Maimonides Park

Maimonides Park is a special baseball stadium located on the Riegelmann Boardwalk in the Coney Island part of Brooklyn, New York City. It is most famous for being the home of the Brooklyn Cyclones, a team that is connected to the New York Mets and plays in the South Atlantic League. While it was built for baseball, the stadium has also been used for other sports. For example, the NYU Violets baseball team played there from 2015 to 2021, and since 2024, the women's team of Brooklyn FC has played soccer there, with the men's team joining them in 2026.

The stadium can seat up to 7,000 people, but they also sell about 2,500 extra standing-room tickets. Before 2016, it could hold even more people. The design of the stadium feels like an amusement park, with colorful lights hanging above and special areas to buy food. From the stands, you can see the Atlantic Ocean, and famous Coney Island attractions like the Parachute Jump, the Wonder Wheel, and the Coney Island Cyclone are right nearby.

Site

Maimonides Park is built where an old amusement park called Steeplechase Park used to be. That amusement park closed in 1964 because the area of Coney Island was going through tough times. Today, you can get to Maimonides Park using the New York City Subway at the Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue station. The station is served by several trains, including the D, F, N, and Q lines.

History

The stadium opened in 2001 as KeySpan Park with space for 6,500 fans. It brought professional baseball back to Brooklyn for the first time since the Brooklyn Dodgers left in 1957. The Brooklyn Cyclones, a team connected to the New York Mets, became the main team to play there.

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy damaged the stadium badly, and the grass field was replaced with artificial turf before the next season. The stadium has had different names over the years because of deals with sponsors. It was first called KeySpan Park, then MCU Park, and now it is called Maimonides Park.

Policies

Maimonides Park has a rule that fans cannot bring outside food into the stadium. This rule is used in all minor league stadiums, but it does not apply at Citi Field and Yankee Stadium because they are major league stadiums.

Baseball

In 2005 and 2014, MCU Park hosted the New York–Penn League All-Star Game.

In early 2015, the New York University Violets began playing at Maimonides Park, which caused the St. Joseph's College Bears to move elsewhere. Baruch College and some high school teams also play there.

After the 2015 season, some bleachers were removed to create a picnic area.

Maimonides Park was used for a qualifying round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic in September 2016.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the park served as a training site for the New York Mets.

The Brooklyn Cyclones continued as a New York Mets team in the new High-A East league after Minor League Baseball was restructured in 2020–21.

Other uses

Soccer

The New York Cosmos played their home games at Maimonides Park during the 2017 NASL season. They also used the park for matches in 2015. Later, Brooklyn FC planned to start playing there in 2025, but this moved to the 2026 USL Championship season. Their women's team began playing at the park in 2024.

Football

The Brooklyn Bolts used Maimonides Park for their home games in 2014 and 2015. The football field was set up in the outfield area.

Rugby

Rugby United New York played their first two seasons at Maimonides Park before moving to Cochrane Stadium in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Concerts

Many famous musicians have performed at Maimonides Park. In 2003, Björk gave two shows there. In 2004, the band Phish started their final tour with two nights at the park, featuring a guest appearance by rapper Jay-Z. Other performers include The White Stripes, Def Leppard, Bryan Adams, Daft Punk, and Wilco.

Wrestling

Maimonides Park has also hosted wrestling events. In 2010, it held a large Total Nonstop Action Wrestling show. Ring of Honor Wrestling has also held events there several times.

Other

The park hosted the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Contest in 2021 because of health rules during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, it held the first One Bite Pizza Festival, where over 35 pizza places shared their best pizzas.