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New York’s newest football arena Five million people living in the New York area are involved with football. Finally they have a home
Match fit: After two years’ planning and building, the Red Bull Arena will open on March 20, with the home side facing Brazil’s legendary Santos FC
Additional Photography: Getty Images, Tom Kaminski WCBS 880, Imago sportfoto
sees New York street football as a way to keep in touch with the grass roots. The special-edition boot is called Top Sala CSC and was presented in summer 2008 with a barbecue on Chrystie Street. Marking the occasion, Adidas and CSC simultaneously published an elegantly photographed and designed booklet paying tribute to the battles fought on Chrystie Street. Bleeding knees, open eyebrows. The pictures are accompanied by poems from defender Laijon Liu, who expresses his eternal love for football: Soccer in my heart and mind; Soccer my love and life Soccer I wake up and play; Soccer I hold it to sleep; Soccer I get the yellow and red card; Soccer my moves and stop; Soccer my endless thought; Soccer my very last breath “Soccer my very last breath!” Has ever a poet written more eloquently about the sport? Laijon, the genius. In a few lines the CSC defender manages to express the feelings of anybody who loves the game of football. A universal emotion, shared by the players on Chrystie Street as well as those on any other pitch in New York, on any other pitch in the world. For news, blogs, photos and info in Chinatown Soccer Club visit www.chinatownsoccerclub.com and www.arkitipintel.com/reporters/csc
Five million football players and fans live in greater New York – there’s nothing they wish for more than a team representing their city with a realistic shot at winning the Major League Soccer championship. In the past, New York’s contribution to America’s professional league was not competitive enough to capture the attention of supporters. Last season, roughly 12,000 people shared the 80,000 seats at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In March, the 2010 season starts, and from match-day one onwards the New York Red Bulls hope to enter a new age of success and attractive play. New manager Erik Soler, a former Norwegian international, hired as a coach Hans Backe, a veteran from Sweden. The two of them replaced about half the roster. Juan Pablo Ángel, the team’s captain and its most experienced player says: “Backe knows this sport extremely well.” Especially proud are Soler and Backe about the acquisition of midfielder Tony Tchani from University of Virginia. He is one of America’s most hopeful prospects. The experienced and reliable goalkeeper Oka Nikolov joins from Bundesliga team Eintracht Frankfurt. But the most generous gift to New York’s football community will be the new Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. The facade looks like a giant inflatable boat. The building’s interior offers visitors all the comfort that was missing from unpopular Giants Stadium. The stands are steep and located so close to the pitch that fans will almost be able to hear the players’ breathing. A European-style roof covers all 25,000 seats and 30 skyboxes, yet the stadium is intimate enough to allow New York’s supporters to experience games in a way they could so far only have dreamed of, while watching the leagues in England or Germany on TV. Just as in Metro Stars days, the Red Bull Arena is located in a suburb across the Hudson River in New Jersey. But the owners
have eliminated one major obstacle to New Yorkers wanting to watch a football game: the hopelessly inconvenient commute across all five boroughs of New York to East Rutherford. The new stadium is easily reachable by PATH trains, which take 10 minutes from the West Village to Harrison station next to the arena. Although local media continues to ignore the game and directs more attention towards lacrosse or bowling, and despite the fact that nine other professional teams compete for audiences and sponsorships in the region, the New York Red Bulls finally have a reason to expect public support. Experiences in other cities prove that there’s still room for professional ‘soccer’ – as long as you market it smartly and host games in an attractive venue. Recently opened arenas in Columbus and Los Angeles, Seattle and Salt Lake City are sold out more often than not. Teenage girls and Latin Americans are excited about Major League Soccer. Hopefully the New York Red Bulls won’t have to wait for long before New York’s girls and Latinos hop on the PATH train to Harrison. Find a webcam, stadium news and list of what’s on at www.redbullarena.us
Moving forward: New York Red Bulls striker Juan Pablo Ángel is hoping to lead his team to their first MLS title
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