New York City FC Announces Venue & Schedule for NYCFC II, Expands Partnership with St. John’s University

NYCFC II will play at St. John’s Belson Stadium for inaugural MLS NEXT Pro season

New York, N.Y., February 24, 2022 – New York City FC and St. John’s University today announced that NYCFC II will play its home matches at Belson Stadium, Queens for the 2022 MLS NEXT Pro season. The Club is also excited to announce NYCFC II’s schedule for the inaugural season.

The 2022 schedule features 24 matches, all against Eastern Conference opposition. NYCFC II will start the season at home against New England Revolution II on Sunday, March 27 before heading down to Orlando to play Orlando City B on Sunday, April 3.

This expands upon NYCFC’s preexisting partnership with St John’s University, including the Club providing St. John’s students with the opportunity to gain invaluable experience with a professional sports team.

St. John’s University and Belson Stadium have served as the home for NYCFC’s Academy since the 2016 season. The stadium, which opened in 2002, has seating for more than 2,000 fans. The NYCFC First Team has played at Belson Stadium previously during the 2019 U.S. Open Cup where the Boys in Blue won 4-0 against North Carolina FC.

David Lee, NYCFC Sporting Director, said: “St. John’s University has been a phenomenal partner for the Club for a number of years, serving as the home of our Academy since 2016 and hosting our First Team on various occasions. St. John’s and Belson will be an equally great home for our MLS NEXT Pro team as more of our young players develop their abilities with NYCFC II.

“NYCFC has proven that we can develop local talent that can play at the top level of global soccer. This direct pipeline to the First Team will play a key factor in the Club’s continued success in developing talent and we cannot wait for the start of the inaugural MLS NEXT Pro season in March.”

Brad Sims, NYCFC CEO, added: “We’re thrilled to extend our current successful partnership with St. John’s University to include not just our Academy players, but also the newly formed NYCFC II. I’d like to thank everyone at St. John’s and its Athletic Department for helping make this partnership possible.

“We look forward to continuing to build this newly formed team over the coming years. We know this will be a very competitive league, a high level of soccer and we hope fans will come along to support the team and see for themselves the next generation of NYCFC talent. It will be a real benefit to our team if we can create a match-day atmosphere in the stadium as we have enjoyed for previous games at Belson Stadium – starting with March 26 which is an exciting and historic day for the Club.”

“It has been an absolute pleasure to partner with New York City FC and their tremendous players, coaches and staff over the years,” said St. John’s Director of Athletics Mike Cragg. “This is a very exciting opportunity to advance our partnership with a championship level franchise and support the launch of NYCFC II. In turn, St. John’s students will be afforded unique opportunities to gain experience with a professional sports organization in New York City coupled with new marketing resources available to our University.”

Season tickets for NYCFC II will be available for both current NYCFC City Members and non-City members and will include all home matches. Season ticket prices for City Members range from $79 - $99, and prices for non-City Members range from $95 - $129.

Additionally, individual match tickets are available for purchase, ranging from $10 - $15. St. John’s students and faculty can buy $5 tickets at the box office on match days with proof of a current SJU ID. To learn more about NYCFC II and MLS NEXT Pro, visit mlsnextpro.com.