for American football, lacrosse, and track and field events. The stadium opened in 1984 and holds 17,100 people.
The James M. Shuart Stadium is an 11,929-seat multi-purpose stadium and sports facility, the facility serves as the home to Hofstra's lacrosse teams on the campus of Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. First opened in 1963, and remodeled in 1996 and 2013, it was known as Hofstra Stadium until August 29, 2002, when it was renamed after the former president of Hofstra University, who played lacrosse and football during his undergraduate years at the school. The stadium grounds include James C. Metzger Hall which houses the stadium's press box, luxury suites and the Fried Center for Student-Athlete Development.
Royal Athletic Park is a stadium in Victoria, British Columbia, and is used for baseball, soccer, softball and football, but also hosts special events, such as the annual Great Canadian Beer Festival and previously the Rifflandia Music Festival. It is home to the Victoria HarbourCats Baseball Club of the West Coast League. It is located 1 km from the city centre.
Sports in the New York metropolitan area have a long and distinguished history.
New Orleans is home to a wide variety of sporting events. Most notable are the home games of the New Orleans Saints (NFL) and the New Orleans Pelicans (NBA), the annual Sugar Bowl, the annual Zurich Classic and horse racing at the Fair Grounds Race Course. New Orleans has also occasionally hosted the Super Bowl, College Football Playoff semifinal game and the NCAA college basketball Final Four.
Belson Stadium is a 2,168-seat soccer-specific stadium located at Utopia Parkway and Union Turnpike in Queens, New York City, on the campus of St. John's University. It is the home of the St. John's Red Storm men's and women's soccer teams. The stadium is unique in that it is built on an elevated platform over a mostly underground parking garage to save space in the dense urban environment of Queens.
Terry Fox Stadium, also known as the Terry Fox Athletic Facility is an athletic field in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, named after cancer research activist Terry Fox. It has a regulation-size natural grass soccer field, surrounded by a 400-metre track. Surrounding the track are bleachers with a capacity of approximately 2,000. It is located in Mooney's Bay Park, on the west side of Riverside Drive, south of Heron Road, which is south of downtown Ottawa.
The New York Cosmos is an American professional soccer club based in Uniondale, New York, that is an inactive member of the third-tier National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). The organization, established in August 2010, is a rebirth of the original New York Cosmos (1970–1985) that played in the previous North American Soccer League, which was at the time the first division of North American soccer.
The New York Lizards are a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) professional men's field lacrosse team based in Hempstead, New York, United States, located on Long Island. After the 2012 season the team changed its name from the Long Island Lizards to the New York Lizards. The team will play two of its seven home games in the 2013 season in Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island in New York City. The rest of the home games will be in Hempstead, NY on Long Island.
New York City Football Club, also known as New York City FC and shortened as NYCFC, is an American professional soccer club based in New York City. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned by City Football Group, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi United Group, and Yankee Global Enterprises, owners of the New York Yankees.
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