New York City FC Names Paze℠ as Founding Partner of Etihad Park Ahead of 2027 Stadium Opening.

Roger Hampel

Image: New York City FC

New York City FC has announced a multi-year partnership with Early Warning Services, naming Paze℠ as the first Founding Partner of Etihad Park and the club’s Official Online Checkout and Official Digital Wallet.

The agreement positions Paze at the centre of NYCFC’s long-term stadium strategy, with activations beginning in 2026, one year ahead of Etihad Park’s scheduled opening in 2027.

Founding Partnership Anchored in Stadium Infrastructure

As part of the agreement, Paze will receive extensive visibility across club channels and within Etihad Park itself, including naming rights to Paze℠ City Square, a multifunctional public space integrated into the stadium footprint.

Paze City Square: Stadium as Community Hub New York City FC Paze℠

Paze City Square is designed as a flexible space operating on both matchdays and non-matchdays. A central feature will be the Five Boroughs Food Hall, showcasing local vendors and suppliers representing New York City’s five boroughs.

On non-matchdays, the square will be open to the public via surrounding walkways, reinforcing NYCFC’s strategy to position Etihad Park as a neighbourhood anchor rather than a closed, event-only stadium.

This approach reflects a broader shift in stadium development toward urban placemaking, where clubs and partners co-invest in spaces that generate year-round foot traffic, community engagement and ancillary revenue.

Image: New York City FC

Fintech Integration into the Matchday Experience

Paze, developed by Early Warning Services, is a digital checkout solution designed to simplify online payments through tokenisation, reducing the need to share card details with merchants. The product is supported by major U.S. banks and credit unions and is primarily positioned for e-commerce use.

Within the context of Etihad Park, Paze’s role extends beyond branding into transactional infrastructure, supporting ticketing, retail and food & beverage flows. For NYCFC, integrating a digital wallet partner at the foundational stage aligns with the club’s aim to create a friction-reduced, tech-enabled matchday experience.

Etihad Park as a Long-Term Commercial Platform

Etihad Park is being developed as the first fully electric outdoor sports stadium in the United States, with a capacity of 25,000 seats. The privately funded project is part of a wider 23-acre redevelopment at Willets Point in Queens, which includes affordable housing, a public school, a hotel and more than 150,000 square feet of public open space.