
One of the more interesting things about going to a sporting event: there's TONS you _don't_ get to see. The most "common" example of this would be luxury areas for people/companies who pay hundreds to thousands of dollars to access them, but there are areas of stadiums even _they_ don't see on a typical gameday.

Take, for example, the [Gotham FC Open House I attended back in October 2025](2025-10-18_gothamfc2)[^1]. While it allowed fans to see some of the luxury areas (which, again, cost HUNDREDS of dollars for a game), there was also access to one of the changing rooms and the tunnel the players walk through at the start of each match. However, many stadiums in the United States offer special guided tours which offer access to these areas to fans.

This time, I decided to take a tour of Citi Field. [I've talked about the place before](2026-05-01_nymets), but I did not get to see EVERYTHING that it had to offer on that trip (most of which was NOT part of this tour, but I may get to at some point in the future, as I'm thinking of going back for another game). Of course, much like the Gotham Open House, there's parts of the stadium that are completely inaccessible to fans - such as our starting area: the press conference room.

![An image of the area where the New York Mets hold press conferences](/images/2026/0602-pressarea.jpeg)

<figcaption>[Insert your own inane question for whoever is managing the Mets when you read this here]</figcaption>

The tour was neat in that while yes, decent chunks of it were luxury areas (one of which I had access to during the game I went to), and we did go into the press box for a bit though I felt it was mostly just okay (though the Home Run Apple went off while we were there), a lot of it was actually in the first floor tunnels connecting the two team clubhouses (though we were not allowed IN the clubhouses as rehabbing players were present). This included a visit to the right field premium area, which has probably the best physical seats in the stadium in my opinion.

However, the most interesting stop of the tour was the last stop, as we got to stand on the track around the field behind home plate:

![An image of Citi Field from the field itself](/images/2026/0602-citifield-field.jpeg)

Which included a close up view of the Mets' dugout:

![An image of the New York Mets dugout at Citi Field](/images/2026/0602-metsdugout.jpeg)

I will end this by admitting that part of the reason I made THIS trip was because I made plans for later that day - [something I NEVER thought I would do...](2026-06-04_nyyankees)

---

[^1]: The reason for it was to try and sell season tickets to fans, but the team may have just nuked any market for potential season ticket holders as reports have indicated they're looking into moving to Queens...

An inside look at the home of the New York Mets

A tour of Citi Field


### _[26 IN 26 STOP 17](/26in26list)_

_\*This trip occurred on May 30, 2026. For more on USL2, [here's an overview](usl2_overview)._

So far, I've talked about four pre-professional/high-level amateur teams on this blog: [Vermont Green](2025-08-21_vgfc), [FC Motown](2026-05-17_fcmotown_npsl), [New Jersey United](2026-05-24_njunited), and the [Staten Island Monarchs](2026-05-25_simonarchs). Today marks a bit of a change however, because where these teams are all mainly just small local teams with not much going on "outside" the main team (save for maybe the whole [STA thing](2026-05-22_fcmotownsta)), today's team is quite different: it's an entire youth soccer program designed to teach kids how to play soccer (aka an academy - which none of the other teams mentioned really have).

Ironbound Soccer Club - named after a district of Newark known for its Portuguese culture - has been around for some time. I couldn't find an EXACT date of "founding", but their website indicated that they won a youth title as far back as 2010. They also have some partnership with [Red Bull New York](2026-03-01_rbny), but I'm not fully certain as to what said partnership entails.

Information on Ironbound SC's history in USL2 is rather sparse sadly, but indications are that they joined the league in 2023 (by which I mean Wikipedia and the USL2 website). However, despite being named after a neighborhood in Newark (the Ironbound - which is known for its Portuguese culture), the team doesn’t play IN Newark: when I found out about the team last year, they were playing at a high school stadium in neighboring Elizabeth, NJ[^1] - another major city south of Newark which, unfortunately, has seen MUCH BETTER days in the past. When the USL2 schedule for this season was released, I found out that they had moved to the other side of Newark - playing their games at another local high school in Harrison, NJ (which also happens to be the home of [Sports Illustrated Stadium](2025-09-08_gothamfc)).

One thing that separates Harrison High School's field from others in the area: the field has baseball and softball diamonds in addition to the football/soccer/lacrosse field, but unlike [Hinchliffe Stadium](2025-08-12_njjackals), the "bat and ball" diamonds do NOT overlap with the football field. Therefore, the "field" itself is much larger than your normal high school stadium (it's more "square" than "rectangular"), and while there is still a running track here, it's quite different from your average high school running track as it's way more square than "ovaloid".

Said track is also how spectators get to the main stand from the school's parking lot, as it's on the opposite side of the field from the school. It's a rather large grandstand, and unlike some other high school bleachers (such as [St. Joe's](2026-05-24_njunited)), there's a decent amount of concrete (as well as bathrooms and changing rooms for the two teams). Strangely, it feels like it has a fair amount of areas meant for wheelchairs/accessibility despite being completely ADA inaccessible due to the need to climb stairs to reach the bleachers (i.e. wheelchairs cannot reach the seats).

![An image of Harrison High School and its athletic field with the Newark skyline visible on the left side of the image](/images/2026/0530-ironbound.jpeg)

<figcaption>Gotta love magic hour!</figcaption>

This game was rather even throughout - both teams scored from a corner and had a penalty shot, but only the visiting Long Island Rough Riders scored from theirs. However, Ironbound found an equalizer from "open play", and as two other goals they had were ruled out by the offside flag going up, this game ended as a 2-2 draw - the first honest to God, no-weird-tiebreaker-because-we-need-to-give-one-team-a-fake-win draw/tie I've covered on this blog (see: [MLS NEXT Pro](2025-09-22_rbnyii) and [college](2025-10-25_bentleyhockey) [hockey](2025-11-04_harvardhockey_mens)).

As a final note, it seems that there are VERY FEW people associated with the club who work in USL2 gameday operations - the team doesn't have any of those portable tents/awnings that a lot of other teams have, this game was free to attend (apparently), and neither concessions nor merchandise were sold (the Monarchs had a few snacks and drinks available despite not having merch FWIW). Also, I feel like this is REALLY stretching thin the idea of which venues should get _26 in 26_ consideration, but I felt between counting other similar venues PLUS this game being the first draw I've discussed, I'd count it.

---

[^1]: Fun fact: IIRC, Elizabeth High School was once the largest high school in America in terms of students, but a restructuring of the school in the 2009 split it into multiple separate schools.




A seemingly innocuous game produces a blog first (NOT CLICKBAIT)

Ironbound SC (USL League Two) @ Harrison High School (Harrison, NJ)


_\*This trip occurred on May 29, 2026._

If you’ve never heard of Ultimate before, it’s a sport where players throw a disc around and try to catch it in a part of the field known as the endzone (yes, very similar to gridiron football). The main rules I think are important are that a player can't really move with the disc (though they're allowed to take a few steps in certain situations such as coming to a stop while/after catching the disc), and if the disc is dropped/not caught, it's a turnover. Due to this latter rule, teams typically have entire "offensive" and "defensive" units similar to football and box lacrosse, though UNLIKE those sports, the defense does not switch off after turnovers (i.e. they have to get the disc to the endzone like the offense does when they take it away)[^1].

If you’re wondering why I've been using "disc" instead of "frisbee", that’s because "frisbee" is a trademark (much like [Wiffle Ball](2025-08-16_mlwwiffleball)[^2]). In fact, it’s due to this trademark situation that the main "professional" Ultimmate league in the United States (i.e. THIS one) was known as the American Ultimate Disc League until 2024, when it partnered with the company that owns Wham-O (i.e. the owners of the frisbee trademark) and became the Ultimate Frisbee Association.

In 2012, the then-AUDL started up its first season with eight teams. In year 2, four teams were added - including the New York Empire. The team has actually been one of the UFA’s most successful teams - they’ve only had one losing season (which just so happens to also be the only season they missed the playoffs), and they’ve gone undefeated THREE TIMES - each of those seasons ending in a championship (which actually gives them the most championships in the league).

I couldn’t find any SOLID information on their stadium history, but I do know that for a while, they were playing in New Rochelle, NY (basically one of the last major "towns" between Connecticut and New York City heading south on Interstate 95). However, it appears that they have moved to [The Stadium at Memorial Field](2026-03-08_westchestersc) for this season, and as I've visited the Stadium at Memorial Field before, I won't get too into it here (since I did that already). I will note that seating for this game was basically limited to the two middle sections with chairback seats however, and there were large banners over several of the bleachers on either end of the "seating section", but all tickets are sold as general admission, so...

![A view from the front row of The Stadium at Memorial Field](/images/2026/0529-memorialfield-frontrow.jpeg)

However, with the "open" seating, I also figured I'd see what the view from the top looked like as well:

![A view from the last row of The Stadium at Memorial Field](/images/2026/0529-memorialfield-lastrow.jpeg)

My original thought for the Empire was actually to visit on May 10, as that was the only afternoon game on the team's schedule (this was BEFORE I saw Westchester SC and the stadium's area)[^3]. However, I was unable to make that trip, so I ended up choosing this as my "new" date. This game also marks the SECOND time I've seen the Empire: when I was living in Massachusetts, I saw them take on the Boston Glory[^4] at a stadium in Medford, MA, but I didn't write about that game and don't exactly remember much outside of New York winning and me going home with a vuvuzela.

That game (which I THINK happened in 2024) was rather close, which I mention because this game...wasn't. New York scored the first six points of the game within the first five minutes, and ended up winning by 23 points - that's more than three _football_ scores.

There was also some high school All Star competition that occurred before the game - there were separate games for boys and girls teams, and I arrived sometime after the girls' game had started. In addition, a drum line (which was decked in Empire colors) performed before the game, at halftime, and after each Empire score of the first half (though seemingly not the second half).

### MERCH

I felt like the Empire had a larger merch area than Westchester SC did. It was a bit closer to the gates than the Westchester one, and while it did feature largely "standard" items (i.e. jerseys, shirts, and discs)[^5], I will mention that apparently, the company that supplies the UFA with its jerseys (which, it should be mentioned, is solely focused on ultimate) has two different fabrics which they make jerseys with - though I'm not FULLY sure on how they differ.

Also, they had special shirts for the All Stars (which were made from the "less expensive" fabric), and some were available for purchase. It seemed like they REALLY wanted to get rid of them, as they were essentially selling them at clearance prices (but only AFTER the game mind you). Dave and Busters also had a table at the game, and I won a Shadow the Hedgehog plush toy from them.

## \-\-\-

One final note: there is one more team that calls The Stadium at Memorial Field home (the New York Exiles of Women's Elite Rugby), but I don't think I'll be able to catch a game due to them only having five home dates - and none of them work well with my schedule.

---

[^1]: One other thing that I wasn't sure how to mention: game length for most Ultimate competitions is based on points scored (i.e. half time occurs once one team has "x" points, and then the game ends once a team reaches "y" points), but the UFA uses a clock akin to the other major sports leagues (four 12-minute quarters just like the NBA).

[^2]: Speaking of Wiffle Ball, I am sad to report that MLW is not stopping in New York City this year...

[^3]: Westchester SC only has 7 PM games FWIW

[^4]: Who, it should be noted, are the current UFA Champions

[^5]: Speaking of Westchester SC, I visited a local store which sells their merchandise before this game. Unfortunately, their selection of Westchester items was somewhat limited...


The Ultimate Sporting Experience

New York Empire (Ultimate Frisbee Association) @ The Stadium at Memorial Field (Mt. Vernon, NY)


_\*This trip occurred on May 24, 2026._

That’s right - **I WENT BACK**.

As I said during the [preliminary round](2026-05-19_iflcup), I originally had other plans for this day, so I wasn't thinking of going back to see more of the IFL Cup. However, rain and general wetness ended up affecting said plans (as well as my schedule for the whole weekend)[^1], so I decided to come back to check out MORE indoor football (as it _sorta_ fit around the [Staten Island Monarchs](2026-05-25_simonarchs) game I went to).

One thing I forgot to mention in two prior posts about the sport[^2]: indoor football games have a tendency to be MUCH higher scoring than outdoor football (or at least they did in the old AFL days). Case in point: I didn't mention this in the original post for...some reason, but Arizona and Vegas scored 61 and 73 points respectively in their wins on Monday. Only five times has an NFL team scored 61 points (with the last time being in 1989), and 73 points is the **ALL TIME NFL RECORD** for points scored in a single game (set in the league's 1940 championship game and yet to be matched)[^3].

Anyway, since I've already gone over the league, event, and teams before, I won't bore you trying to re-explain things (though one thing that did change: IFL Cup game balls were now available for purchase). Instead, let's just get to the games:

### Consolation Game: New Mexico Chupacabras vs. Orlando Pirates

I also realized that I didn't talk too much about how the IFL Cup teams are doing THIS season in the last post, but let's just say...things aren't going great in Albuquerque. The team has only one win on the year (over another team that only has one win on the year), and have scored the fewest touchdowns in the league (not to mention the multiple endzone interceptions they had on Monday).

The Pirates, meanwhile, are apparently one of the weaker defenses in the league - allowing the most points per game, which when combined with a middle of the pack offense, leads to the team being somewhat "middling" at 4-3 (also, as mentioned on Monday, they apparently have depth issues). They're beaten a bunch of the teams behind them in the standings, but came up short against the one of actually good teams and got blown out by two others (one of those blowouts being the game against Vegas on Monday).

All of this points to this game likely being a bit less interesting, which in a way, it was: the Pirates ended up winning by 30 points (but scored far fewer than either the Rattlers or Knight Hawks did on Monday). However, I only saw THE FINAL MINUTE of this game, as I found out that despite American Dream being, well, American Dream, there is an advantage in being the only shopping mall fully open on Sundays in Bergen County...though it causes MASSIVE traffic jams (plus I was busy in the morning, and the game got moved up from 1 PM to noon). The Pirates did score in the time I was there, however, so I didn't miss ALL of the action (just MOST of it).

### Championship Game: Arizona Rattlers vs. Vegas Knight Hawks

Both teams are among the better teams in the league this season: Vegas came into this game with only one loss, while Arizona had two - but one of those losses was to the Knight Hawks a few weeks before the IFL Cup.

I actually didn't see the first half of this game, as I was coming from Staten Island as mentioned earlier. However, since that game ended about half an hour after this game started, I figured I'd try and catch the end of this game (i.e. see who wins the whole thing). Traffic in and around the mall was MUCH lighter than it was during the consolation game, and I was able to find a spot MUCH closer to the arena than my prior visits (as I arrived after 8:30 and everything had already closed save for a Wetzel's Pretzels which essentially served as the concession stand).

Arizona led by at the half, but Vegas was (once again) able to make the comeback and ended up claiming the victory (partially aided by Arizona not kicking a field goal at the end of the first half in what ended up being a four-point game). However, the most interesting part of the night was seeing Jerome Bettis (yes, THAT Jerome Bettis) involved in the presentation of the trophy...and being able to see it all unfold ON THE FIELD (do NOT ask how I got there).

![An image of the Vegas Knight Hawks lifting the IFL Cup trophy after winning it](/images/2026/0524-celebration.jpeg)

<figcaption>I took a BUNCH of photos, but this was the only one where you could see the trophy itself</figcaption>

The IFL currently has not announced whether there will be a "sequel" to the IFL Cup soon or a permanent team in the area, but did leave the door open for expansion to NJ/NY as early as next year. Either way, I'm interested in checking it out again (hopefully soon).

![A photo of the IFL Cup field](/images/2026/iflcupfield.jpeg)

---

As a final side note, I ended up walking around the Nickelodeon themed indoor amusement park while trying to kill time between the end of the consolation game and me heading to Staten Island. I must say that I'm impressed with how they managed to fit an entire amusement park with "full sized rides" in a space WAY smaller than your average amusement park. Also, the nostalgia bait of things such as Hey Arnold and freakin' LEGENDS OF THE HIDDEN TEMPLE is definitely...interesting.

(And with this post, I'm now up to over 3,700 words on the IFL Cup as a whole)

---

[^1]: My original idea was to see the [Wilmington Blue Rocks](2026-05-03_wilbluerocks), but I moved that trip UP due to the jersey giveaway. My next thought was to the [New Jersey Jackals](2026-05-20_njjackals2), but I was thinking about seeing the [Staten Island FerryHawks](2025-08-14_siferryhawks) again (as the Monarchs trip was pretty much locked in), so I moved the Jackals trip up. However, wet weather made me decide to skip the FerryHawks - a decision which ended up being somewhat prudent, as the FerryHawks ended up getting blown out without scoring TWICE IN ONE DAY...

[^2]: The other post was the time I saw [the Jersey Bearcats of the American Arena League](2026-04-19_jerseybearcats) - though I did mention them scoring 40 points in the first half. Also, I looked at other teams in their league, and all I can say is that they're probably not ready to be a TRUE pro team...and apparently the IFL has interest in expanding to the NYC area.

[^3]: The four IFL Cup games all ended with scores that have never happened in the NFL BTW...


The IFL awards its first in-season Champeenship

IFL Cup Finals @ The Arena at American Dream (East Rutherford, NJ)


### _[26 IN 26 STOP 16](/26in26list)_

_\*This trip occurred on May 24, 2026. For more on USL2, [here's an overview](usl2_overview)._

I've already discussed [Staten Island as a place](2025-08-14_siferryhawks), so I'll skip talking about it today[^1]. However, this team doesn't have a Wikipedia page, so information on them is somewhat hard to find - though their website is actually fairly decent IMO.

The big thing you need to know about Staten Island Athletic Sporting Club is that they're a RELOCATION - the team moved here in 2024 after being founded in 2022 and spending two seasons in Springfield, IL. Why they moved I don't know, but their logo features a butterfly, which leads to their nickname: the Monarchs (heck, it seems that they're more commonly known as the "Staten Island Monarchs", but sources seem to indicate that they're officially "Staten Island Athletic Sporting Club").

Their home is on the campus of Wagner College - a school in the "heart" of Staten Island (as opposed to the FerryHawks, who are right across from Manhattan). It's a somewhat small school known for its theater department, but when I looked into their sports teams, I found out that their first basketball coach was P.J. Carlesimo, who is probably best known for bringing Seton Hall to the Final Four.

Their stadium is...actually pretty much the same as [The Stadium at Memorial Field](2026-03-09_westchestersc): a multipurpose field with a running track around it and a grandstand on one side (Wikipedia notes it as having a very similar seating capacity as well). However, whereas Memorial Field has big box businesses around it providing parking, Wagner College Stadium has Wagner College and what appear to be residences surrounding it (but there are also large parking lots nearby as well as a field hockey stadium). The seats are mostly metal benches, but there are chairback seats in the upper middle sections of the seating bowl (a fair warning however: they're not very clean).

![An image of kickoff at Hameline Field](/images/2026/0524-hamelinefield.jpeg)

Also, as the stadium is on a hill, there's actually a really neat view of the rest of Staten Island/the Verrazzano Bridge/I'm not sure what else is visible. However...it was cloudy/foggy/misty on this day, so the view was largely obscured by the clouds/fog - though it did emerge a bit in the second half (I tried to take a picture but it wasn't very good IMO).

This game was kinda even for most of it, as it seemed like a number of chances were missed and it was essentially 1-1 after the first ten minutes. Unfortunately, said first ten minutes featured visiting [FC Motown STA](2026-05-22_fcmotownsta) score two goals, which propelled them to victory.

### MERCH

The team's website has pages for merchandise, but when I went to check it a few days before this match, nothing was available - and nothing was available at this game either.

---

Also, I decided that with this game being at 6 PM and the weather being not so great, [I'd check something else out today as well...](2026-05-26_iflcup2)

---

[^1]: I WILL mention that I thought about seeing the FerryHawks before this game, but didn't think it was really worth the extra ticket and parking costs (plus the team isn't exactly doing well this year...case in point: they lost both games of a doubleheader by a combined score of **25-0**).

USL2 soccer in the heart of Staten Island

Staten Island ASC (USL League Two) @ Hameline Field at Wagner College Stadium (Staten Island, NY)


### _[26 IN 26 STOP 15](/26in26list)_

_\*This trip occurred on May 23, 2026._

I talked a little bit about the NPSL when I visited [FC Motown](2026-05-17_fcmotown_npsl), but one thing I didn't mention is the fact that I thought they'd be the only team in their division I'd get to visit. The division in question - the Keystone Division - consists of teams based in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, and most of those teams are fairly far (most being north of an hour) and only have night games. However, when the schedule (finally) released, I found out about this club: New Jersey United Athletic Club.

They don't have a Wikipedia page (prepare to hear that phrase several more times in the coming weeks), and information on their history is kinda hard to find on the internet, but their logo indicates that they were founded in 2024[^1]. Last season, they finished first in their division (which was known as "Keystone East" at the time), but I don't know how they did in the playoffs (which does mean that they didn't exactly win a national championship).

Last season, the side played their matches in New Brunswick, NJ at the high school's stadium. This year, however, they have moved to Saint Joseph High School in Metuchen, NJ - a school you may know for producing basketball stars such as Andrew Bynum and Karl-Anthony Towns, but I know because I have several friends who went there (one of whom took driver's ed with Andrew Bynum, but doesn't drive himself).

![An image of Brenner Family Field](/images/2026/0523-njunited.jpeg)

There's not much to say about the stadium itself - it's a high school field that doesn't exactly stray too far from what you'd expect for a Northeastern high school football/soccer/lacrosse/track stadium. If you live in a part of the United States where they don't really do that (or in another country entirely), it's a field with American football goalposts sticking out of the ground pretty much year round, but also features lines for multiple sports (in multiple colors) and a running track around the field. [The Stadium at Memorial Field](2026-03-08_westchestersc) is basically like this as well, but I couldn't figure out if the local high school played any other sports besides football there.

Unlike Mount Vernon, there's two sets of bleachers along the sides of the field/track, and not much else to say; one thing I do find interesting is the fact that the main stand (i.e. the one with the press box typically intended for home fans) is OPPOSITE the parking lot, which seems a bit awkward. However, the BIG thing stadium lacks compared to most high school stadiums (which is partially why this game was at 3 PM): lights. My guess is that it's due to the nearby residential areas making it difficult for the school to do "Friday Night Lights".

As I alluded to earlier, NJ United was initially not on my radar for this year. Originally, I thought the only NPSL team I'd be able to visit was FC Motown, but when I looked at the schedule, I found out about NJ United and the fact that they played at St. Joe's, and so it ended up on my calendar (I originally thought they played much further away than they actually do). I was originally hoping to see the team's home opener, but various factors prevented me from doing so - the big one being the fact that the game got postponed due to weather. Heck, I was almost certain THIS game would have been postponed as it rained fairly hard, but they ended up playing anyway![^2]

NJ United found themselves down 2-1 but up a player for the better part of the second half; sadly, they were unable to find the equalizer and lost. Due to the rain, I ended up watching most of the second half from my car in the parking lot - something I don't hope to do very often...

Also, Jon Bon Jovi went to St. Joe's for two years before transferring to another high school. Since St. Joe's was SUPPOSED to mark the halfway point of my _26 in 26_ challenge before getting postponed, I figured I'd end with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDK9QqIzhwk" target="blank">this</a>.

### MERCH

I found a Google form on the team's website for ordering merchandise, which is definitely an interesting thing to do (as opposed to setting something up with Square or Shopify). At the match itself, there's a small area next to the "main stand" where merchandise is typically sold...emphasis on "typically". This time, the bad weather caused them to decide not to sell merch (as the weather also affected the crowd[^3]), and it ended up being useful as I saw most of the first half from under the canopy where the team keeps its merchandise.

One thing about this lack of merch today is that I'm now interested in a return trip (as the online form does not include jerseys). However, the team only has four home games this year (which includes the now-rescheduled home opener), and this marks the second of those four games, so given that I'm unavailable for the third game, I REALLY hope it doesn't rain again at the end of June...

---

[^1]: I couldn't find any data that indicated that they played a 2024 season in any league.

[^2]: Part of the reason I was able to come to THIS game, oddly enough, is the fact that I saw the [Wilmington Blue Rocks](2026-05-03_wilbluerocks) at the start of this month (had I not, I would likely have seen them the day this is being posted - which would have made the coming days and weeks DIFFICULT to schedule).

[^3]: This isn't the first time I've seen this happen, and I do intend on telling that story later this year - because it's a DOOZY...

Sportventures

The Ironbound

An Empire State of Mind

Mall Ball 2: Indoor Boogaloo

Metropolitan Monarchs (5/24/26)

Soccer in the Rain (5/23/26)