The site of Coney Island baseball fun is now also home to Brooklyn Football Club — the pro-soccer league coming to the area this summer. Team heads and local supporters gathered at Maimonides Park on April 10 for a ceremonial ribbon cutting.
Brooklyn Football Club will share turf with the Brooklyn Cyclones in an accommodating partnership officials say will bring Brooklynites even more entertainment during the People’s Playground’s busy summer season.
Matt Rizzetta, chairman and founding partner of North Sixth Group, majority owner and operator of the club, played a key role in the development process, alongside Maximilian Mansfield, CEO and president of Brooklyn Football Club.
“We’re all pulling in the same direction to make Brooklyn a special place,” Rizzetta said. “What we’re trying to do here in Brooklyn is build a transformational hub for U.S. soccer and rethink soccer clubs in an innovative way. We think Brooklyn is the perfect place to do that, right here in our backyards.”
The pair celebrated the unofficial “kick-off” with family, friends, investors and local elected officials — all of whom were given a tour of the arena on Wednesday. During the celebration, officials pointed out where the field will be drawn up on game days.
“When I got a call that these guys wanted to start a professional soccer club in Coney Island I was like, ‘Yeah, okay,’ and then I did some research and realized these guys are legit,” area Council Member Justin Brannan said. “This is where it’s at. Bringing a professional soccer club to Coney Island just makes so much sense.”
Fans of the sport can count on getting a front-row view of the action, whether they choose to sit in the beer garden off of the historic Riegelmann Boardwalk, or indulge in stadium seating within Maimonides Park.
A women’s team will start their season this August with a men’s league slated to take the turf in 2025. Local parents and young players were instrumental in that decision as they shared an overwhelming demand for a female league ahead of a male league, as previously reported by Brooklyn Paper.
Heads of the club have yet to declare an official mascot for the athletes, but say they look forward to developing an organic identity in the future. In the meantime, they plan to go by just, “Brooklyn FC.”
But the organization isn’t just building off of the Brooklyn brand, leaders said Wednesday. The club is committed to giving back to the neighborhood as much as possible, through youth partnership opportunities, community outreach, brand sponsors, and more.
With the ribbon cut on Brooklyn Football Club’s new home, Brooklynites will soon be able to buy their tickets online to catch the borough’s newest athletes in action.
