USL Cosmos make Hinchliffe Stadium home

Image: Rendering courtesy of André Sayegh

The fabled New York Cosmos are making a comeback to US soccer and will play their matches at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, New Jersey.

The BBC said the Cosmos have been relaunched, but references to New York will be dropped from their name.

From 2026 Cosmos‘ men’s team will play in USL League One, the third tier of the United Soccer League, which operates independently of Major League Soccer.

The club plan to enter a women’s team into the USL Super League in 2027.

Cosmos will play their matches at the 7,800-seat Hinchliffe Stadium, which has predominantly been used as a baseball ground in the past.

Recently renovated, the stadium anchors the $110 million Hinchliffe Stadium Neighborhood Restoration Project (HSNRP) which was spearheaded by the Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh and includes housing, a museum and a new parking deck.

It is a much smaller venue than the club’s heyday of the 1970s and 1980s when they drew sizeable crowds to the Giants Stadium.

North Jersey Pro Soccer, headed up by real estate developer Baye Adofo-Wilson, has acquired the intellectual property rights and a majority holding in the Cosmos from Fiorentina owner Rocco Commisso.

Italian-born American businessman Commisso has retained a small stake in the Cosmos having effectively mothballed them in 2021 after he bought the Serie A club.

Former Manchester United and Italy striker Giuseppe Rossi has been installed as the Cosmos’ vice-chairman and head of soccer.

Rather than pulling in stars from the global game, the latest incarnation of the Cosmos plan to invest in the talent on their doorstep.

Rossi said at a launch event at Paterson City Hall, “The real magic will be the players we develop right here in North Jersey,”

“We’re going to show what it means to be a Cosmo. The values, the style, the community – that’s what draws people in.”

Cosmos CEO Erik Stover told the Guardian, “This is the perfect community for it. It’s so diverse, with people from all over the world and diverse interests, so it makes perfect sense here.

“Proper clubs have multiple sports. People from the community are volunteering, helping with the cricket club, the track club, the tennis club, whatever it is.

“For us, professional soccer will be at the top of the pyramid. But what really matters is that grassroots foundation.

“It’s not an accident the Cosmos are entering USL now. Fifteen years ago, the soccer landscape in this country was very different. Now, USL is working on promotion and relegation – and where that ends up, who knows?

“But what matters is that a club like ours has a path to grow, to compete, to win championships – like we did three times in five years in NASL.

“I’ve been around the world and spoken to so many sports executives, and I think one big reason soccer in the US isn’t where it could be is that we’ve locked so many communities out of the game. We need to make it more inclusive.”

The first iteration of the Cosmos won the North American Soccer League (NASL) five times between 1975 and 1984 before the competition ceased because of financial issues.

Cosmos folded in 1985 before being revived in 2010, playing in a new NASL between 2011 and 2017 and winning the title on three occasions.

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