New York City FC has confirmed that Etihad Park will officially open on July 17, 2027, marking the start of the club’s 2027-28 Major League Soccer season.
The announcement was made by team CEO Brad Sims at a Major League Soccer event held in conjunction with this weekend’s World Cup final.
The stadium opening comes as MLS shifts to a seasonal calendar aligned with most European leagues, a significant structural change for the competition.
Sims reflected on the enormous effort behind the project, saying: “This is 12, 13 years in the making. A lot of people put in so much hard work, time and effort vetting out dozens and dozens of sites around the five boroughs: starts, stops, good news, bad news.”
Gotham FC of the National Women’s Soccer League announced this month that it will also use Etihad Park as its home ground beginning in 2028.
NYCFC broke ground on the 25,000-seat venue in December 2024, with the stadium built adjacent to the New York Mets’ Citi Field in Queens.
The club had originally promised the stadium would be ready for the 2027 season, but a delay was announced last February, pushing the full opening back to the 2027-28 campaign.
During the league’s truncated 2027 transition season, NYCFC will continue playing most home matches at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field as the new venue completes its final stages.
Since entering MLS in 2015, the club has played home games across multiple venues, including Yankee Stadium, Citi Field, Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, and Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut.
Sims spoke candidly about the strain that years of venue instability has placed on the club, its players, and supporters.
“We have one of the best records in Major League Soccer, one of the highest point totals throughout our history bouncing from venue to venue, venue changes, guys not sure where they should live because they don’t know how many games they’re going to play in different places. It takes a toll,” Sims said.
He added: “A home for our supporters. A home of our staff. But the way I sort of look at it, it’s a home for the world’s game in the world’s city.”
NYCFC, who won the 2021 MLS title, will also see their new stadium serve as a venue for soccer matches during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The club’s controlling owner is City Football Group, the parent company of English Premier League giants Manchester City, whose own ground was renamed Etihad Stadium back in July 2011.
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