Mets Owner Steve Cohen to Develop $8 Billion Metropolitan Park in Queens, New York

Queens, N.Y. — Steve Cohen, owner of the New York Mets baseball team, will develop an $8 billion entertainment and sports park in Queens. Dubbed Metropolitan Park, the development will occupy the 50 acres of asphalt around Citi Field, which are currently vacant. Plans for the project include a food hall, an entertainment complex including a Hard Rock hotel, live music venue and gaming, 20 acres of park space, 5 acres of community athletic fields and playgrounds, new connections to the waterfront, a renovated mass transit station and improved roads, bike paths and parking infrastructure. Hard Rock International will partner with Cohen for the development, and the project team includes SHoP Architects, landscape architect Field Operations and design and construction firm McKissack. According to Hard Rock, more than two million people visit Citi Field each year. “Metropolitan Park delivers on the promise of a shared space that people will not only want to come to and enjoy, but can truly be proud of,” says Steve Cohen. Metropolitan Park is expected to create roughly 15,000 permanent and construction jobs, according to Hard Rock. A construction timeline was not disclosed.