HARRISON -- When Nelson Vicente was looking for a place to open his new cafe, he visited Harrison and immediately liked what he saw.
So he snagged a prime spot along a busy street near the center of town and just a short walk from the PATH station. But there was something else that caught his eye, a new attraction he’s sure will rejuvenate this tiny blue-collar town along the Passaic River -- the $200 million, 25,000-seat soccer stadium set to host its first game today.
"It’s going to bring a lot of attention here," said Vicente, who plans to open his cafe this summer. "When the games are over, or before they start, I’m hoping the fans will stop by."
He isn’t the only one.
Officials in Harrison are hoping Red Bull Arena, the new home for the Major League Soccer’s Red Bulls, will serve as the crown jewel and jump-start Harrison’s much-hyped $3.5 billion redevelopment, a project that’s been stalled because of the recession.
Launched 13 years ago, the redevelopment project calls for transforming roughly 250 acres around the stadium — which once house factories used by the likes of RCA and Otis Elevator — into a village of 6,500 housing units, 4 million square feet of commercial space and 1 million square feet of retail space.
| An updated look at the new Red Bull Arena |