Steve Cohen’s $8.1B Metropolitan Park Casino Project Approved for New York State License

New York Mets billionaire owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International were approved for a New York downstate casino license by the NYS Gaming Facility Location Board on Monday, December 1.

The $8.1 billion Metropolitan Park project, located adjacent to Citi Field, is scheduled for completion in June 2030.

According to Mike Mazzeo of Sports Business Journal, “Cohen and Hard Rock will need final approval from the NYS Gaming Commission, which will review the project before the end of the year, with an initial $500 million licensing fee to operate a casino.”

Metropolitan Park will cover 50 acres of the Citi Field parking lot and feature a Hard Rock Hotel with a casino, sportsbook, restaurants, bars, a 5,650-seat music venue, and a Taste of Queens Food Hall.

The project also calls for 25 acres of public green space, 23,000 union jobs, $1 billion in community benefits, and infrastructure improvements, including a revamped, ADA-accessible 7-line subway station.

Mazzeo added that the New York State Gaming Commission stated, “The Gaming Facility Location Board has validated the positive economic impact this project will have with billions of dollars in tax revenue, 23,000 union jobs, and over $1 billion in community benefits. We look forward to the Gaming Commission’s review,” the group said in a statement.

Cohen, with a net worth of $23 billion, has told multiple sources he would not move forward with the project without a casino license from the NYSGFLB.

Mazzeo also stated that, “Metropolitan Park officials have been cautiously optimistic that they would secure a license. They had to overcome a parkland issue and a USTA dispute before it happened.”

The Metropolitan Park development will connect Flushing Meadows Corona Park—including the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center—to Citi Field and Flushing Bay. The casino plan includes 5,000 slot machines, 375 live dealer tables, 30 poker tables, and an 18,000-square-foot sportsbook. Metropolitan Park projects $3.9 billion in annual revenue and $850 million in annual tax contributions by year three.

Cohen and the Mets will also undergo a formal MLB review process on the sportsbook component—similar to procedures followed by teams in states with legalized sports gaming, such as the Chicago Cubs with DraftKings at Wrigley Field and the Cincinnati Reds with BetMGM SportsBook at The Banks at Great American Ball Park.

According to Will Yakowicz of Forbes, “With the three contending casino locations in New York City with Bally’s Bronx, Metropolitan Park, and Resorts World New York City, the location board projects that annual gaming tax revenue will reach an additional $1 billion by 2036, totaling $7 billion between 2027 and 2036. State and local taxes, hotel occupancy and other sources of revenue are expected to generate about $5.9 billion for the state, while problem gambling programs will receive $10.7 million annually.”

Alongside Bally’s and Resorts World—who also secured licenses—Cohen’s Metropolitan Park project with Hard Rock Casino is one of the three proposals approved for New York City gaming. President Donald Trump’s company is expected to receive a $115 million windfall from one of the casino-related transactions.

Bally Links, located in Throggs Neck, Bronx, N.Y., and since renamed Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point, generated the payment after Bally’s won a casino license. The name change occurred in early January 2024.

Yakowicz also reported that, “Bally’s Corporation pitched a $4 billion investment to build a casino and integrated resort spanning 16 acres next to Bally’s Golf Links in Ferry Point. Led by chairman Soo Kim, a Queens native and founder of the New York-based hedge fund Standard General, Bally’s vision in the Bronx is to build a 250-foot-tall casino spanning three million square feet that can hold 3,500 slots and other gambling machines, 250 table games, and a poker room.

The proposal also includes a 500-room luxury hotel, dining and entertainment venues, a 2,000-person event center, and meeting spaces. Bally’s Bronx is projected to generate over $1 billion in revenue from gambling and more than $200 million in taxes to the state annually.”

Additional insight into all projected casino developments in New York City, as reported on Forbes. As major casino plans advance across the five boroughs, New York City’s sports and entertainment landscape appears set for dramatic transformation over the next half-decade.

Photo: New York Mets owner Steve Cohen (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)