Work On New FC Barcelona Soccer Academy Halted: Report

KINGS PARK, NY - Work on the new proposed 21,000-square-foot soccer academy in Kings Park has been halted, according to a report in Newsday.

Last month, the professional soccer club FC Barcelona announced they were constructing the first New York facility in Kings Park as part of an expansion to the United States.

However, last week Smithtown officials claimed that developers left a "steep, unstable" slope of sand from the Old Northport Road property which could possibly cut through the 50-foot buffer separating the property from the Marvin Drive homes, Newsday reports.

Neighbors complains that despite the buffer, they are still exposed to "dust, noise, and unappealing view of acres of dirt," according to Newsday.

Read the full report here.

The proposed facility will include 10 artificial and natural grass playing fields. The club will also be sending coaches from Barcelona to work at the facility.

Training camps are expected to begin in Dec. 2017; the whole facility is expected to open in 2019.