New York Cosmos' Belmont proposal could all be for nothing, as ESD could re-open bidding

The New York Cosmos have been waiting for entirely too long while the Empire State Development Corp. considered three separate proposals for a piece of land in Elmont, one of which was from the NASL leaders, to build a permanent home for the boys in green. On Tuesday evening, residents of the community gathered, in anticipation of presentations from all three groups hoping to develop the land, but instead, were told that the whole process may begin anew.

New York Congressman Gregory Meeks was the one to break the bad news to the crowd gathered to hear the presentations, stating the following (via Empire of Soccer):

"Some uncertainty has arisen in the fact that in my conversation with [Empire State Development Corp.], we do still have an existing bid, but … there is something else that may happen. They could decide on another date to reissue the RFP."

"They have not done that. It is an existing bid that is existing now, but in fairness to all three of the good companies that would like to do something at Belmont, we thought this would put them in a bad position that if should there be a new RFP, we don’t know if there will be or not, but should there be a new RFP that opens up to other bidders, I don’t want to put them in a bad spot where they are prejudiced."

"There is nothing definitive that has been decided. As of now, there is an active RFP where the submission has bids, but there is a consideration, and we don’t know what’s going to take place later, that it may be opened."

Frankly, I just don't know what to say at this point. The Cosmos first bid on the land in January 2013, just under three years ago. While stadiums aren't usually the most attractive options available, the fact that the proposal asked for no tax dollars whatsoever gave many fans hope that they'd have an answer quickly.

Instead, the club and its fans have been given the silent treatment for nearly three full years, and it looks as if it's going to be more of the same for the foreseeable future. Personally, I think that it's time for the club to start taking a serious look at other options, and prepare to move on from Elmont altogether.

Who knows, though, maybe the ESD will do a u-turn, and make a decision about the proposals soon, as opposed to starting the whole process over.