Red Bull Arena is a

soccer-specific stadium Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada to refer to a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi-pu ...

Harrison, New Jersey Harrison is a town in the western part of Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark, New Jersey, and is located from New York City. As of the 2 ...

that is home to the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

and

NJ/NY Gotham FC NJ/NY Gotham FC is a professional women's soccer team based in Harrison, New Jersey. Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 until 2020. A founding member of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 201 ...

of the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...

. Featuring a transparent partial roof, it is located on the waterfront in the Riverbend District of Harrison across the

Passaic River Passaic River ( ) is a river, approximately long, in Northern New Jersey. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey, ...

from Newark and approximately 7 miles (12 km) west of

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. With a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 25,000, it is the sixth-largest soccer-specific stadium in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

and in Major League Soccer.

Initial planning

The original plan, announced on July 1, 2004, was to move the MetroStars (as the New York Red Bulls were known at the time) from their home at

Giants Stadium Giants Stadium (sometimes referred to as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands or The Swamp) was a stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The venue was open from 1976 to 2010, and it primarily hosted spo ...

by the beginning of the 2006 season. Negotiations between MLS and the state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

dragged on until an agreement was announced on August 5, 2005, for the MetroStars to build and complete construction of a new dedicated soccer facility for the 2007 season. Concerns about environmental clean-up at the selected site forced another delay. Additionally, though the groundbreaking took place September 19, 2006 and construction was set for November 2007, that was delayed by one month when

Red Bull GmbH Red Bull GmbH () is an Austrian private company known for its range of energy drinks of the same name. It is also known for its sponsorship of a range of sporting events and teams. The headquarters of Red Bull GmbH are located in Fuschl am ...

bought the MetroStars from

Anschutz Entertainment Group The Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), also known as AEG Worldwide, is an American global sporting and music entertainment presenter and a subsidiary of The Anschutz Corporation. It is the world's largest owner of sports teams and sports event ...

(AEG), changing the club's name in the process. After projections of opening during the 2008, and then the 2009 season, on January 23, 2009, it was announced that the arena opening would be delayed until 2010. According to Erik Stover, Red Bulls managing director at the time, Harrison Redevelopment Agency chairman Peter B. Higgins was "quite simply the reason that the New York Red Bulls have a new home in Harrison. His vision and leadership guided us through numerous difficulties." The Higgins' contribution is memorialized by the naming of the street at the main gates along the west side of the stadium as Pete Higgins Boulevard.

Red Bull buyout and new design

In addition to purchasing the team, Red Bull bought out AEG's $100 million share of the stadium, an after-effect of lasting disagreements between the two corporations regarding their plans for the facility. Their differences prompted a significant delay in the early stages of the stadium's construction. After the

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...

of the soccer team were acquired, leading to the name ''Red Bull Park'', Red Bull instituted a number of changes to the stadium's original design, which sparked tension between the Austrian-based energy drink company and AEG. Red Bull opted out of AEG's plan to construct a stage in the stadium for performances, one that would have increased profit margins for the group. The updated design was completed by Rossetti architects from

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

and was built by New Jersey-based Hunter Roberts Construction Group, LLC. The stadium's unique roofing system was engineered, fabricated, and installed by the projects specialty roofing contractor

Birdair BirdAir was an airline owned by the construction company Bird & Sons, Inc which served in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Background Bird & Sons, Inc was a San Francisco heavy construction company operating in Vietnam and Laos that mainta ...

Amherst, New York Amherst () is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Erie County, New York, Erie County, New York (state), New York, United States. Amherst is an inner ring suburb of Buffalo. As of 2020, the town had a total population of 129,595. Th ...

, a suburb of Buffalo.

Features

A tension-fabric curved exterior shell of

PTFE Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications. It is one of the best-known and widely applied PFAS. The commonly known brand name of PTFE-based composition is Teflon by Chemour ...

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...

wraps around the entire two-tiered stadium, creating the distinguishing roof feature of Red Bull Arena. The roof extends from the last row of seats to just past the field's touchlines with of the roof being translucent to allow for natural light and at is the largest roof canopy of all Major League Soccer stadiums covering all 25,000 seats. The low and enclosed roof design is known for providing superior acoustics by holding, amplifying and reflecting crowd noise back onto the field. Dual

light-emitting diode A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (cor ...

(LED) HD

Panasonic formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. It was founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita in 1918 as a lightbulb s ...

video boards were suspended from the north and south ends of the roof. In early 2019, both video boards were replaced with two new LED

Daktronics Daktronics is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video displays, scoreboards, digital billboards, dynamic message signs, sound systems, and related products. Founded in 1968 by ...

displays as part of stadium wide upgrades. The seats of Red Bull Arena are of the tip-up variety, without arm rests (except for a few sections near the player benches which feature small arm rests and cup holders), similar to those of European soccer stadiums with the first row of seating approximately from the touchlines. The stadium's seating is raked at 33-degrees for optimal sight-lines. Included in the 25,000 seats are 30 luxury suites and 1,000 premium seats. The Red Bull logo is patterned in red and yellow lower level seats directly opposite the team benches and field entrance tunnel. Sections 133, 101 & 102 collectively make up the 1,500 seat home supporters section known as the "South Ward". Among the blue seats in the South Ward was the "Red Seat" located at Section 101, Row 11, Seat 20. The Red Seat signifies the Red Bulls first goal scored at Red Bull Arena; Section 101 represents the Arena's first game, Row 11 marks the minute of the game in which the goal was scored and Seat 20 remembers the goal scorer, No. 20

Joel Lindpere Joel Lindpere (born 5 October 1981) is an Estonian football coach and former professional player. Lindpere played as a midfielder for Nõmme Kalju, Lelle, Flora, Valga, CSKA Sofia, Tromsø, New York Red Bulls, Chicago Fire, and Baní ...

. Following the passing of

Empire Supporters Club The Empire Supporters Club, or ESC, is one of the oldest supporters clubs in Major League Soccer and the largest supporters club dedicated to the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer. History The club was founded in 1995 by members of the New ...

member Mike Vallo, the Red Seat's No. 20 was replaced by the initials "MV" to honor him. Ahead of the 2020 season, the Red Bulls converted the South Ward into a

safe standing Safe standing is a measure of design in stadia to ensure that spectators are able to stand safely during events. It is important in the context of association football in the United Kingdom, where a series of fatal incidents led to legislation r ...

section with a rail seating system, similar to the system in place at

Banc of California Stadium Banc of California Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of Major League Soccer's Los Angeles FC and the National Women's Soccer League's Angel City FC. Opened on ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. This system allows supporters to watch matches while standing but also contain unlock-able individual red fold-down seats to convert the section to standard seating for international matches and other events. The rails also contain cup holders. The Red Seat was removed and given to the Vallo Family and a new location in Section 101 will be selected to commemorate Mike Vallo. An open standing area was created directly behind the South Ward for supporters to gather while maintaining a view of the field. Red Bull Arena is the third soccer-specific stadium in North America to have a safe standing with rail seating system. On the west side of Red Bull Arena is the "Red Ring of Honor". Established in 2015, the club's 20th season in Major League Soccer, the ring honors the 20 best players in the first 20 seasons of the club as voted by fans. Above the Red Ring of Honor is the retired jersey number "99" of striker

Bradley Wright-Phillips Bradley Edward Wright-Phillips (born 12 March 1985) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He began his career with Manchester City in the Premier League, before spending the remainder of his time in England in ...

; the first to be retired by the Red Bulls. Also above the Red Ring of Honor are listed the years honoring the teams that won the

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 19 ...

in 2013, 2015, and 2018. The lower bowl of the stadium is constructed of concrete, while the upper bowl is constructed of galvanized-metal. The Red Bulls intentionally chose galvanized-metal for the upper bowl so fans could create more noise by stomping their feet. In addition, the main concourse is elevated high, eliminating a majority of field-level entryways. On the North side of the main concourse are 13 "Red Beams"; each one memorializing a special moment in the club's history. In 2017, the Red Bulls opened MLS's first permanent

sensory room Sensory may refer to: Biology * Sensory ecology, how organisms obtain information about their environment * Sensory neuron, nerve cell responsible for transmitting information about external stimuli * Sensory perception, the process of acqui ...

for individuals and families affected by

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

. The space was formerly used as executive offices by the club's

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Marc de Grandpre, whose daughter is on the autism spectrum. The sensory room overlooks mid-field and features dimmed lighting and lightly-colored walls to offer a soothing environment, along with visual aids, fidget toys and other activities. There is no special ticket or any charge required for use of the room.

Construction

Construction commenced on Red Bull Park on January 3, 2008, on the site of a former

Remco Remco Industries, Inc. was a toy company in the United States founded in the 1940s. It was best known for toys marketed and sold in the late 1950s and early 1960s, like the 'Johnny Reb Cannon', 'Mighty Matilda Atomic Aircraft Carrier', 'Remco Vo ...

factory service building, including the first of 3,000 timber piles driven into the ground to support the new stadium. On January 11, 2008, Erik Stover was announced as the new

of Red Bull Arena during construction and then on after. He had served as GM of

Qualcomm Stadium San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadiu ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

since 2005. On February 20, 2008, a CAN$28–$30 million contract was announced with Structal-Heavy Steel Construction to assist in the fabrication and construction of steel components. Fabrication began offsite in the second quarter of 2008, and erection in Fall, 2008. Total project size is estimated at 9,000 tons of structural steel. The first steel

girder A girder () is a support beam used in construction. It is the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams. Girders often have an I-beam cross section composed of two load-bearing ''flanges'' separated by a stabilizing ...

was put in place on August 19, 2008. The arena was reported by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' to be 55% complete on March 27, 2009. The last major beam for the roof was topped out on April 14, 2009. Enclosure panels started going up on May 7, 2009. The first section of the Red Bull Arena roof was completed in August 2009. The underground drainage and turf-heating system installation began on August 18, 2009. Redbull arena

Tax controversy

In 2010, the Red Bulls refused to pay a $1.4 million property tax levy to the town of Harrison, claiming that the stadium was exempt from paying taxes. The team also refused to pay a $1.3 million for 2011. While the team did eventually pay the back taxes, it subsequently filed a lawsuit to have the payments reimbursed by the town, claiming the stadium was exempt from local taxes. On June 30, 2012, the Tax Court of New Jersey ruled that Harrison did have the right to tax both Red Bull Arena and the land underneath it and denied the team's claim for reimbursement. This decision was upheld by an appellate court in May 2014. The Red Bulls appealed to the state Supreme Court, who in October 2014 agreed to hear the case. The Supreme Court referred the parties to mediation. A settlement was proposed in which the Hudson County Improvement Authority would take over ownership of the land and stadium and enter into a lease agreement with the team, using the lease payments to give Harrison an annual PILOT (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) tied to the Consumer Price Index. The settlement was approved by the Harrison Town Council and mayor on March 16, 2016. On July 14, 2016, the Red Bulls and town agreed to a revised settlement, in which the stadium and land will be turned over to the Hudson County Improvement Authority. The Red Bulls will pay an annual rent of $1.3 million, escalated annually based on the

Consumer Price Index A consumer price index (CPI) is a price index, the price of a weighted average market basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households. Changes in measured CPI track changes in prices over time. Overview A CPI is a statistic ...

, of which $1.115 million will go to the town of Harrison. The lease agreement will be in place through 2038, with team options through 2058. At the end of the lease term, ownership of the stadium will revert to the town. This agreement must be finalized by the end of 2016.

Events

Soccer

soft opening A soft launch, also known as a soft opening, is a preview release of a product or service to a limited audience prior to the general public. Soft-launching a product is sometimes used to gather data or customer feedback, prior to making it widely ...

of the stadium, a match between the Red Bulls Under-18 Academy team and the United States U-17 men's national soccer team scheduled for March 13, 2010, was postponed due to heavy rain and high wind. The facility instead opened on March 20, 2010 as the Red Bulls played a friendly match against Brazilian club

Santos FC Santos Futebol Clube (), commonly known simply as Santos or Santos FC and nicknamed the ''Peixe'' (; "fish"), is a Brazilian sports club based in Vila Belmiro, a ''bairro'' in the city of Santos. It is also the team with the most goals in ...

winning before a sold-out crowd 3–1. The first official match, the MLS season opener against the Chicago Fire, took place March 27, 2010 with the Red Bulls winning 1–0 in front of a sold-out crowd.

became the first player to score a goal at Red Bull Arena. Red Bull Arena hosted its first-ever international soccer game in May 2010, when

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

beat the Czech Republic in front of a crowd of 16,371. The stadium also hosted an exhibition between

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Ekua ...

and Colombia in October 2010. The game drew a sellout crowd of 25,000. In addition, Red Bull Arena hosted the 2011 MLS All-Star Game on July 27 versus

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The two ...

. On October 8, 2011, Red Bull Arena hosted its first New Jersey high school soccer game when the

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places In Australia: * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin In Canada: * Inukjuak, Quebec, or "Po ...

Blue Tide hosted the Kearny Kardinals in both boys' and girls' soccer matches. On October 11, 2011 Red Bull Arena hosted its first

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team h ...

match, as the US squad lost 1–0 to the

Ecuador national football team The Ecuador national football team ( es, Selección de fútbol de Ecuador) represents Ecuador in men's international football and is controlled by the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF). They joined FIFA in 1926 and CONMEBOL a year later. Di ...

in an international friendly. On November 13, 2011, Red Bull Arena hosted the semifinals and championship match of the 2011 Big East Conference Men's Soccer Tournament, a

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kin ...

tournament. The 2012 Big East Men's Soccer Tournament was also held at Red Bull Arena. On July 28, 2012, Red Bull Arena hosted the

Trophée des champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the super cups found in many other countries. Hi ...

, a soccer game between the champions of

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

and the winners of the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and professional ...

Montpellier HSC Montpellier Hérault Sport Club (), commonly referred to as Montpellier HSC or simply Montpellier, is a French professional football club based in the city of Montpellier in Occitanie. The original club was founded in 1919, while the current ...

Olympique Lyonnais Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a men and women's French professional football club based in Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The men play in France's highest football division, Ligue 1. Founded in 1950, th ...

. Lyon won on penalties after the match ended 2–2. The match was organized by

Ligue de Football Professionnel The Ligue de Football Professionnel (, ''Professional Football League''), commonly known as the LFP, is a French governing body that runs the major professional football leagues in France. It was founded in 1944 and serves under the authority o ...

. On June 20, 2013, the

United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four Women's World Cup titles ( 1991, 1999, 2015, and ...

played an international friendly against the

South Korea women's national football team The South Korea women's national football team (, recognised as Korea Republic by FIFA) represents South Korea in international women's football competitions. The South Korean women's team has qualified for three FIFA World Cups in 2003, 2015 ...

. It was in Red Bull Arena that United States forward

Abby Wambach Mary Abigail Wambach (born June 2, 1980) is an American retired soccer player, coach, and member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. A six-time winner of the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award, Wambach was a regular on the U.S. women's nati ...

scored four goals, beating

Mia Hamm Mariel Margaret Hamm-Garciaparra (; born March 17, 1972) is an American retired professional soccer player, two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion. Hailed as a soccer icon, she played as a forward for the ...

's record for most international goals scored ever, male or female. On October 27, 2013, the New York Red Bulls won their first ever

championship by beating the Chicago Fire 5–2 in front of a sold-out crowd of 25,219. On July 26, 2014, the New York Red Bulls defeated reigning

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

champions

Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. Arsenal plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 league titles (inclu ...

1–0 in the 2014 New York Cup in front of a sold-out crowd of 25,219. On July 22, 2015, the New York Red Bulls defeated reigning

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

champions

Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. Th ...

4–2 as part of the

2015 International Champions Cup The 2015 International Champions Cup (or ICC) was a series of friendly association football tournaments. It was the first tournament played separately in Australia, China and the United States. The Australian edition of the tournament featured ...

in front of a crowd of 24,076. The

New York Red Bulls II New York Red Bulls II is an American professional soccer team based in Montclair, New Jersey. They are the reserve team of the New York Red Bulls and play in MLS Next Pro, the third tier in the American soccer pyramid. History Red Bull New Yor ...

of the

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

played their home games at Red Bull Arena from 2015 to 2016, then moved to

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public university in New ...

MSU Soccer Park at Pittser Field MSU Soccer Park at Pittser Field is a soccer-specific stadium on the campus of Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey. Built on the site of a former baseball field, MSU Soccer Park opened in 1998 as the home of the Montclair State Re ...

for the 2017 Season. On August 12, 2016, Major League Soccer, in collaboration with the United Soccer League and oversight by the

International Football Association Board The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is the body that determines the Laws of the Game of association football. IFAB was founded in 1886 to agree standardised Laws for international competition, and has since acted as the "guardi ...

, made history by becoming the first soccer league ever to use video assistant referee (VAR) in a live match. The match was between New York Red Bulls II and

Orlando City B Orlando City B (or OCB for short) is an American soccer club that began play in 2016 and currently plays in MLS Next Pro. Owned by Orlando City SC and based at the Orlando City training facility in Kissimmee, the club plays its home games at Osc ...

at Red Bull Arena. During the match, referee Ismail Elfath reviewed two fouls and after consultation with video assistant referee Allen Chapman, issued a red card and a yellow card in the respective incidents. New York Red Bulls II won the match 5–1. On October 23, 2016, Red Bull Arena hosted the 2016 United Soccer League Final with New York Red Bulls II beating the

Swope Park Rangers Sporting Kansas City II is a MLS Next Pro club affiliated with Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer. For the 2022 season they will play their home games at Rock Chalk Park at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, as well as Swope ...

5–1 winning their first United Soccer League Championship. New York Red Bulls II became the first Major League Soccer-owned team to win the United Soccer League title. On July 25, 2017, Red Bull Arena hosted

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

and

A.S. Roma ' (''Rome Sport Association''), commonly referred to as Roma (), is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its existence, except for ...

as part of the 2017 International Champions Cup. A.S. Roma defeated Tottenham Hotspur 3–2 in front of a sold-out crowd of 26,192. On September 1, 2017, Red Bull Arena hosted its first ever World Cup Qualifier Match between the

and Costa Rica as part of the

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fifth Round The fifth round (also known as the ''Hexagonal'' or ''Hex'') of CONCACAF matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification was played from 11 November 2016 to 10 October 2017. Mexico, Costa Rica, and Panama qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, wh ...

. The United States lost to Costa Rica 2–0 in front of a sold-out crowd of 26,500. On September 24, 2017, the Danone Nations Cup World Final was held at Red Bull Arena. It marked the first time the international youth soccer tournament was held in the United States in its 18-year history. On July 28, 2018, Red Bull Arena hosted

S.L. Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904 as ''Sport Lisboa'', Be ...

and

Juventus F.C. Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in 1 ...

as part of the

2018 International Champions Cup The 2018 International Champions Cup (or ICC) was the sixth edition of a tournament comprising a series of friendly association football matches. It began on July 20 and ended on August 11. The tournament was won by English club Tottenham Hotspur. ...

. Juventus beat Benfica in a penalty shootout 4–2 in front of a crowd of 24,194. On July 24, 2019, Red Bull Arena hosted Fiorentina and S.L. Benfica as part of the 2019 International Champions Cup. Benfica defeated Fiorentina 2–1. Red Bull Arena gained a new tenant with the November 18, 2019 joint announcement by the Red Bulls and

that the stadium would host the latter team for its home games in the

in 2020. Gotham had used Red Bull Arena for two home matches in its 2019 season, both of which drew crowds well beyond the capacity of that team's former home of

Yurcak Field Yurcak Field is a 5,000 seat soccer-specific stadium on the main campus of Rutgers University in Piscataway Township, New Jersey. Fully acknowledged as The Soccer Stadium at Yurcak Field, it is named in honor of Ronald N. Yurcak, a 1965 All-Amer ...

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

. In late 2020, Red Bull Arena hosted home matches for the Montreal Impact (later known as CF Montréal) due to cross-border travel restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The stadium also hosted cross-town rivals

New York City FC New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned ...

from August to September due to scheduling conflicts at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

, which were resolved by October. The team had also played two

2020 CONCACAF Champions League The 2020 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2020 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) was the 12th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 55th edition of the premier footba ...

fixtures at the stadium in February and March due to Yankee Stadium undergoing winterization procedures. In 2021, New York City FC played seven matches at Red Bull Arena due to other scheduling conflicts. In addition to NYCFC playing in Red Bull Arena, CF Montréal announced on June 21, 2021 that they would play a game against NYCFC on July 7 due to scheduling conflicts at

DRV PNK Stadium DRV PNK Stadium (pronounced as Drive Pink Stadium, formerly Inter Miami CF Stadium) is a soccer-specific stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Built on the site of the former Lockhart Stadium, the 18,000-seat stadium is the home pitch of Inter Mi ...

with the

2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 16th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's soccer championship of the North, Central American, and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF. The tournament was originally scheduled ...

. On July 30, 2022, the New York Red Bulls played a club friendly against

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

in front of a sold-out crowd with Barcelona winning 2–0. On November 13, 2022, the

played the

Germany women's national football team The Germany women's national football team (german: Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft der Frauen) represents Germany in international women's football. The team is governed by the German Football Association (DFB). The German national tea ...

in an international friendly with the US team winning 2–1 in front of a crowd of 26,317.

Rugby union

In addition to soccer, the arena has also been the host of several

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

matches. All three finals of the 2010 Churchill Cup were held at The Red Bull Arena.

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

played their home game against

Saracens upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is th ...

at the Red Bull Arena on March 12, 2016. This marked the first time an English premiership rugby match had been played overseas. The timing and location were selected to coincide with

St. Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost pat ...

festivities in an area were there is a large Irish influence. The game was televised live across the US on

NBCSN NBCSN was an American sports television channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated to programming pri ...

. London Irish did not return the following season due to their relegation to the

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

. The

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

faced

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

on June 10, 2017. This was the Eagles' first test of the 2017 summer internationals. The Eagles lost 55–19 in front of 22,370 spectators. On June 25, 2022, the arena hosted the 2022 Major League Rugby Final between Rugby New York and the Seattle Seawolves with Rugby New York winning the MLR Shield by a score of 30-15.

Lacrosse

The

Premier Lacrosse League Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) is an American professional field lacrosse league, composed of 8 teams. The league's inaugural season debuted on June 1, 2019, and included a 14-week tour-based schedule taking place in 12 major-market cities. The le ...

held five matches over the course of two weekends at Red Bull Arena. Three regular season matches were held on June 8 and June 9, 2019 and drew a total 10,773 fans. Two second round playoff matches were held on September 14, 2019 and drew a total of 10,572 fans, which was the highest single day total attendance for the PLL. This was the first time that Red Bull Arena hosted lacrosse matches.

Concerts

Red Bull Arena hosted its first-ever concert, with Dispatch on June 18, 2011. Following the concert the stadium was highly praised by the sold-out crowd and media for its sight-lines, sound, and acoustics. On October 10, 2016, Red Bull Arena announced plans to regularly host concerts and live entertainment events beginning in 2017. On September 24, 2017, as part of the festivities for the Danone Nations Cup World Final,

DNCE DNCE is an American dance-rock band consisting of lead singer Joe Jonas, drummer Jack Lawless, and guitarist JinJoo Lee. Bassist and keyboardist Cole Whittle was a part of the band from when it started in 2015 to when it went on hiatus in 2018 ...

closed out the tournament with a concert.

Community

Covenant House – New Jersey, in conjunction with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and the New York Red Bulls, have staged two "Sleep Outs" at Red Bull Arena in order to raise awareness and funds for New Jersey's homeless youth. The first was on October 17, 2014 and the second was on October 16, 2015. On April 10, 2016, Red Bull Arena hosted thousands of

Peruvian Americans Peruvian Americans are Americans of Peruvian descent. According to the U.S. Census Bureau 2021 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, , 720,626 U.S. residents identify themselves as being of Peruvian origin. Approximately 62% of Peruvian ...

from New Jersey and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Mary ...

to vote in the

2016 Peruvian general election General elections were held in Peru on 10 April 2016 to determine the president, vice-presidents, composition of the Congress of the Republic of Peru and the Peruvian representatives of the Andean Parliament. In the race for the presidency, ...

. Citizens of

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

are entitled to vote in Peru's national elections regardless of where they reside. On January 24, 2021, a drive-through COVID-19 testing site, with the capacity to test 2,400 people a day, opened in front of Red Bull Arena. On May 26, 2022, Hudson County Community College held the commencement ceremonies for the classes of 2020, 2021 and 2022. The ceremonies were the first held for the school since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other events

On October 24, 2021, RIX Magazine hosted the Allstar Fitment 3.0 auto show at Red Bull Arena.

Awards and recognition

In December 2010, the stadium was named "Project of the Year (Sports/Recreation)" by

Engineering News-Record ''Engineering News-Record'' (widely known as ''ENR'') is an American weekly magazine that provides news, analysis, data and opinion for the construction industry worldwide. It is widely regarded as one of the construction industry's most authorita ...

– New York. In January 2016, Red Bull Arena was awarded Major League Soccer – "Security Staff of the Year" for 2015. The security staff was particularly recognized for its security plan for the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference Final during a heightened state of security worldwide following the

November 2015 Paris attacks The November 2015 Paris attacks () were a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks that took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 9:15p.m., three suicide bombers ...

. In August 2016, Red Bull Arena was awarded the first annual

J.D. Power J.D. Power is an American consumer research, data, and analytics firm based in Troy, Michigan. The company was founded in 1968 by James David Power III. It conducts surveys of customer satisfaction, product quality, and buyer behavior for the aut ...

– "Best In Fan Experience" for 2016. The stadium was selected from all the pro sports and entertainment venues in the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass, at , and one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. The vast metropolitan area ...

. Red Bull Arena scored highest for overall satisfaction, security and ushers, seating area and game experience, ticket purchase, food and beverage, and leaving the game. Also in August 2016, Red Bull Arena and the Red Bull Training Facility were awarded the Sports Turf Managers Association's (STMA) Certification for Environmentally Responsible Management. The training facility is the first facility to earn the 80% or higher ratings on the 10-part written assessment. In August 2017, Red Bull Arena and the Red Bulls were awarded their second consecutive J.D. Power – "Best in Fan Experience" award for the New York metropolitan area. The stadium scored highest for ticket purchase, security and ushers, seating area and game experience, food and beverage and game arrival. In November 2018, Red Bull Arena and Director of Grounds, Dan Shemesh, were honored with the "Field of the Year" award by the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) for the professional soccer division. In April 2021, Red Bull Arena received Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) STAR accreditation ahead of the 2021 home opener. GBAC STAR is recognized as the gold standard of safe venues and provides third-party validation to ensure the implementation of rigorous protocols in response to biorisk situations such as COVID-19. Upgrades made to receive the accreditation include an ionized air filtration system, making all restrooms contactless, quarterly antimicrobial treatments, and implementing contact free food order and payment systems.

Accessibility and transportation

The stadium can be reached via the

station by the Newark-World Trade Center train of the

PATH A path is a route for physical travel – see Trail. Path or PATH may also refer to: Physical paths of different types * Bicycle path * Bridle path, used by people on horseback * Course (navigation), the intended path of a vehicle * Desire p ...

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...

system. A $256 million reconstruction and expansion, to accommodate the burgeoning economic growth and development in the area and the increasing number of fans taking the PATH on game days, was completed on June 15, 2019. A complementary

shuttle bus service is available on game days from nearby

Newark Penn Station Pennsylvania Station (also known as Newark Penn Station) is an intermodal passenger station in Newark, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, Newark Penn Station is served by multiple rail and bus carriers, ...

and

New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bus, ...

's Newark Broad Street Station to transport fans to and from Red Bull Arena. The stadium is also served by the 40 New Jersey Transit Bus route. The nearby Jackson Street Bridge crosses the

to the

Ironbound The Ironbound is a neighborhood in the city of Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. It is a large working-class multi-ethnic community, covering approximately of well maintained streets and homes. Historically, the area was cal ...

neighborhood in Newark and is a popular pedestrian route to and from the stadium. Red Bull Arena is accessible by car via

I-280 Interstate 280 may refer to multiple highways, all of which are or were related to Interstate 80: * Interstate 280 (California), a north–south freeway running from San Jose to San Francisco * Interstate 280 (Iowa–Illinois), part of the beltwa ...

, with connections to the

New Jersey Turnpike The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highways in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although maintained by NJTA, is not consi ...

(

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canad ...

Garden State Parkway The Garden State Parkway (GSP) is a controlled-access toll road that stretches the north–south length of eastern New Jersey from the state's southernmost tip near Cape May to the New York state line at Montvale. Its name refers to New Jersey ...

, McCarter Highway (NJ-21), and other highways and roads. There are several designated lots and the Harrison Parking Center garage available for parking in the immediate vicinity.

References

External links

*
Red Bull Arena (Harrison)
at StadiumDB.com
Across the Hudson: Red Bull Park
by Curbed.com

NY Times {{Rugby union in the United States New York Red Bulls Red Bull CONCACAF Gold Cup stadiums Churchill Cup Major League Soccer stadiums Premier Lacrosse League venues Lacrosse venues in the United States Rugby league in New York (state) Rugby union stadiums in the United States Soccer venues in New Jersey Soccer venues in the New York metropolitan area Sports venues completed in 2010 Sports in Hudson County, New Jersey Tourist attractions in Hudson County, New Jersey Harrison, New Jersey 2010 establishments in New Jersey National Women's Soccer League stadiums NJ/NY Gotham FC