New York City FC won the 2021 MLS Cup, which is a huge accomplishment. Apparently, that still can’t get the organization its own field/stadium to play at. As NYCFC prepares to be the first team in a decade to win back-to-back titles, their first-round matchup against Inter Miami CF has been moved around quite a bit.
That happened again on Tuesday. NYCFC primarily plays its home games at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. But when the MLS playoff schedule was getting settled, both Yankee Stadium and Citi Field were unavailable since each team qualified for the postseason.
So, that meant NYCFC would be forced to play this first-round match at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NY. The Yankees are still playing baseball, but the Mets‘ season is over earlier than expected, giving NYCFC an opportunity to host this playoff match in New York City:
CONFIRMED:#NYCFC vs #IntwrMiamiCF has been moved to #CitiField.
Monday 7pm.CONFIRMADO:
El partido #NYCvMIA ha sido mudado a @CitiField.
Mismo horario: Lunes, 7pm. #VamosNYC— Roberto Abramowitz (@RobAbramowitz) October 11, 2022
This is like a really confusing and frustrating game of musical chairs, don’t you think? It’s exciting to qualify for the playoffs, especially when you have a chance to defend a title you just won the year prior. But, jeez, this stadium situation for the reigning MLS champs is quite pathetic.
And according to Hudson River Blue, NYCFC is the only MLS club that still doesn’t have a regulation field. When will they get a stadium of their own? It looks like that will become a reality in just a couple of years.
The current plan is to have a privately-funded stadium built near Citi Field in Queens, which could be ready by 2025. That would be great because no professional sports team should have to deal with this kind of situation to just find a place to play. Especially when we’re talking about a playoff game.
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.