The athletic complex was built in 1984 and was renovated in 1997; it hosted track and field and soccer events during the 1998 Goodwill Games.

[4][5] In 2002, the Complex hosted a quarter-final match of the 2002 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup between the Columbus Crew and the MetroStars.

The soccer club Long Island Rough Riders also used the Mitchel Athletic Complex Stadium for home games.

The team played their games at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, on another part of Mitchel Field.

In 2013, the New York Cosmos opened a new practice facility for the team with remodeled soccer fields within the large site,[8] and in 2019 the club announced that they would play their regular-season games at the complex.