NYCFC reveals date for first home game at Etihad Park in Queens

New York City FC fans can officially save the date.The club will play its first match at Etihad Park, NYCFC’s soccer-specific stadium being built next door to Citi Field in Queens, on July 17, 2027.Club CEO Brad Sims announced the news Thursday during a media event at MLS headquarters in midtown Manhattan. The date gives a final countdown to when the club finally ends the nomadic existence that it’s endured since NYCFC’s first season in 2015. “First of all, it’s a long time coming, right” Sims said.

“I got goosebumps…announcing the first game because this is 12, 13 years in the making, and a lot of people put in so much hard work, time, effort, vetting out dozens and dozens of sites around the five boroughs.Starts, stops, good news, bad news, and just the support of the league, [commissioner] Don [Garber] over the years, of the city and different stakeholders that we’ve had that have helped make this a reality.” Earlier this summer, the club confirmed that it would wait until the start of the new MLS calendar to move into the new building.

The league will move to a summer-to-spring schedule, mimicking the European soccer calendar. The July date is also the first insight into when the 2027-28 MLS campaign will begin in its new form.The league will play a condensed sprint season from February to May 2027 before the change. New York City FC will play the sprint season split between Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, which have served as homes for the club over the past decade-plus. “We’ve been a team that’s been homeless,” NYCFC defender Kevin O’Toole said during the event.

“I think from us as players to the club to [the] supporter group, everyone’s super excited that I talk to.Right across the street from Citi Field, one of our previous home games, our official home, and a place where they can make it their own.”Sims noted that the team is fulfilling a promise made early on in its inception, maintaining a city identity.“We�...