New York City FC's Back at Yankee Stadium: How Much Longer Will They be There? | OneFootball

For the second to last time, New York City FC will kick off a home MLS schedule at Yankee Stadium on Saturday when they take on Orlando City SC in their 10-year anniversary match.

Since entering MLS in 2015, NYCFC have called Yankee Stadium their primary home. Yet, they’re moving to Etihad Park in Queens in 2027, making 2025 their penultimate campaign at the hallowed baseball diamond in the Bronx.

Yankee Stadium has never been an ideal situation for soccer. However, it’s provided a stunning and odd backdrop to the formative last 10 years of MLS, seeing the likes of David Villa, Andrea Pirlo, and Frank Lampard initially, before making ways for a new era of New York sporting stars in Maxi Moralez, Alonso Martinez, and Matt Freese.

What is Etihad Park?

Renderings of Etihad Stadium, set to open in 2027 / Courtesy of New York City Football Club

Etihad Park is NYCFC’s new soccer-specific stadium that will see them as the primary tenants, unlike their current situation, which sees their scheduling as second priority behind the New York Yankees.

Holding 25,000 fans, it will become the lone soccer-specific stadium within New York City’s five boroughs, rivalling that of their Hudson River Derby rivals, New York Red Bulls, who previously had the closest soccer-specific stadium to the city, across the river in Newark, New Jersey.

Getting a new stadium has been a part of the plan since NYCFC came into the league, and it’s taken longer than the club and MLS had hoped for, but they’re finally getting there––so, enjoy the last couple of years at one of the most unique places to watch soccer in the world.

Battle of 2015 Expansion Teams: NYCFC vs. Orlando City SC

With Villa, Pirlo and Kaka, the first matchup between NYCFC and Orlando City SC was star-studded and legendary in the league’s 20th season. While neither team has the same level of European legends, Saturday’s clash presents vital points in the Eastern Conference.

Even just three games into the season, the outlook for both clubs has been relatively similar.

"It's going to be a very big night," said NYCFC head coach Pascal Jansen in his debut season on the Pigeons’ touchline. "I was told it's the 10th anniversary, and the game back then was also against Orlando, so emotions will be there. It's a big night."

"The guys are really anxious to prove themselves again. The fact that it's going to be Orlando again puts a lot of emotions there as well...One of my coaches, Mehdi [Ballouchy], has also played in that game, so he knows how that feels, and we're going to use that emotion to prepare ourselves to be ready for this game."

Neither side are among the Eastern Conference’s elite of Inter Miami CF, FC Cincinnati or potentially Atlanta United. Still, they have the pieces to be the best of the next group of teams. In 2024, Orlando City finished fourth, and NYCFC finished sixth, but both lost significant players in Facundo Torres and Santiago Rodriguez, who now both play in Brazil’s Serie A.

Orlando has quickly replaced Torres’ attacking contributions, though, enjoying a hot start from Marco Pasalic, who scored two goals in his debut against the Philadelphia Union, a 4-2 loss, before being held off the scoresheet as they beat Toronto FC by the same score.

Despite having perennial slow starts to MLS seasons under head coach Oscar Pareja, finding their stride against Toronto might be a quick turning point, especially with goals scored from key players, Martin Ojeda and César Araújo, the latter finishing a pinpoint free kick.

While Pasalic didn’t score against the struggling Canadian side, he had 37 touches and three passes into the final third. It wasn’t quite the performance he would have hoped for after a brace on his debut, but a learning moment he’ll take into his third match in Purple and Gold.

New York, meanwhile, were held scoreless in a 1–0 loss to LAFC on Matchday 2, after they played Inter Miami CF to a 2–2 draw on opening weekend, a disappointing result, given they had a personnel advantage for nearly an hour after Tomas Aviles’ red card.

The group was thrown into disarray when they lost Rodriguez from midfield the day before the season but have still gotten substantial contributions from 38-year-old midfielder Maxi Moralez and striker Alonso Martinez, who netted 16 goals in 2024.

With the strong start to the season against testing opponents, NYCFC likely holds the advantage in their home opener and hopes to ensure Orlando’s streak of not winning at Yankee Stadium continues, with the Lions’ last win coming in 2017.

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