Amid MLB Betting Scandal, Mets Owner Nears Approval To Build a Casino at Citi Field

Baseball, like many sports, is enduring a sports betting scandal after last month’s arrests of Cleveland pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz for allegedly taking brides to help gamblers. Yet no one seems concerned that the New York Mets owner, Steve Cohen, is on the verge of opening an $8 billion casino next to Citi Field in Flushing. The 67-year-old hedge-fund billionaire has received preliminary approval from the New York State Gaming Commission to proceed with the Hard Rock Metropolitan Park project that includes a sprawling casino, a Hard Rock Hotel, a 5,650-seat music venue and a Taste of Queens food hall to be built on 50 acres of the current Citi Field parking lot.“After years of engagement and support, Metropolitan Park is one step closer to becoming a reality,” a spokesman for the project, Karl Rickett, said in a statement.Mr. Cohen, who is worth a reported $17 billion, is partnering with Hard Rock International on the project, which has been four years in the making and would be completed by 2030. Final approval is still needed from the state’s Gaming Commission; that is an exclamation point that appears nearly certain.If the deal goes through, Mr. Cohen, who purchased the Mets in 2020, would become the first MLB owner to build a full-scale casino next to his team’s ballpark, something that once would have been unthinkable.“Five years ago, this would never have been permitted,” an associate professor of finance at Boston College, Richard McGowan, said per Bloomberg.Once scarred by the infamous 1919 Black Sox scandal and Pete Rose’s lifetime ban for betting on baseball, MLB — like most other sports — has embraced legalized sports gambling through its ties with multiple sports betting apps. MLB receives millions for allowing sports betting to be marketed during broadcasts and in stadium promotions.Players remain prohibited from betting on baseball, sharing inside information with gamblers, or influencing the outcome through any means other than fair play. Yet, the integrity of the sport is being challenged. Messrs. Clase and Ortiz will be tried in May on charges they conspired with bettors in their native Dominican Republic to rig prop bets on what pitches they would throw.The NBA is embroiled in a separate scandal involving rigged prop bets and the sharing of inside information to help gamblers.But the prospect of Mr. Cohen becoming baseball’s first proprietor of a gambling house doesn’t seem to be a concern. Project plans call for Hard Rock to operate the sports book. Mr. Cohen would not receive any revenue from baseball betting. Still, a casino steps away from players, umpires, coaches, and gamblers seems like a recipe for potential trouble.The prospect of more than 20,000 temporary and permanent jobs, hundreds of millions in state taxes and the promise to build 450 new units of affordable housing in Corona helped override any concerns about players betting on baseball.Mr. Cohen’s goodwill in recent years has also helped. In 2021, he gave $20 million during the pandemic to New York City’s government to support small businesses, and offered Citi Field as a Covid-19 vaccination site. From 2021-2024, the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation donated millions to Queens-based charities and non-profits.In addition, the Hard Rock Metropolitan Park project reports it held more than 1,000 meetings throughout the New York City boroughs to share plans and receive feedback.“It didn’t matter if you were an elected official or a clergy person or whether you had no connection to the political system, they literally went to every corner of this earth to make sure that they spoke to everybody,” the Queens borough president, Donovan Richards, said.Hark Rock Metropolitan Park is set to open in 2030. If it succeeds, MLB and sports owners at large may look to add gaming to their various business enterprises.Using sports franchises to enhance entertainment districts and waterfront developments is already a trend. In San Francisco, owners of the Golden State Warriors built the Chase Center as the centerpiece for a tech-driven development that includes restaurants, offices, green space, and corporate tenants.How will the Mets benefit? Hard Rock Metropolitan Park will be a 24-hour cash cow that will only deepen the pockets of the Mets owner, who has spent freely to bring a World Series winner to Flushing. Since acquiring the Mets, Mr. Cohen has spent $1.36 billion in payroll and luxury taxes, ranking either first or second in annual spending.The Mets reached the National League Championship Series in 2024 with a league-leading payroll of $314 million but didn’t make the playoffs in 2025 with a payroll of $342 million that ranked second to the eventual world champion Los Angeles Dodgers at $360 million.Hard Rock Metropolitan Park promises jobs, revenue, and revitalized community, but it also ushers gamblers deeper into baseball’s orbit at a time when the sport is struggling to police its own integrity.

Amid MLB Betting Scandal, Mets Owner Nears Approval To Build a Casino at Citi Field

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