Steve Cohen Wants To Spend $8 Billion To Transform Citi Field Into An Entertainment District
Last month, hundreds of Mets fans gathered at Citi Field in Queens, New York, for the team’s “Amazin’ Day” fan fest. Never one to play it safe, billionaire owner Steve Cohen pulled out all the stops to make sure everyone left with unforgettable memories.
Fans took pictures and got autographs from franchise legends like David Wright and Mike Piazza. Cohen gave VIP ticket holders a tour of his owner’s suite behind home plate. You could also visit the team’s museum, take some swings in the same batting cage used by the players, and even throw a few pitches from the bullpen in the tunnel.
That’s who Steve Cohen is as an owner. After buying his childhood team for a record $2.4 billion in 2020, the billionaire hedge fund manager has made it clear that he isn’t trying to make money on the Mets; he just wants to have fun and win championships.
Maybe that sounds too good to be true, but it’s not. Given Major League Baseball doesn’t have a salary cap, the league office had to rewrite its luxury tax rules in 2020 because Cohen was spending so much more on player contracts than everyone else.
Known as “the Cohen Tax,” this new rule added a fourth tier to MLB’s luxury tax system, assigning a 62.5% penalty to any salary exceeding $250 million annually.
Cohen’s complete disregard for profit has rubbed some owners the wrong way, but he doesn’t care. In fact, Cohen’s taking it a step further, attempting to follow through on an $8 billion, privately funded project to transform the land surrounding Citi Field.
Hidden between the food vendors and memorabilia collections at Amazin’ Day, Mets fans saw a glimpse of Cohen’s vision. Named “Metropolitan Park,” fans were shown a diorama of what Cohen believes the Mets fan experience should eventually look like.
While some real estate ideas are so complex that owners can’t explain them without a presentation, Cohen’s plan is simple. He wants to convert 50 acres of asphalt parking lots surrounding Citi Field into a mixed-use development with public parks, hotels, live music venues, bars and restaurants, and, yes, even a casino and sportsbook.
Cohen is not asking taxpayers for any money, and nearly all the land earmarked for use is already vacant, meaning no residents or businesses will be displaced.