7 minute read
Queensboro FC Reps Meet With Chamber Members
QUEENS CHAMBER NEWS & EVENTS CHAMBER HOSTS QUEENSBORO FC
BY SARA KREVOY
18
In March 2021, the world’s borough will host the inaugural season of its first-ever professional soccer team, Queensboro FC.
“This is a very exciting opportunity for all of us here in Queens, whether you’re a small businessperson or large, whether you’re a corporation or not,” said Tom Grech, president and CEO of the Queens Chamber of Commerce, at a briefing on the venture last week.
As Queensboro FC gears up for its United Soccer League (USL) Championship debut, the Queens Chamber will assemble a business advisory committee in order to ensure input from local enterprises and community stakeholders.
“We want this team to be in everyone’s heart,” said QBFC partowner Jonathan Krane. “We look at this day as a kick off to building a larger relationship with everyone here.”
Also an integral part of QBFC’s ownership team is world-renowned Spanish footballer David Villa, who spent four seasons of his 20-year career in the sport playing for New York City FC.
Though NYCFC plays at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, Villa is no stranger to Queens and its potential in the world of professional soccer.
For years, Villa has been running branches of his DV7 Soccer Academy, bringing the finer points of the sport to youth all over the borough.
As QBFC develops as a franchise, Villa and his team will work to bring some of the world’s most talented athletes to the table, in addition to creating a youth academy program to grow and feed local talent into the league.
“Queens gives us everything,” Villa noted, “to help support kids who have a fierce dream, much like the one I had when I was a kid.”
According to QBFC chief business officer Adam Behnke, an independent survey by team management found that one in three of the 2.3 million residents in Queens is a soccer fan.
The cross-cultural support for soccer and strong sense of hometown loyalty make Queens a desirable location for one of two expansion teams joining the USL Championship’s nationwide roster of 35.
These qualities also make a Queens professional soccer team ideal for local business partnerships in the form of sponsorships, field sign advertising and media campaigns that can help brands grow simultaneously with the club.
From next March to October, QBFC will play in the league’s Queens Chamber staff with soccer star and Queensboro FC co-owner David Villa. Eastern Conference. Thanks to a recent partnership with ESPN, all USL games are available for streaming on ESPN+.
In terms of a pitch, QBFC is still in the process of securing a site large enough to hold an 8,000-seat stadium. The team hopes to incorporate art, fashion, food and music into the atmosphere of its venue.
Details about the new stadium will emerge as they are solidified, but Krane pointed to York College as an option the franchise has been exploring for a temporary locale while QBFC gains enough fan presence to expand to a larger space.
“I think this is a wonderful moment for Queens,” said Councilman Francisco Moya at the chamber’s presentation. “For me, having grown up not far from here and learning to play soccer in Flushing Meadows Corona Park on any patch of grass we could find, to have someone like David, who’s a living legend, come to our borough and really open the doors, it’s an incredible feeling.
“I picture some kid playing out in Flushing Meadows Corona Park one day actually wearing the jersey for Queensboro FC,” he added. FOR US, IT’S SO IMPORTANT TO BE SYNONYMOUS WITH ‘COMMUNITY’ AND GET TO KNOW ALL OF YOU FOLKS HERE, HEARING YOUR FEEDBACK AND WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE THIS TEAM SUCCESSFUL. “ ”
QUEENS CHAMBER NEWS & EVENTS
ATTENDEES AT LAST WEEK’S EVENT POSE FOR A PHOTO WITH QUEENSBORO FC REPS.
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FEBRUARY IS FOR LOVERS...OF QUEENS EVENTS
February celebrates AfricanAmerican history, romance, Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, and eating ice cream for breakfast (it’s true, look it up).
In Queens this year, it’s also a time to enjoy Shakespeare, Brazilian cinema, fashion, Spanish-language divas and, of course, red meat. Lots of red meat. Please read this column for more info on fun in the world’s most diverse county in February.
Jan. 31-Feb. 9, The African Company Presents: Richard III. Forty years before the Civil War, the African Grove Theatre Troupe is ready to stage a production of Richard III in NYC. Then a major (and white) company scores a big star for its own version. The reaction involves tremendous emotion and poetry. Titan Theatre Company presents seven shows. Queens Theatre, 14
United Nations Ave. S., Flushing Meadows Corona Park, titantheatrecompany.com.
Jan. 31-Feb. 14, The Divas Are Back. A comedy with music and dance celebrating Latina divas, including the coquette, flamenco artist, and glamour queen. Shows are on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 4 pm. Thalía Spanish Theatre, 41-17 Greenpoint Ave., Sunnyside, thaliatheatre.org.
Feb. 1-Feb. 29, Contract and Release. Brendan Fernandes, who works at the intersection of physical and visual art, presents dance inspired by the rocking chairs that Isamu Noguchi produced for Martha Graham’s “ A p p a l a c h i a n Spring (1944).” Dancers have to sit on them and remain balanced while working through a version of Graham’s famous “contract and release” exercise. Shows on
YAMOTO
five Saturdays at 1:30 pm and 3 pm. The Noguchi Museum, 9-01 33rd Rd., LIC, noguchi.org.
Feb. 7-Feb. 23, Jump. The Astoria Performing Arts Center presents 12 performances of this play about two sisters and a father who grapple with loss while an unexpected friendship blooms. It shines a light on how humans process traumatic experiences to find peace. 28-21 Steinway St., Astoria, apacny.org.
Feb. 8-December, Jay Jaxon: 40 Years of Fashion Design Brilliance. This exhibition celebrates Queens native Jay Jaxon, a fashion designer, Haute Couture designer, and costume designer. Check out artifacts and objects from his personal archives as well as primary sources from the research of fashion scholar and guest curator Rachel Fenderson. Kingsland Homestead, 143-35 37th Ave., Flushing, .queenshistoricalsociety.com.
Feb. 8-Feb. 9, Visions of Resistance: Recent Films by Brazilian Women Directors. Watch 10 recent movies, including features and shorts as well as documentaries and hybrids. Many focus on the lives of black Brazilians. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District, movingimage.us.
Feb. 9, The Mark of Zorro, 5 pm. The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra plays the original 1920 score of “The Mark of Zorro,” a silent masterpiece with swordplay, romance, and a bit of comedy. The Community House, 15 Borage Pl., Forest Hills, musicareginae.org.
Feb. 15-Feb. 16, Yamoto. Dozens of musicians enter the stage with drums of various sizes and sounds all surrounding a 500-kilogram Odaiko drum. They start striking a Japanese taiko drum made from a 400-year-old tree with movements that use their bodies and souls to form a powerful surge of energy. Queens Theatre, 14 United Nations Ave. S., Flushing Meadows Corona Park, queenstheatre.org.
Feb. 18-Feb. 23, Mid-Winter Break Family Programs. Children’s workshops on five consecutive days at 1:30 pm. Each day has a theme: George Washington Carver; Fantastic Flowers; Heart Worms; Bugging Out; and Watercolor. Queens Botanical Garden, 43-50 Main St., Flushing, queensbotanical. org.
Feb. 22, Charcuterie Masters 2020, 6 pm. An unlimited tasting of more than 60 varieties of charcuterie from eight categories: Fermented sausage/Dry sausage; Country Ham/Prosciutto; Bacon, cold smoked, hot smoked, unsmoked; Hard Emulsified; Fat; Pate; Whole Muscle; and Freestyle. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd., nyepicureanevents.com.
The monthly “It’s In Queens” column is produced by the Queens Tourism Council. More info at itsinqueens.com.
