New York City FC and Concacaf today announced that the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League (SCCL) Quarterfinal home leg against Mexican team Club Tigres UANL will be played at Red Bull Arena on Wednesday, March 11 at 8:00 p.m.
NYCFC secured a place in the next round of the tournament with a 6-3 goal aggregate win over Costa Rican team A.D. San Carlos and will now enter the Quarterfinals of the most prestigious tournament in North America, Central America and the Caribbean. NYCFC won 1-0 at Red Bull Arena on Wednesday evening, with Alexander Callens scoring a header off a corner kick in the 41st minute.
The Club had long been operating under the impression that Yankee Stadium would be able to host the Quarterfinal round. During the off-season, the stadium underwent extensive pitch renovations including the excavation of the entire field which resulted in the removal of 100,000 sqft. of sod and 2,000 tons of old soil. An entirely new field was subsequently installed and is being prepped to be playable for the start of the MLS season on March 14. Recent examination of the field resulted in the decision that it was not suitable to host two matches in a four-day span on the brand-new playing surface.
NYCFC has known for some time that Citi Field would not be available for the Quarterfinals due to winterization and construction. Should NYCFC progress to the Semifinals and pending Concacaf approval of the venue, Citi Field is available on April 8 of the leg one date range and on April 28 for the leg one date range of the Finals. Yankee Stadium is not available for any other potential SCCL matches due to the regular MLB season.
NYCFC CEO Brad Sims said: “We are extremely proud to have progressed to the next round and to be amongst a group of the eight best teams in our region marking another milestone in our Club history.”
“We understand and appreciate that many of our fans have been, and continue to be, disappointed that we have been forced to now play our first two matches in the SCCL outside of New York City. I want to again make it clear to our fan base that, until we have our own permanent home in the five boroughs, our intention is to play all of our home matches, in all competitions, at suitable venues within New York City. Unfortunately, due to circumstances outside of our control, we find ourselves again in a situation with no available, Concacaf approved venue inside NYC for the Quarterfinal round.
“I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all of the fans who attended the game on Wednesday evening and supported our team with such passion. Your loyalty is an inspiration for our Club and our First Team players. While again, we recognize the inconvenience, we hope that as many fans as possible can attend the game against Tigres and support the team for such an important knock-out game against a Mexican team that were 2019 SCCL finalists.”
Tigres progressed to the Quarterfinals with a dramatic 5-4 aggregate victory over Alianza FC of El Salvador with a stoppage time winner from their goalkeeper. The Monterrey-based club lost to city rivals CF Monterrey in the 2019 Concacaf Champions League Finals.
Tickets for this match will be $10 for 2020 Founding and/or City Members. Additional tickets purchased for this game by City Members will be $20. Tickets for non-2020 City Members will be $40. The game will be broadcasted on Fox Sports platforms and Univision Deportes Network (TUDN).
Stay tuned to NYCFC.com for more information regarding the SCCL game. As always, our dedicated team is available to answer questions about receiving tickets for this game. Please contact 1-855-77-NYCFC (69232) or email fanservices@nycfc.com
The away leg will take place in Monterrey, Mexico on March 17. For tickets for the away game click here.
