More RBA nights for City?

After an uneventful and sparsely-attended 1-0 victory over AD San Carlos at Red Bull Arena that secured advancement to the final eight of the CONCACAF Champions League, it is still unclear whether New York City FC will be required to take the PATH into Harrison hat in hand again.

Wednesday night’s match, which went largely unpublicized and slotted with a 6pm kickoff time, was largely ignored by City’s support despite its significance as the franchise’s first home continental night and the game being free of charge to season ticket holders. Attendance was reported at 4,396 and Once A Metro sources confirm that the South Ward, currently in the final stages of renovation for safe-standing, was successfully protected by a squad of security guards.

The next round of the tournament is scheduled for March 10th through the 12th. As feared by OAM earlier this month, the seal may be broken and RBA may be in for regular use by their itinerant neighbors. Perhaps the offer of a hefty rental fee and a easy night of business for vendors makes this a smoother arrangement for the Red Bull front office than it is for the fanbase of either team.

But should City’s lack of proper infrastructure lead to regular use of the arena that impacts the quality of surface or even conflicts with the RBNY home schedule, it may become incumbent on the RBNY brass to raise the pressure on CONCACAF to disqualify City from future continental play if they cannot provide a reliable regulation ground of their own.