Major League Soccer (MLS) team New York City FC has said that it will play the final home game of the regular season at Citi Field, rather than Yankee Stadium.
The switch in venue comes as a result of Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise the New York Yankees advancing to the American League Championship Series (ALCS) as part of the 2017 MLB Playoffs.
New York City’s final home game of the regular season is against Columbus Crew on October 22 and the ALCS is due to begin today (Friday), with the potential to run until October 21.
The MLS franchise currently shares Yankee Stadium with the MLB team and due to additional preparations during the end-of-season Playoffs, there would not be enough time to convert the venue should the Yankees progress beyond the ALCS to the World Series.
Incidentally, Citi Field is also home to a MLB team in the form of the New York Mets. The venue is regarded as a multi-purpose facility and has been used to stage football matches in previous years.
Fans that have tickets to the match against Columbus Crew will shortly receive an email with ticketing options.
New York City president Jon Patricof said: “While we are happy for our partners, the New York Yankees, we understand that relocating a home game is a significant challenge for fans. We feel Citi Field will give our team the best chance of success on the field and provide a good environment for our incredible fans.”
Claudio Reyna, dporting director at New York City, added: “Citi Field is an excellent ballpark which has hosted international soccer matches in the past. From a sporting perspective, this represents an easy transition which would allow our team to get the result we will be looking for.”
Image: Groupe Canam
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