New York is poised to welcome a dramatic new casino-entertainment complex in Queens: Metropolitan Park, the $8 billion project backed by Mets owner Steve Cohen in partnership with Hard Rock, was officially recommended for a downstate casino license by the state’s Gaming Facility Location Board on December 1, 2025.
The proposal transforms the 50-acre parking lot around Citi Field into a sprawling entertainment district. Plans call for a full-scale Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, a 5,650-seat live music venue, sportsbook, restaurants, bars, and a large food hall branded the “Taste of Queens.”
Metropolitan Park would include a 1,000-room hotel (with a significant share of suites), a casino floor, retail, multiple dining venues, and parking infrastructure to replace the existing lots.
According to the developers and local planning documents, the project promises substantial benefits for the borough and the city at large. Those include 23,000 union jobs, encompassing both construction and long-term employment and roughly $1 billion in community and infrastructure investments, including transit upgrades. A key part of the plan is a major overhaul of the nearby 7-train station (Mets-Willets Point), making it ADA accessible and better equipped to handle increased traffic.
In addition to entertainment and hospitality infrastructure, the project allocates about 25 acres for new public green space; a development the proposal frames as a return of lost open land and a community resource that blends parkland with cultural amenities.
Supporters point out that Metropolitan Park will likely drive new economic activity, support union labor, and fund long-term improvements to transit and community infrastructure. Queens Borough leadership emphasized the potential for global-level tourism, job growth, and revitalization, which positions the borough as an emerging center for entertainment and commerce.
But the path to breaking ground is not certain. Though the Gaming Facility Location Board has recommended the license, the proposal must still be ratified by the full New York State Gaming Commission by December 31, 2025 before a formal license is issued.
Opponents of the project, including neighborhood groups around Corona and Willets Point, have voiced concerns about traffic congestion, environmental impact, gambling addiction, and the displacement of green space. The site’s history as parkland required rezoning, a step that stirred controversy and required considerable political maneuvering.
As of now, Metropolitan Park stands as one of the largest and most ambitious casino-entertainment proposals in New York City history. If fully approved, it will reshape parts of Queens, alter the landscape around Citi Field and introduce a major new entertainment and gaming destination to the borough’s longtime residents. For better or worse.