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Sports Illustrated Stadium
Sports Illustrated Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, that is home to the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer and Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League. It opened under its former name, Red Bull Arena, in 2010. Featuring a transparent partial roof, it is located on the waterfront in the Riverbend District of Harrison across the Passaic River from Newark and approximately 7 miles (12 km) west of Lower Manhattan, New York City. With a seating capacity of 25,000, it is the sixth-largest soccer-specific stadium in the United States and in Major League Soccer.
On December 11, 2024, the venue's name was changed to Sports Illustrated Stadium as part of a new, 13-year agreement between the Red Bulls and Sports Illustrated Tickets.
The original plan to build a soccer specific stadium in the New York Metropolitan area was announced during the 2000 MLS season at ESPN Zone in Times Square by the President & GM of the MetroStars Nick Sakiewicz and owner Stuart Subotnick. Nick Sakiewicz led the complex, nearly 5-year effort in search of a site to build. On July 1, 2004, Sakiewicz, New Jersey Governor Richard Codey, Harrison Mayor Ray McDonough and Harrison Redevelopment Chair Peter Higgins along with MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced the MetroStars (as the New York Red Bulls were known at the time) would move from their home at Giants Stadium to a site in Harrison, New Jersey.
Harrison was chosen for its mass transit and interstate connections, proximity to New York City and its long history and reputation as a soccer cultural hotbed centered around the famed Harrison Soccer Courts. The West Hudson County area has been home to historic teams such as Clark O.N.T., West Hudson A.A. and the Kearny Scots dating back to the late 19th and early 20th century. On November 28, 1885, the neighboring town of Kearny hosted the first international soccer match held outside of the United Kingdom between the United States and Canada at Clark Field in the neighborhood that is now East Newark. Harrison Park was located a few blocks northwest of the stadium site and was the home field of West Hudson A.A. It also hosted the U.S. Open Cup final in 1918 and 1923.
Negotiations between MLS and the state of New Jersey dragged on until an agreement was announced on August 5, 2005, for the MetroStars to build and complete construction of a new dedicated soccer facility for the 2007 season. Concerns about environmental clean-up at the selected site forced another delay. Groundbreaking took place September 19, 2006, and construction was set for November 2007, that was delayed by one month when Red Bull GmbH bought the MetroStars from Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), changing the club's name in the process. After projections of opening during the 2008, and then the 2009 season, on January 23, 2009, it was announced that the arena opening would be delayed until 2010.
Nick Sakiewicz moved on to create MLS' 16th franchise in Philadelphia and build a soccer specific stadium in that market which launched in 2010. According to Erik Stover, Red Bulls managing director at the time, Harrison Redevelopment Agency chairman Peter B. Higgins was "quite simply the reason that the New York Red Bulls have a new home in Harrison. His vision and leadership guided us through numerous difficulties." The Higgins' contribution is memorialized by the naming of the street at the main gates along the west side of the stadium as Pete Higgins Boulevard.
In addition to purchasing the team, Red Bull bought out AEG's $100 million share of the stadium, an after-effect of lasting disagreements between the two corporations regarding their plans for the facility. Their differences prompted a significant delay in the early stages of the stadium's construction. After the naming rights of the soccer team were acquired, leading to the name Red Bull Park, Red Bull instituted a number of changes to the stadium's original design, which sparked tension between the Austrian-based energy drink company and AEG. Red Bull opted out of AEG's plan to construct a stage in the stadium for performances, one that would have increased profit margins for the group.
The updated design was completed by Rossetti architects from Detroit and was built by New Jersey–based Hunter Roberts Construction Group, LLC. The stadium's unique roofing system was engineered, fabricated, and installed by the projects specialty roofing contractor Birdair of Amherst, New York, a suburb of Buffalo.
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Sports Illustrated Stadium
Sports Illustrated Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, that is home to the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer and Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League. It opened under its former name, Red Bull Arena, in 2010. Featuring a transparent partial roof, it is located on the waterfront in the Riverbend District of Harrison across the Passaic River from Newark and approximately 7 miles (12 km) west of Lower Manhattan, New York City. With a seating capacity of 25,000, it is the sixth-largest soccer-specific stadium in the United States and in Major League Soccer.
On December 11, 2024, the venue's name was changed to Sports Illustrated Stadium as part of a new, 13-year agreement between the Red Bulls and Sports Illustrated Tickets.
The original plan to build a soccer specific stadium in the New York Metropolitan area was announced during the 2000 MLS season at ESPN Zone in Times Square by the President & GM of the MetroStars Nick Sakiewicz and owner Stuart Subotnick. Nick Sakiewicz led the complex, nearly 5-year effort in search of a site to build. On July 1, 2004, Sakiewicz, New Jersey Governor Richard Codey, Harrison Mayor Ray McDonough and Harrison Redevelopment Chair Peter Higgins along with MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced the MetroStars (as the New York Red Bulls were known at the time) would move from their home at Giants Stadium to a site in Harrison, New Jersey.
Harrison was chosen for its mass transit and interstate connections, proximity to New York City and its long history and reputation as a soccer cultural hotbed centered around the famed Harrison Soccer Courts. The West Hudson County area has been home to historic teams such as Clark O.N.T., West Hudson A.A. and the Kearny Scots dating back to the late 19th and early 20th century. On November 28, 1885, the neighboring town of Kearny hosted the first international soccer match held outside of the United Kingdom between the United States and Canada at Clark Field in the neighborhood that is now East Newark. Harrison Park was located a few blocks northwest of the stadium site and was the home field of West Hudson A.A. It also hosted the U.S. Open Cup final in 1918 and 1923.
Negotiations between MLS and the state of New Jersey dragged on until an agreement was announced on August 5, 2005, for the MetroStars to build and complete construction of a new dedicated soccer facility for the 2007 season. Concerns about environmental clean-up at the selected site forced another delay. Groundbreaking took place September 19, 2006, and construction was set for November 2007, that was delayed by one month when Red Bull GmbH bought the MetroStars from Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), changing the club's name in the process. After projections of opening during the 2008, and then the 2009 season, on January 23, 2009, it was announced that the arena opening would be delayed until 2010.
Nick Sakiewicz moved on to create MLS' 16th franchise in Philadelphia and build a soccer specific stadium in that market which launched in 2010. According to Erik Stover, Red Bulls managing director at the time, Harrison Redevelopment Agency chairman Peter B. Higgins was "quite simply the reason that the New York Red Bulls have a new home in Harrison. His vision and leadership guided us through numerous difficulties." The Higgins' contribution is memorialized by the naming of the street at the main gates along the west side of the stadium as Pete Higgins Boulevard.
In addition to purchasing the team, Red Bull bought out AEG's $100 million share of the stadium, an after-effect of lasting disagreements between the two corporations regarding their plans for the facility. Their differences prompted a significant delay in the early stages of the stadium's construction. After the naming rights of the soccer team were acquired, leading to the name Red Bull Park, Red Bull instituted a number of changes to the stadium's original design, which sparked tension between the Austrian-based energy drink company and AEG. Red Bull opted out of AEG's plan to construct a stage in the stadium for performances, one that would have increased profit margins for the group.
The updated design was completed by Rossetti architects from Detroit and was built by New Jersey–based Hunter Roberts Construction Group, LLC. The stadium's unique roofing system was engineered, fabricated, and installed by the projects specialty roofing contractor Birdair of Amherst, New York, a suburb of Buffalo.
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