When New York City FC announced the team's schedule at the start of the year, the final two home matches of the year were listed as Venue TBD.
No more: The club just announced that both of those games will be held at Red Bull Arena. Now, New York City will face Cincinnati on Wednesday, October 2 at 7:30 pm ET and Nashville SC on Sunday, October 6 at 4 pm ET. (The Nashville game was originally scheduled for Saturday, October 5 at 7:30 pm ET.)
According to an official statement issued by the club, baseball is to blame.
"Due to the MLB Playoffs schedule, both Yankee Stadium and Citi Field are currently unavailable," the announcement says. "In the event Citi Field or Yankee Stadium become available, the Club will make every effort to play these matches at one of these two venues."
Michael Battista
It's entirely possible that a game could be moved back to New York City. Last year, the Decision Day match against Chicago Fire was moved to Citi Field after the Mets crashed out of the playoffs. The change was announced a little more than three weeks before the game. In 2022, NYCFC's first-round matchup in the MLS Cup Playoffs against Inter Miami was also moved from Red Bull Arena to Citi Field. That change was announced just six days before the game.
These will be the first two "home" games New York City play in Harrison. Last week, they faced Tigres UANL at Red Bull Arena but were officially listed as the away team.
NYCFC fans have a tortured relationship with Red Bull Arena. Home to the arch-rival New York Red Bulls, the stadium is an excellent facility that can be tricky to access from New York City, which is why NYCFC attendance at these games can drop by 50% or more.
