NYCFC playing at Red Bull Arena is embarassing for everyone involved

New York City FC needed a stadium for their CONCACAF Champions League match. The solution is embarrassing for NYCFC and the New York Red Bulls.

New York City FC’s home stadium situation has become a problem again.

The Bronx-based club is scheduled to face AD San Carlos in the CONCACAF Champions League at the end of February.

But Yankee Stadium, their primary home stadium, was unavailable. They began looking for alternative venues, but CONCACAF rejected Belson Stadium in Queens, where NYCFC played a U.S. Open Cup match last summer. They also entertained the idea of playing at MCU Park, a minor league stadium in Coney Island that hosts the Brooklyn Cyclones.

In the end, they were forced to accept their worst possible option: playing at Red Bull Arena, the home of their bitter rivals.

“They wanted to avoid playing there because of the rivalry they have with the Red Bulls,” San Carlos sporting director Gustavo Perez said. “But in the end they had no choice.”

The Athletic’s Sam Stejskal confirmed Perez’s comments on Wednesday morning.

The situation is embarrassing for both clubs. For the New York Red Bulls, who failed to qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League this season, having their rivals play in their home stadium is a painful reminder of their letdown. For NYCFC, it’s another example of their unsustainable home stadium arrangement.

NYCFC remain one of the only teams in MLS that does not have a soccer-specific stadium or even plans for one. They joined the league in 2015, and at the time they were exploring building a stadium, but those plans never came to fruition. Now, they’re paying the price: this season, they will split their home games across at least four different arenas. Yankee Stadium will remain the team’s primary home field, but they will play at least four games at Citi Field and will likely play U.S. Open Cup games at Belson Stadium again.

The New York Red Bulls have qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League the last three years, but finished in the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference in 2019 and failed to qualify for the 2020 tournament. The Red Bulls made it as far as the semifinals in 2018, but ultimately lost to Chivas Guadalajara. Now, they’ll be forced to watch their rivals play on their grounds.

After years of poking fun at the Red Bulls for playing across the river in Harrison, N.J., the Cityzen’s own home match at Red Bull Arena will be played on February 26th at 6:00pm ET.