First Games Announced!

The full 2015 MLS schedule has yet to be announced, but today NYCFC revealed details of the first two games:

The details:

NYCFC kicks off Inaugural Season vs. Orlando City and New England

December 19, 2014
11:03 AM EST

New York City FC will officially hit the pitch for their first MLS season on Sunday, March 8th at Orlando against their fellow expansion franchise. The historic home opener at Yankee Stadium in front of hometown fans will be Sunday, March 15th vs. the Eastern Conference Champion New England Revolution.

Both games have been selected to be shown nationally on ESPN2.

“We could not be more excited at the prospect of kicking off our first season” said Claudio Reyna, New York City’s Sporting Director.

“Our first competitive game will be the culmination of nearly two years’ hard work to get this Club ready for kick off. Now it is time to focus on what lies ahead and our first game will mark the true beginning for New York City FC.”

Head Coach Jason Kreis commented, “There is a huge buzz around the camp as we prepare to get pre-season underway. We’re looking forward to starting on the road and building up even more excitement as we head home for our first game in Yankee Stadium. We have been overwhelmed by the level of support we have had across New York and we can’t wait to play in front of all of our fans for the first time. We know that they will create an unbelievable atmosphere in Yankee Stadium on March 15th.”

The full schedule will be announced in January.

For information on how to purchase tickets for New York City FC’s inaugural season, please visit: http://www.nycfc.com/tickets.

And don't forget, if you haven't yet purchased your tickets there is still some available in Section 237, our second exclusive area for Third Rail members. Check your email for details on how to purchase.

Anyone Feel Like Charleston in February?

The club unveiled some surprising news this morning:

NYCFC to compete in 2015 Carolina Challenge Cup
November 5, 201411:26 AM EST

New York City Football Club is delighted to announce that the team will participate in the in the 12th annual Carolina Challenge Cup in February 2015.

Just a few weeks before NYCFC play their first-ever MLS fixture, Jason Kreis’s side will be joined by Orlando City S.C, Houston Dynamo and Charleston Battery in the round robin tournament hosted at the Blackbaud Stadium in South Carolina.

Six matches will take place between Saturday 21 February and Saturday 28 February and NYCFC Sporting Director Claudio Reyna believes that the competition will provide the perfect test at an ideal time.

“The opportunity to play in the Carolina Challenge Cup was one that we didn’t want to pass up. It’s a fantastic tournament and Charleston is a great city for us to spend time in during pre-season.” Reyna declared.

“Playing against an established MLS side in Houston Dynamo will get us a real sense of where we’re at in our preparations to join the league in March and the same can be said of the game against our fellow new expansion team, Orlando City.

“Charleston Battery are also a talented outfit and I’m sure that they will do an excellent job in hosting next year’s Carolina Challenge Cup. This competition will form a very important part of our pre-season.”

Head Coach Jason Kreis, who won the competition with Real Salt Lake in 2009, echoed Claudio’s sentiments, revealing his excitement at this first announcement of pre-season matches.

“It will be an exciting challenge for us to take part in the Cup which is MLS-sanctioned for the first time this year,” Kreis told nycfc.com.

“It’s a competition I have experience of competing in, so I know how well organised and how competitive it is.

“We’ve been working really hard behind the scenes to ensure that our pre-season program gets us in the best shape to be competitive from the first minute of our opening regular season match.

“I believe that it will prove to be an important week in our preparations for our first season.”

The Carolina Challenge Cup was started in 2004 by USL Pro side, Charleston Battery.

DC United have won the tournament on the most occasions, lifting the Cup four times, including the last one in 2014.

Kreis’s Real Salt Lake fended off competition from Toronto FC, DC United and Charleston Battery to lift the trophy in 2009 – a feat which preceded their MLS Cup win at the end of the year.

Ticket news and date of fixtures to be released soon. More pre-season exhibition announcements will be announced in due course.

This is an interesting development; a chance to see our club compete before the MLS season starts. It's also good news that they want to hit the ground running.

The Charleston Battery, the USL Pro club hosting the event, tweeted out this message shortly after the announcement was made:

Fans of @OrlandoCitySC travel very well & we hope for great interest from supporters of @NYCFC. Working on special travel packages for them.

— Charleston Battery (@Chas_Battery) November 5, 2014

Sounds like fun. Charleston is a pretty hefty drive, but a very reasonable flight.



Orlando is about half that distance, so expect to see lots of purple in the stands. It would be great to bring the blue!

Stay tuned, Third Rail members. We'll have more on this as the situation develops for those who would like to make our first away trip.