I have been calling for a new soccer-only home for local teams ever since I attended a home match of the New York/New Jersey MetroStars in the then-fledgling Major League Soccer in April 1996. The new MLS was a shaky organization looking to cash in on the soccer-fever “craze” that had erupted during the ferocious summer of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, hosted by the United States.
Giants Stadium was a disgrace to football. The grass-to-grass-to-grass pitch barely fit into the concrete mess of a lower bowl that fans called “The Swamp.” East Rutherford's “The Meadowlands” had a Philip K. Dick otherworldly feel to its geographic location. And it was almost comically depressing to watch Coby Jones of the LA Galaxy struggle to find a few inches between the corner flag and the wall of the lower stands to take a corner kick.
The MetroStars became the New York Red Bulls when the Austrian energy drink giant bought the club in 2006. In 2010, RBNY MLS staff moved the cardboard boxes from an NFL facility near the Hackensack River to a new European-style soccer-only home called Red Bull Arena, located just off the Passaic River in Harrison, New Jersey.
After years of whining about Giants Stadium in my columns, my wish for a local soccer team was granted. But once the Red Bulls took hold, I settled down and moved to upstate New York. It wasn't until mid-July 2024, some 14 years after the new arena opened, that I was finally able to set foot inside the stadium. And it was an unexpected opportunity.
For many years, I had the opportunity to commute from Dutchess County, New York, to watch Red Bull soccer games, but raising kids and driving a cab was a lot harder than it was to get to New Jersey, even when French superstar Thierry Henry was storming the Kentucky Bluegrass at Red Bull Arena. Part of the quality of life up north was my daughter's youth soccer. She was good on the ball, developed into an attacking midfielder, and by the time she was in her senior year of high school, captain of the women's national soccer team. Along the way, I got to know my daughter's teammates and their parents, all of whom are neighbors in our small town. One of them is a die-hard U.S. Women's National Team fan, and with sports galore happening over a mid-July weekend (Euro Soccer Finals, Copa America Soccer Finals, Wimbledon Tennis Finals, NPSL North Atlantic Conference Finals), she offered me tickets and a round-trip car to see the U.S. Women's Olympic Friendly against Mexico. The venue?
Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.
On this trip, I was accompanied by one of my daughter’s early coaches/influencers, a Vassar College professor where my daughter was a loyal teammate, and my husband, a women’s soccer fanatic and map expert whose daughter was the top defender on the Rhinebeck scholastic team. We were sitting in an SUV bound for Jersey, our kids all in college, summer vacations back and hanging out with friends. Big ChillThere was no funeral. Everyone missed Los Lobos' 50th anniversary.Number It was ok, as I had an anniversary concert the night before in nearby Accord, New York, and needed to conserve my energy for this visit.
Having moved from Rhinebeck to Kingston earlier this year, it was nice to be reunited with the folks who brought orange slices and portable canopies to games and practices. As we made steady progress south on the New York State highway, a wave of football nostalgia began to wash over me as the New Jersey state line drew closer.
Newark looked as pugnacious and tired post-industrial as ever. At the traffic lights, a white bicycle was chained to a lamppost covered in plastic daisies that withered with every passing car. A Mickey Rooney lookalike prowled the Sunoco car park carrying a brand new Ping golf bag with no clubs in it. I like to walk up to the ground, spot the lampposts, and watch the freelancers in the car park and in the yard, dreaming of money to make on game day.
But there was nothing grand or dramatic about the Red Bull Arena on first sight. There are a number of luxury apartment complexes near the facility, and it's close to the Harrison PATH train station. After a one-lane traffic jam, I finally rounded the corner on Guyon Drive and, after two blocks of Cleveland-esque nothingness, the 25,000-seat trampoline-like building emerged. From the aerial footage (which I'd seen on TV), I was expecting a more European look, and from the Passaic River side (not possible unless you have a boat to dump the bodies in), it looks like you're in Qatar or at least Belgium. The arena was originally designed by a Detroit-based architect, so they could have chosen a cinematic influence. Crow Strengthen Harrison soccer Ambiance.But it wasn't.
A flag with the NY Red Bull logo and the slogan “Red Runs Deep” flies from a neglected pole. There's barely any mention of the National Women's Soccer League champions, the New York/New Jersey Gothams, which infuriates my hostess, an avid fan: She has season tickets to Gotham games and feels the franchise isn't promoted locally enough.
The US women used the game as a tribute to the Y2K favorites, the 1999 Women's World Cup winning team that beat China on penalties. They called the game “Impact 99” (sponsored by New York Life, of course), and the pre-game introductions were fun, despite the Sahara-esque heatwave that hit Harrison that afternoon. The players stood on tarps emblazoned with the old US Soccer crest (I hate the new version, which is basically a copy of the K-Swiss sneaker logo). Looking out over the pitch, I saw the corner flag cast a deep shadow over the wide open space where the players could have duly performed their corner-kick duties, marking a moral victory.
The interior of Red Bull Arena is simple, with two levels. Opposite the upper tier facing the tip of Newark's skyline is a tall single stand with a few lower seating areas, while the rest forms a wall for the hospitality and press areas. It was hard watching sideline reporters in traditional woollen supporter scarves interview the '99 team in the oppressive heat. There's a reason the rest of the world doesn't play soccer in the middle of summer.
Watching women's soccer, I'm fascinated by ponytails. A bob, a weave or a swish can be used as a decoy to fool opponents when they're not looking at the ball. If her hair goes one way, she's the other. It was fun to see the portrait of the U.S. team painted on the scoreboard on game day without ponytails. With their hair down, it was easier to see the personalities of these women emerge as they take on Zambia in Nice on July 25 to open the Summer Olympic women's soccer tournament.
In Harrison, the U.S. women struggled in the first half to break through Mexico's defense. They had a few shots on goal, but the sun-drenched team headed to the locker room at halftime with the score at 0-0. Earlier this year, the U.S. women had been shut out 2-0 by Mexico in the Gold Cup tournament. It was revenge, but with a new coach and a young team. Then in the 64th minute, Sophia Smith, the only player in a Charlotte Bronte-style bun, scored a goal with great support from Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson. It was Smith's 20th minute.Number Her international career goals.
After Smith's brilliant goal, the upper level of the Red Bull Arena bobbed slightly as the packed crowd celebrated. It was reminiscent of the upper level of the old Yankee Stadium when David Justice hit a home run against Seattle in the 2000 American League Championship Series. The fortitude of architecture and engineering was put to the test. On July 13, USWNT fans went home satisfied, but it wasn't easy. The Red Bull Arena may have fixed the infrastructure problems on the pitch, giving a fair bit of credibility to the description “soccer only,” but the Jersey traffic jams continue in Newark, as they did at Giants Stadium after the game. It took an hour to get out of the parking lot, but hey, with a perfect Kentucky Bluegrass field and space for corner kicks, who counts?
