MSU Soccer Park at Pittser Field is a
soccer-specific stadium
A soccer-specific stadium, mainly in the United States and Canada, is 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-purpose stadium whic ...
on the campus of
Montclair State University in
Montclair, New Jersey
Montclair is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a commercial and cultural hub of North Jersey and a diverse ...
. The stadium serves as home to the Montclair Red Hawks men's and women's soccer teams, although it has also been a frecquent venue for professional soccer teams.
History
Built on the site of a former baseball field, MSU Soccer Park opened in 1998 as the home of the
Montclair State Red Hawks men's and women's soccer teams.
From 2007 to 2013, Montclair State was the training site for the
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
club
New York Red Bulls
The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, 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 (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...
while their Red Bull Training Facility was constructed in nearby
Hanover Township, New Jersey. The Red Bulls helped finance the construction of a new field house, as well as the installation of a
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
approved
FieldTurf surface at MSU Soccer Park.
Lights were installed in 2012 allowing for night matches to be played.
In 2016 it was announced that the Red Bulls'
USL Championship
The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...
affiliate club,
New York Red Bulls II, would move into MSU Soccer Park in 2017. To accommodate the Red Bulls II, MSU Soccer Park underwent significant renovations to keep the facility in line with stadium standards set by the
United States Soccer Federation
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer ...
for lower division professional soccer clubs. MSU Soccer Park's capacity was expanded to 3,000 seats for the 2017 season
and again by 1,500 seats in 2018 bringing the total capacity to 5,000 seats. In addition to the expanded seating capacity, the club built new locker rooms adjacent to the playing field and upgraded the FieldTurf playing surface. The renovations were made ahead of and during the
2018 USL season, forcing the Red Bulls II to play their first six home matches at
Red Bull Arena.
In December 2016, Major League Soccer Commissioner
Don Garber, a Montclair resident, became the first season ticketholder for Red Bulls II at MSU Soccer Park. At this event, it was also announced that MSU Soccer Park would host select matches for
New York Red Bulls U-23, the MLS franchise's affiliate club in
USL League Two.
In 2020,
Gotham FC
Gotham Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in the New York metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sk ...
played two matches at MSU Soccer Park on October 3 and October 10 as part of the
National Women's Soccer League Fall Series. This abbreviated season series was held following the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
which cancelled the regular season. Gotham FC had to play at MSU instead of Red Bull Arena due to scheduling conflicts with the New York Red Bulls and
New York City FC
New York City Football Club (often referred to as NYCFC) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in New York City. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern C ...
sharing that facility at the time.
In 2022,
FC Motown
FC Motown is an American soccer club based in Morristown, New Jersey. Founded in 2012, the team currently fields teams in both the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) and USL League Two. In 2020, the team formed a U23 side that competes in t ...
became part time tenants of MSU Soccer Park with their
National Premier Soccer League
The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The league is officially affiliated to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and has automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup. ...
(NPSL) and
USL League Two teams playing part of their regular season schedules at the facility.
Their NPSL team has also hosted several
U.S. Open Cup matches at the park. On August 6, 2022, FC Motown won the
2022 National Premier Soccer League Championship, their first title in club history, by defeating
Crossfire Redmond 4–3.
Notable matches
* Winning teams in bold
References
External links
*
New York Red Bulls II
{{National Women's Soccer League stadiums
1998 establishments in New Jersey
Montclair, New Jersey
New York Red Bulls II
Soccer venues in New Jersey
USL Championship stadiums
MLS Next Pro stadiums
Former National Women's Soccer League stadiums