
### _[2026: New Venue #33](2026newvenuelist)_

Philadelphia Union is one of Major League Soccer's older expansion teams. They were founded in 2008 and debuted in 2010, but their story predates that by quite a bit: efforts to get a team in the Philadelphia/South Jersey region date back to 2001 - but none were successful (including a team/stadium in Trenton getting shut down by the [MetroStars](2026-03-01_rbny)) In fact, the team's main supporters' group - the Sons of Ben - actually predates the club: they were founded in 2007 amid talks about the league expanding to Philadelphia, and was a BIG reason why the Philadelphia area got the Union in the first place.

There is one caveat to this, however: I said the "Philadelphia area" and not the "city of Philadelphia" because the stadium is in Chester, PA - one of the "not so great" suburbs. Much like a host of other cities I've been to on this blog, Chester is a former industrial town that hasn't recovered from its industry dying out, and the stadium is right on the banks of the Delaware River and immediately adjacent to one of the bridges between New Jersey and Pennsylvania, which adds to the "come for the game and then GET THE HECK OUT" feeling...

That aside, what is now Subaru Park was opened in 2010 (the same year the team debuted) - but wasn't ready at the start of the season, so the team played a few games at Lincoln Financial Field (the home of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles). It WAS supposed to be part of a revitalization project for Chester, yet it seems many of the boons it was supposed to bring haven't materialized (though there is a nearby casino).

![An image of Subaru Park](/images/2026/1107-subarupark.jpeg)

To be fully honest, Subaru Park is a fairly "simple" stadium. The main concourse is at ground level, but what's (mildly) interesting is that the seats are ABOVE the concourse; therefore, almost all fans enter at the bottom of their sections and walk up to their seats. Also, one end of the stadium is "partially disconnected" from the rest of the seating bowl; this end is the one closest to the Delaware River and is where the club's supporters' are situated, and underneath it are the tunnels the players and officials use (as in they walk THROUGH this part of the concourse to get to the field/changing rooms). There's also an "upper" area at the top of the seating bowl (i.e. where the photo above was taken), but there's not much here if you don't have suite tickets.

One thing that is VERY unique at this stadium: an Esports center! It's a room full of PlayStations that anyone can access, and you get fifteen minutes to play (or at least that's what I got during this match). There was a fairly wide variety of games available on the console, but as a soccer stadium, they of course had several soccer games: EA FC (as EA is no longer allowed to use the "FIFA" name), Konami's eFootball (formerly known as Pro Evolution Soccer), and one of my personal favorite esports (which I've actually mentioned [on this blog before](2025-10-04_buhockey_mens)): Rocket League[^2]!

This trip has been "in the works" since March of 2026 (when the team was still pretty bad) - mainly as I remembered the team existing while looking at MLS jerseys on <a href="https://www.footballkitarchive.com/mls-2026-kits/" target="blank">this site</a>. Due to Chester's (lack of) reputation along with it being quite far from me (as it's south of Philadelphia proper), I figured that if ever I were to come here, it would HAVE to be a day game[^1]. My original idea was to go on the 17th of October (a 2-2 draw), but having been in DC for [two](2026-10-11_bananabowl2026) [games](2026-10-12_wshcapitals) the weekend prior, I felt I needed to NOT have two long drives on back-to-back weekends (not to mention me going to [a Flyers game the weekend after](20262-10-24_phiflyers)). This game is on the "border" of being a day/night game at 4 PM (i.e. late afternoon), but I felt that 4 PM was still okay, plus I ended up landing THIS seat:

![A photo of Philadelphia Union players celebrating a goal from the front row of the stands](/images/2026/1107-goal.jpeg)

<figcaption>DOOP DOOP DOOP DO-DO-DOOP DOOP DOOP<br>DO-DOOP DOOP DOOP DO-DO-DOOP DOOP DOOP<br>(Translation: the Union just scored in front of me)</figcaption>

I realize I didn't talk about the team's performances ON the field earlier, but in all honestly...there's not much to say: they've won the MLS Supporters' Shield (i.e. the award for best regular season) twice, but have yet to win MLS Cup (losing their only appearance in the final in 2022). The second of those Supporters' Shields was last year (2025), but the team started poorly this year, there was a scandal involving a high ranking club official, and then the team...got HOT: they've lost only two games since the World Cup break (though those two losses came in the three games preceding this one), and have VAULTED up the standings into a playoff position.

This match is part of something known in Major League Soccer as "Decision Day": the final day of the regular season where every team is in action, with standings implications on the line. This isn't unique to the United States (England's Premier League does it for example), but due to how big the US is (versus places such as England, where all the games kick off simultaneously), it's a bit different: half the games (which all involve Eastern Conference teams) start at 4:00, and the other half at 7:00 (both are Eastern time). However, the Eastern Conference playoff picture was largely set by the time this game started - with Philadelphia locked into a playoff position (though there was SOME positioning things to sort out).

Philadelphia more or less dominated this game - cruising to a 4-1 win against a Toronto FC side already eliminated from the playoffs (and that's with TWO goals being disallowed). Also, I should mention that the team's catchphrase (which is all over the stadium) is "DOOP"; it's from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGbz9Bk0Ld4" target="blank">the song they play after goals</a>, which probably WILL get stuck in your head (especially when the team scores ~~six~~ four goals).

I don't like giving my personal opinions on this blog, but I do have to admit: this was probably the most fun soccer game I've been to this year. The atmosphere was WAY better than either New York team AND Leeds/Sunderland, and I think a lot of that is the fact that the supporters' section here is MUCH bigger than what either New York club has (though we'll see how things change once NYCFC get out of the [baseball](2025-08-13_nycfc) [stadiums](2026-10-31_nycfc_citifield)). One last thing I wanna mention: I've been using SeatGeek as my "secondary market" for a fair number of these major league games, but it's also a _primary_ ticket provider (i.e. the box office) for some venues, such as Subaru Park. Parking is also available on SeatGeek to "pre-book" from the team itself, but there's a convenience fee which, in my opinion, is only worth it if you know you're arriving late (like, say, within 45 minutes of kickoff). I didn't prebook parking and was still able to park in what I THINK is one of the stadium lots - though getting out of it was kinda rough...

<div id="merch" />

### MERCH

A very, VERY long time ago, I actually bought a Philadelphia Union thing from a Marshalls or TJMaxx. I can't remember if it was a non-jersey shirt, a jacket, or even a pair of pants (though I'm pretty sure it was a jacket), nor do I know if I still have it (as I've gone through several "closet cleanings" in the past).

The same night I started thinking about going to this match, I decided to check which Dick's Sporting Goods within a 100-mile radius of me had Union stuff (and obviously, none of them were close by). Coincidentally, I checked the DSG website again a few days before this match, and they had seemingly run out of Philly's home jersey (both online and in-store).

Those two stories aside, Subaru Park features a team store which is honestly a bit larger than I expected - and can be accessed before the game via doors outside the stadium (there was a tailgate and a pre-game plaza). It did have a fairly extensive selection of things (i.e. the usual: jerseys, clothing/hats, and a few novelties), but surprisingly, no soccer balls - mini or regular sized (though I recall Citi Field ALSO not having soccer balls). Around the corner from the main store are a small stand which offers jersey customization as well as another merchandise booth (there's also merch at a "tailgate area" across the street controlled by the team and I WANT to say there was one more merch booth somewhere else inside the stadium, but I don't fully remember).

It is also worth noting that this trip was almost NOT my first visit - I had thoughts about coming to watch the [PLL](2026-09-20_pllchampionship2026) back in August, but it rained on the day I would have come. Had I done that, my gut feeling is that the team store probably would have been closed based on the limited number of sections available when I looked at getting tickets (as only half the seats were available) as well as the Red Bulls store only being open for the Red Bulls match I went to (versus the other three events - two of which were soccer games).

---

### ON DECK

I mentioned yesterday that [Seton Hall's men's basketball team](2026-11-06_setonhallbasketball_womens) plays its games off-campus, but they're not the only Big East school to do so; there's actually a fair number of Big East schools that play their basketball games in bigger, off-campus arenas. For example, Georgetown (a university in Washington DC) plays at [Capital One Arena](2026-10-12_wshcapitals), Providence hosts games in [downtown Providence](2026-10-02_pvdbruins) (a few miles from its campus), UConn splits games between its campus and Hartford (both men's and women's), and tomorrow, I'm going to check out perhaps the most famous example of an off-campus Big East arena.

---

[^1]: There were two afternoon games in March, but I didn't get this idea until AFTER they had occurred. Also, I think I should mention that the team's [MLS NEXT Pro](2025-09-22_rbnyii) side play their games here (one of seven MLSNP teams to play in their parent team's stadium), and most of their games are day games; however, I didn't think it was worth it as the stadium is over an hour and a half away, most MLS NEXT Pro games feature little to no atmosphere (or fans), and a lot of the things I'd want to do are probably not available (read: the team store).

[^2]: I like watching Rocket League, but don't ask me about how many hours I've put into the game...mainly as I've never really had a computer/console powerful enough to play it properly.

MLS Decision Day on the Delaware

Philadelphia Union (Major League Soccer) @ Subaru Park (Chester, PA)

### _[2026: New Venue #32](2026newvenuelist)_

I've mentioned the Big East before (as this is not my first Seton Hall post), but I've yet to get into its history, so I think that I should do that first (especially as this is the first Big East basketball post I've done).

TECHNICALLY, the conference currently known as the "Big East" was established in 2013. However, it was born from an older conference also called the "Big East", which was founded in 1979. While the two conferences have always been known for their basketball prowess (featuring basketball powers such as Villanova and UConn), the old conference also had football (which it started in 1991) - though most of its schools weren't really national football powerhouses (save for Miami, who won two national titles as a Big East member). However, given the two sports' status in the NCAA landscape, the conference was often split between schools that were members of "Big East football" and those did not sponsor D-I football (i.e. all but two Catholic schools in the Untied States - both of whom were actually Big East basketball members at various points[^1]).

Due to the dichotomy of the Big East seemingly wanting to focus on basketball in a football-dominated NCAA, the conference kept churning schools in and out until 2013, when the "basketball schools" - seven Catholic institutions - separated from the football schools and made their own conference (insert the Futurama line here yourself because Louisville[^2]). This conference took the Big East name, while the football conference became the American Athletic Conference (and now features only ONE team from the split: the University of South Florida).

As one of the seven Catholic schools during the Big East split, Seton Hall - which has been a member of the Big East since the original conference's founding - is probably best known for its men's basketball team (as I've noted in the past). They haven't won a national championship, but did have a somewhat famous run to the championship game in 1989 (where they lost by ONE POINT), and have won a pair of NIT championships (one of which was two years ago).

However, this post isn't about them, as they've been playing most of their games at [Prudential Center](2025-08-28_nysirens) in Newark since it opened (and played in the [Meadowlands](2026-05-19_iflcup) prior to that) for various reasons (namely arena capacity[^3]); instead, it's about the women's team. While the men's team has a famous run to the championship game in 1989, the women aren't quite so fortunate: the furthest they've gotten in the NCAA tournament is the round of 16, and their last appearance was in 2016 (they also haven't won the "alternate" tournaments either). In any case, they play on campus at the arena that hosted the men until they moved out in 1985: Walsh Gymnasium.

Walsh was opened in 1941 as the men's team's first "permanent" home (they played their first game in 1903) and is named after a former president of the university. While it's never truly been "big" (especially by modern standards), it should be noted that due to _relatively_ recent renovations (if the 90s can be considered recent), the building now has less than 1,500 seats.

![A view of Walsh Gymnasium](/images/2026/1106-walshgym.jpeg)

<figcaption>There should be ZERO doubt who plays here...</figcaption>

There are two levels of seating here: floor and balcony seats (which are along the sides only). Both run from end to end along the long sides of the court, and one end of the arena has more balcony seats while the other has a giant banner covering (what I'm pretty sure is) a stage (in other words: Walsh's layout is quite similar to how the [Westchester County Center](2026-01-25_wcknicks) was set up for basketball, but without stage seats). Between the small size of the building and basketball being the sport with the smallest playing surface dimensions (of the sports I've talked about on this blog), this is probably the most intimate sports venue I've covered on this blog. Case in point: I spent part of the game in the front row of the balcony behind the visiting team's bench, and I could hear the coach during game action as well as the huddle during timeouts. I feel like I should also mention that the end seats are a bit...strange: there's no "direct" entrance (you access them from the side sections), and there's a giant overhang above them (with offices), so if you have to go behind them (which is the "quick" way to get around), you have to watch your head if you're tall.

So...here's the thing: I was interested in seeing the men's team here as they have a pair of games scheduled at Walsh - one of which was actually the night before this game. However, tickets were a bit pricier than I would have liked, and the secondary market was suspect at best[^4], so I ended up going with the women instead. I saw that they had had an exhibition game last week, but could not for the life of me figure out if it was open to the general public (a tweet about the game said it was free, but also implied that it was meant for students[^5]).

Tickets to women's games are typically $15 (and the men's games were almost 4 times that), but this one was only $10 as a promotion; kids are off from school because their teachers are at a statewide conference, and this game is meant to give them something to do (which is also why it was a Friday at 11:30 AM). Seton Hall overcome somewhat of a slow start to eventually pull away and beat Indiana State - a fairly small school known for being Larry Bird's alma mater (whose men's team, it should be noted, lost to Seton Hall in the NIT final in 2024).

Finally, I should note that Walsh also hosts the school's volleyball team (singular, as volleyball is primarily a women's sport in the NCAA), and they had a match a few hours after this game that I thought about going to (but ended up not). Also, this will NOT be the last time I see the Seton Hall Pirates women's basketball team, but that's going to have to wait a bit...

### MERCH

There's no merch booth at Walsh as the university's bookstore is less than 100 yards away, but there are a few things I noted about this game in particular.

First, I heard heading into the game that there was a blanket giveaway, but I couldn't figure out how to get one - though that may be due to the fact that I arrived a mere FOUR minutes before the game started, which is VERY LATE by my standards (I had something I had to get done before the game).

Second, there was a sponsor table giving away bags and shirts - but there was a bit of a catch. In the words of old school YouTubers, you had to "like, comment, subscribe" to the sponsor's social media feeds to get "swag", which I wasn't exactly interested in doing.

---

[^1]: Those two schools being [Boston College](2025-10-03_bchockey_mens) and Notre Dame - BC was a Big East football member, but Notre Dame is and has always been independent (and their other sports left for the ACC before the split). Coincidentally, college football's only other current independent school is a Big East member: UConn!

[^2]: Louisville was a member of the Big East when the split occurred (they went to the ACC), and just so happened to win the men's NCAA basketball title in the last year of the original conference (be careful if you're going to look it up, as one of the most famous moments of that run is pretty gruesome). However, said title was later vacated as it was found that while the players may or may not have been playing blackjack in the locker room, a recruiter was providing potential recruits the other thing from that line...



[^4]: The lone listing I saw on SeatGeek mentioned paper tickets received via mail, but a few days before the game, it was gone. I'm not sure if it was bought or if SeatGeek took it down for being fraudulent, but the fact that the price was MORE THAN DOUBLE face value should tell you something...

[^5]: I ended up seeing indications that the game was "public", but by then it was far too late.

Seton Hall's main sport at its on-campus home

Seton Hall Pirates Women's Basketball (Big East) @ Walsh Gymnasium (South Orange, NJ)


_\*I’m not sure how to classify this as a “sports venue” - especially since I’ve been to New York City so many times in the past._

I have a somewhat weird affinity for the Boston Marathon. Yes, a lot of that came from the aftermath of the 2013 bombing, but even as a kid in the Boston suburbs, the marathon had this pull on just about everyone in the area - part of that stemming from its status as the oldest marathon in the modern world. For example, I remember going out to get lunch on Marathon day as a kid (as it’s a holiday in Massachusetts), and seeing a guy with what a "wrap" on his shoulders; my dad told me it was a recovery thing runners sometimes do (as it was fairly cold that day IIRC - April in the Northeast is rather volatile for outdoor sports[^1]).

Anyway, this post has not quite so much to do with Boston - it’s about New York. The New York City Marathon was established in 1970, making it the second oldest marathon in the United States (after Boston), and one of the longest running marathons in the world (there weren’t a ton of marathons established between 1897 and 1970). Both Boston and New York are members of what are known as the “World Marathon Majors” - a group of seven (originally five) marathons considered the most prestigious in the world. Technically, there’s a system where elite runners score points to determine a “series winner” (a la Formula 1 or NASCAR), but that’s not really that important here (also, it’s been largely dominated by Kenyans since its inception).

I won’t get too deep into the “venue” here: it’s a 26.2 mile journey around the five boroughs of New York City, and you can’t exactly “see” the entire route as parts of the course are not open to spectators on marathon day. In order to include Staten Island in the route (as it is still one of the five boroughs), the marathon starts just off the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge, then weaves its way around Brooklyn and Queens, crosses the ~~Ed Koch~~ ~~Queensboro~~ 59th Street Bridge into Manhattan, heads straight up to the Bronx, and then comes back down to Manhattan before ending in Central Park. Because the entire route is public spaces, “admission” is free for MOST of the course - the exception being a set of stands pretty much right at the finish line (which I will NOT be going over for various reasons).

A lot of what makes marathons more appealing than your average sporting event is the fact that the field for a marathon is much, MUCH bigger than any other sporting event. Yes, you have the professional "elite runners" who are trying to actually win a race, but there's also thousands of other runners who are NOT professional athletes; they're more or less in it for personal reasons. Thanks to this, the focus for a lot of people who go out to watch the marathon isn’t these elite runners (unlike pretty much ANY post on this blog that isn't about college sports) - it’s their friends who qualify. For myself personally, one of my friends who I play pickleball with qualified (I don't remember the exact details, but it involved finishing a certain amount of other runs), and I felt it was a good opportunity to check it out despite having been in the city [not even 24 hours prior](2026-10-31_nycfc_citifield).

One of the SUPER NICE things about modern marathons is that they offer tracking technology for runners. Of course, based on your runner's average pace and their start time, you can extrapolate where they'll be and when they'll be there if you want to try to catch them - and resources such as <a href="https://www.nycmarathonguide.com/spectators" target="blank">this site</a> help you plan around that. However, based on my friend's timings (he started in one of the very early groups), I didn't specifically plan on trying to catch him; instead, I decided to try and see what things were like at the finish line in general (as he gave me a place to meet after the marathon). As I said earlier, tickets are required if you want to see runners ACTUALLY finish, but a few hundred feet away, you can watch runners approach the finish for free:

![A photo of runners at the New York City Marathon](/images/2026/1101-marathon.jpeg)

I'd heard from others that spectating marathons is a very different experience from your "normal" sporting event, and I gotta say...they're right. When you're at a team sports event (or even other forms of racing), you typically have a team you cheer for; when they do well, you're happy, and when they don't, you're sad. Here, you're cheering for EVERYONE because they're not famous athletes or up and coming guys (like in high level college sports) - they're just "normal people like you". Being at the finish line, as they're nearing the end of the grueling 26.2 mile journey seems to do something to the spectators - I was at the finish line for about half an hour, and it was fairly loud throughout. For example, some people behind me were cheering out the names of runners who they could spot (on their bibs/clothes); they asked who I was tracking, and cheered for him as he ran past us. This celebration of the common man extends outside of the marathon itself, as runners are pretty easy to spot around the city with their bright orange "wraps"; often, they would be cheered and congratulated as they walk by.

I can safely say that I would definitely consider watching the marathon near the finish line again; there is truly nothing I've been to like it where there are no losers - only winners. Running it, however, is almost certainly a no from me: I can barely run .2 miles - how do you expect me to run the other 26?

### MARATHON MERCHANDISE

I have a small(ish) collection of Boston Marathon jackets. I mostly did it as I kinda like jackets in general (see: me collecting baseball jerseys), but I must admit that it may not have been my greatest idea...

As for New York, there's no "dedicated" merchandise area in Central Park, but the association behind the marathon has a store a few blocks from Columbus Circle (i.e. the nearest subway station to the access point to the finishing area). Here, there is a selection of jackets and shirts (as well as a few other things); also, in what I can only describe as INSANE dramatic irony, New York Marathon merch is produced by Boston-based New Balance while Boston Marathon merch is...Adidas.

Also, this technically has nothing to do with the marathon itself (as it's not something you're likely to be able to get), but my friend's fiance made custom beanies for him and gave me one.

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[^1]: For more proof, look no further than [the very first post of this blog](2025-08-08_jsblueclaws): two baseball games on a miserable April day.


A look at a wholly unique sporting experience

Spectating The New York City Marathon


Looking back at my "baby days" on this blog, I realized something: I never talked about the New York City FC stadium saga! Anyway, a lot of it can be chalked up to "it’s near impossible to get construction permits in New York City", but here’s a brief summary.

If you couldn’t tell by how awkward the [Yankee Stadium soccer experience](2025-08-13_nycfc) is, it was never intended to be the club’s permanent home. Throughout the early years of the club’s existence, the team was looking at various sites in New York City to build a stadium; if I remember correctly, many of them were in northern Manhattan (including a potential partnership with Columbia University), but most of them never got far (again, permits).

In 2022, the club and city came to an agreement on a site: Willets Point in Queens, NY. An industrial area that was often viewed as an "eyesore" thanks to its abundance of auto part dealers, redevelopment had been in the cards for quite a while; in fact, plans to build a soccer stadium in the area PREDATE the establishment of NYCFC (MLS itself had looked into it as early as 2011). The stadium is still under construction and is expected to be opened next fall (as part of MLS shifting to a fall to spring schedule)[^1], but for now, the team and its fans are getting a "taste" of their future surroundings by playing at a different baseball stadium: Citi Field.

During the 2022 MLS season (i.e. the same year they came to an agreement on the stadium site), the team started splitting home games between here and Yankee Stadium (their "traditional home"), though I'm not fully certain as to why they did that (as the first game at Citi Field was before the agreement to build the new stadium was announced). I don't think I need to go over the history and layout of Citi Field as I've been here [three](2026-05-01_nymets) [times](2026-06-03_citifield) [already](2026-09-06_nymets2) this year, but like New York City's other baseball fields that just so happen to host soccer, the pitch does not cross the pitcher's mound here. Unlike Yankee Stadium, however, the field runs from third base to right field (which, coincidentally, is how the soccer field is laid out in [Brooklyn](2025-11-09_bkfc_womens) as well). Also, the supporters' section is in the outfield (similar to how they're in the Yankee Stadium outfield bleachers) - but due to how the field and seats are set up, they're...basically awkwardly in the right field corner.

![A photo of NYCFC's supporters at Citi Field](/images/2026/1031-citisupporters.jpeg)

You may be wondering what has possessed me to visit New York City FC right now given the scandal their parent club is currently embroiled in (long story short: they were recently found guilty of MASSIVE financial manipulation as well as attempts to cover it up). To that, I say that I've actually been thinking about doing this for most of this year (i.e. LONG before the club was found guilty): having seen the Yankee Stadium soccer experience, I figured I'd try for the Citi Field one before they move across the street. I should also mention that THIS trip was originally going to be Citi Field's debut on this blog, as I had plans to see New York City FC at Citi back in May before I ended up going to that first Mets game.

It is also due to that Mets game that this trip got delayed a LOT - it was originally going to be on May 3 as that was the team's only "confirmed" afternoon game at Citi Field when the schedule initially came out, but I didn't feel that going to Queens from New Jersey twice in four days was a good idea (had I gone, I would've seen NYC lose 2-0). I then thought about trying to see the New England Revolution [again](2026-03-01_rbny), but a 7:30 start time on a Wednesday night felt too late for me (and once again, NYC lost - this time on a last-minute goal). Finally, I thought about trying to go a few weeks ago, but given the opponent (Los Angeles Football Club and their pair of former Tottenham Hotspur stars), tickets were never going to be "cheap" (plus it was another 7:30 start).

Speaking of tickets, BTW, this is what I managed to find for this game:

![A view of Citi Field with a soccer pitch](/images/2026/1031-citiclubview.jpeg)

Yes, the actual view of the game is a bit awkward, but...I got into club level seats for a literal quarter over 30 dollars! Once again, this ticket came from TicketMaster as a resale ticket, which allowed me to see just how much I saved over face value (which I will not disclose). While the actual "club" itself is very similar to the other club sections I've been to (i.e. a specialized concession area with areas to sit and eat), my actual seat was part of this "club section", and unlike the other seats I've had at Citi Field, this one was PADDED!

I had FOUR events I was considering for this particular day, but Citi ended up "winning" in the end because two would have involved hour+ long drives (which I was hoping to avoid as I went to Philadelphia the weekend [before](2026-10-24_phiflyers) AND [after](2026-11-07_phlunion)), and the last one was >$100 on the secondary market (but I will explain more on that later as - surprise surprise - I still want to check the place out sometime). Having said that, however, NYC got a gift lead but gave up a stoppage-time equalizer against ~~the Montréal Impact~~ ~~Club de Foot~~ CF Montréal - a former lower-league darling that became an MLS club which is currently second worst in the league and at the "live long enough to see its owner become the villain" stage of its existence (with its future apparently unknown). With this result, unfortunately...New York City FC is now officially OUT of the 2026 MLS Cup playoffs.

P.S.: I did also consider going to the team's home opener on March 7 - a 5-0 drubbing of fellow 2015 expansion side Orlando City that featured a goalie red card - but ended up not going (partially due to logistics surrounding parking and getting to [Westchester SC later that day](2026-03-08_westchestersc)[^2]). Also, I legitimately wonder what the future holds for NYCFC and their stadium (as well as several over soccer teams around the world) given the situation with the parent club in England...but what I DO know is that unless the "TBD" game next spring is at Citi Field, then THIS is the last time New York City FC will play here (as the team announced that all but one of its games in the sprint season will be at Yankee Stadium)[^3].

<div id="merch" />

### MERCH

Remember when I mentioned all of those merchandise areas the Mets had during their game? Well...only one store was open for this game. It was not the main store next to the gates, but rather on the concourse right next to the main entrance, and while it did feature a half off sale on most of the jerseys they had (save for the one that's set to be carried into next season)...they had ZERO NYCFC scarves. Interestingly, there seemed to be major differences between how NYCFC merchandise is handled at their two homes - namely in that Citi Field did not have the same "clearance" section Yankee Stadium did (where jerseys were MORE than half off).

On a somewhat related note, this was the club's last home game for 2026, and it was Fan Appreciation Day. As part of this, the team had a postgame ceremony where the players gave the shirts "off their backs" to selected fans; I have no idea how the fans were selected for this (I assume it's via season tickets, a lottery, and/or charitable donations), but if I ever found out, I don't know if I'd consider it (partially as each jersey was specifically given to a "family").

---

This is my last visit to Citi Field in 2026, but I don't know when the next one will be. There's the pressing issue of the [MLB Lockout](2026-05-02_1994ws), it's not looking like NYCFC will have matches here (as mentioned earlier), and the Banana Ball Championship League is not scheduled to have a stop at Citi Field - which means it's set to be the only MLB ballpark that has yet to host the sport once next season wraps up...

Also, one VERY important thing I learned after the game: if you don't like large crowds, don't go to Greenwich Village on the weekend before/of Halloween...it's (probably) not quite as bad as Times Square on New Year's Eve, but there seemed to be WAY more locals (i.e. people who know NOT to go to Times Square on New Year's Eve - sorry if I just broke your immersion...).

---

[^1]: I am NOT planning on doing a ["27 in 27" challenge](2026-01-01_26in26), but I am still interested in checking it out - and if I’m still doing this at that point, I’ll probably write about it.

[^2]: Speaking of Westchester SC...<a href="https://www.theexchangefc.com/post/westchester-sc-to-cease-operations" target="blank">apparently, they're gone</a>.

[^3]: A random fun fact I could not figure out how to work into the post: New York City's PA announcer is the same guy who does the PA for [Rangers](2026-09-23_nyrangers) games - and before he was NYCFC's PA announcer, he did play-by-play for the team's TV broadcasts when MLS teams produced their own telecasts (which they don't anymore thanks to the league's current deal).

A small preview of things to come - sorta

New York City FC (Major League Soccer) @ Citi Field (Queens, NY)


It has been [OVER A YEAR](2025-08-25_setonhallbaseball) since I last visited Seton Hall/Carroll Field, but I felt that it was worth a revisit[^1]. As a reminder, Seton Hall is a Catholic school founded by the local Archdiocese which, as a member of the Big East, is known for its basketball team. They do have other sports however, and despite those sports not having the same following that basketball does, they can claim some pretty famous alumni within the sports world (case in point: Baseball Hall of Famer Craig Biggio).

To be fully honest, there's not much to say about Seton Hall's men's soccer team: they first played in 1928, but has only gotten as far as the NCAA Quarterfinal round (twice). However, like with baseball, the school has a fairly notable alum within the soccer world: Sacha Kljestan, an American who once played for RSC Anderlecht - one of the most successful teams in Belgium.

I mentioned back at the baseball game that the nice thing about Seton Hall is that most non-basketball teams have free admission and parking. However, as many of those sports have a WAY smaller following than basketball (both on a local and national level), they often have to share facilities in somewhat untraditional ways. In this case, the team's soccer and baseball teams share a field (which is weirdly common in the NYC metro in case [you](2025-08-13_nycfc) [haven't](2025-11-09_bkfc_womens) [noticed](2026-03-15_nycosmos)).

![A view of Carroll Field from the soccer stands. The grandstand used for baseball games and the unvierstiy's parking deck can be seen](/images/2026/1027-carrollfield.jpeg)

Like I said last time, there's really not that much to say about the field - it's a rather basic on-campus field that more or less does its job. However, because Carroll Field was designed with BOTH sports it hosts in mind (unlike the other stadiums), the layout here is a bit more accommodating to soccer - chiefly in that instead of having one of the goal lines be one of the foul lines, the field runs more or less parallel to an imaginary line connecting first and third base. The main "soccer" stands are in what would be considered the outfield for baseball, and while they are on the "smallish" side (as neither soccer nor baseball are particularly at the school), there are chair back seats here (near the middle of the field). Also, I don't know why this is done (though it may be a visuals thing given the fact that games are broadcast online nowadays), but a group of boards obscures the view of the soccer field from the baseball stands - though they actually aren't tall enough to block the WHOLE view, so in THEORY, you could see the game from the baseball grandstand - but I still wouldn't recommend it.

To be fully honest...I'm not sure what to think of this game. Seton Hall lost 3-1 to DePaul[^2] (with the lone Seton Hall goal coming as I was trying to park as I got held up at home and arrived late), and it seemed like there was WAY more interest in this game from the DePaul players/fans; I have my theories as to WHY this is, but I'll get into that at another time. Also, I assume the bookstore was already closed by the time the game started (if you actually needed merch for some reason), but there was a table giving away posters, magnets, and halloween bags near the entrance to the soccer stands that seemingly packed up soon after I arrived.

---

[^1]: And if you're wondering "why now?" when I could have done this last year...I honestly have no explanation.

[^2]: A fellow Big East school in Chicago (which, it should be noted, is also Catholic). Fun fact: there's a former provost of Seton Hall who became the university's first lay president (i.e. not a priest), and in 2017, he became DePaul's first lay president; also, I knew his daughter back in the day as she went to Seton Hall (I believe for free) and was friends with someone I know.


A return to Seton Hall for something...oddly common around NYC

Seton Hall Pirates Men's Soccer (Big East) @ Owen T. Carroll Field (South Orange, NJ)


This backstory for this game is a bit of a doozy to explain, so I’ll start with the "short and easy" part:

### The ECHL

Long story short: the ECHL (yes, that is the league's official name; it was formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is to the NHL what Double-A is to Major League Baseball. However, if you recall me mentioning the first time I discussed the [AHL](2025-10-06_lhvphantoms) (i.e. the Triple-A league) that few players from the AHL go on to have notable NHL careers, that is even more the case with the ECHL, where fewer than 1,000 players have ever played an NHL game - with most of the notable ones being goaltenders. It should be noted, however, that the league was "only" established in 1988, and unlike the AHL (which has 32 teams and every team has a one-to-one relationship with an NHL club), there are currently 30 teams in the ECHL (though the league is expanding soon), and one team is fully independent (i.e. they have no NHL/AHL affiliation whatsoever, thus three NHL teams do not currently have ECHL affiliates[^1]).

One fun fact about the ECHL: its headquarters are located in Shrewsbury, New Jersey - a town close to the Jersey Shore. However, about 50 miles away from Shrewsbury, we find where this game took place: Trenton, New Jersey - the state's capital city.

### Remember the Titans

If you are a LONG time reader of this blog, you may remember me visiting a junior hockey team called the [New Jersey Titans](2025-09-14_njtitans) last fall. My thinking when I was looking into visiting them was that they were named after the old ECHL team that folded, but that turned out to be untrue: that organization has been around since the Trenton Titans were established in 1999. Of course, this post isn’t about them, so let’s get back to Trenton[^2].

The ECHL Titans were originally affiliated with the Philadelphia Flyers (and also the New York Islanders, since this was before the ECHL moved towards one-to-one affiliations). Coincidentally, just like the [Phantoms](2025-10-06_lhvphantoms) (the Flyers’ AHL affiliate), they won a league title during the 2004-05 season (aka the season of the NHL lockout).

In 2006, the team was sold to New Jersey Devils ownership, and they renamed the team the Trenton Devils. This was controversial, as Trenton is MUCH closer to Philadelphia than Newark (part of why the Devils/Flyers rivalry is so intense: the lines are MUCH MORE blurred - especially in Central Jersey). The team ended up floundering under Devils ownership - to the point where in 2011, it was announced that the team would be disbanded[^3]. However, the ECHL stepped in and saved the team - finding new owners who restored both the Titans name and Flyers affiliation. However, financial issues arose once again, and in 2013, the ECHL announced that the Trenton Titans were no more.

### The Franchise

Now, let’s move onto the team that’s actually the subject of this post.

The team that is now in Trenton has moved around QUITE A LOT since it was founded in 1981 as a member of a league called the Central Hockey League (which is quite old by ECHL standards - especially when you consider that the ECHL itself was founded in 1988)[^4], but in 2005, it landed in West Valley City, Utah (a suburb of Salt Lake City) as a continuation of the Utah Grizzlies - an AHL team that was established in Denver, moved to Utah when the Avalanche came to town, and eventually relocated to Cleveland, OH[^5].

The ECHL Grizzlies were...not all that successful: while they were a relatively consistent playoff attendee, they only won their division one time, only made it as far as the conference finals (twice), and lost more first round series than they won. Speculation about the future of the team grew in 2024 with the “sudden” arrival of the NHL in Salt Lake City (because even Gary Bettman’s dogged determination to make Phoenix work as an NHL market had its limits). While the franchise ended up continuing on (as an affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche), the team’s president/owner died suddenly in March of 2025, and his family indicated that they would sell the team. In July of that year, they did - to a group of investors from Trenton, NJ. The Grizzlies played one final season in 2025-26, and then made the cross-country move - restoring affiliated hockey to Trenton for the first time since the demise of the Titans in 2013 (and affiliated ANYTHING since the [Trenton Thunder](2025-08-15_trethunder) were "kicked out" of the Eastern League in 2020).

In January of 2026, the team revealed their new name: the Trenton Ironhawks. A few months later, it was announced that they would be replacing the [Worcester Railers](2026-10-17_dcucenter) as the ECHL affiliate of the New York Islanders, which is a little odd but "decently workable" (partially as avoids any controversies about being affiliated with the Flyers, Devils, or...Rangers).

### The CURE

So now that all of the “moving” parts of this story have been established, let’s talk about the part that hasn’t moved (because it’s a building): the arena.

![An image of CURE Insurance Arena](/images/2026/1024-curearena.jpeg)

The building currently known as CURE Insurance Arena was opened in 1999 - the same year the Titans were established. In addition to minor league hockey, the building has hosted basketball (such as a “neutral site” Princeton/St. Joseph’s game last year), wrestling (something which is actually kinda big in New Jersey from what I’ve heard), and (from what I can tell) is one of the few buildings in the world that can say it has hosted a <a href=”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Box_Lacrosse_Association” target=”blank”>Professional Box Lacrosse Association</a> game.

To be FULLY honest, I don't really feel like there's much to say about the arena itself. There's a main concourse that fully wraps around the seating bowl (which, it should be noted, goes both above and below), as well as an upper "concourse" that serves the upper parts of the seating bowl as well as the arena's suites. Speaking of the seating bowl, it must be noted that the lower seating bowl does not fully encircle the ice; seats at one end of the ice are folded up and inaccessible, and it appears that there's a premium area with bar tables here (though indications are this didn't used to be the case).

One thing for those scared of loud noises: much like most hockey arenas in North America (save for about 3/5 of the ones on this blog somehow[^6]), there's a horn that sounds after the team scores. However, it seemed like it had been adjusted between the club hockey game and now, as it was decently "powerful" during the club hockey game but not so much here (though there are a few factors as to why this might be). Also, I forgot to mention this last time, but TCNJ seemingly brought their own recording of a horn for the club hockey game, as I checked their other games at their "normal" home and they featured the same sound/song (though whether or not _that_ horn is real is a different question altogether).

### Rise of the Ironhawks

![An image of a puck featuring the matchup for this game](/images/2026/1024-matchuppuck-tre.jpeg)

This trip has more or less been on my radar since rumors came out that the team was moving to Trenton (similar to how my trip to [Bridgeport](2026-01-12_bptislanders) was born out of rumors of _their_ move). As soon as the team announced their schedule in May, I immediately put this game on my calendar as it's the team's HOME DEBUT (they had a few away games last weekend).

Given that, it should come as no surprise that I had originally planned for this to be my first visit to the arena, but few weeks before this game, the Ironhawks hosted an "open house" which featured a [club hockey](2026-10-03_clubhockey) game. My original plan (once I decided that I wanted to check out the open house) was to use it to "scout" various sections prior to getting my ticket for this game (as tickets were still fairly available), but a few days before the open house, the team announced a "mystery ticket deal": for $20, you'd get a mystery seat in an "unknown location". Given that this was still less than the least expensive box office tickets, I figured I'd give it a go, and I pulled THIS:

![An image of the opening faceoff of a hockey game](/images/2026/1024-mysteryseat.jpeg)

This game was preceded by an outdoor plaza party which I ended up missing due to me having to travel up from [Philadelphia](2026-10-24_phiflyers) (it took me about 40 minutes to get from arena to arena, and I got to Trenton about 20 minutes before the arena doors opened). Much like that Flyers game, this game was very, VERY scrappy: Trenton ended up winning 4-1, but before they could celebrate their first home win (and first win in the ECHL), a LINE BRAWL (i.e. when all the players on the ice start fighting each other) broke out right as the clock hit 0:00 (after several incidents earlier in the game - including one about eleven seconds prior to the end of game line brawl). Also, in what can only be described as a WILD coincidence, this is the second ECHL game I've been to, and both featured the same result: the Islanders' ECHL team defeating the Adirondack Thunder (the Devils' ECHL affiliate[^7]).

<div id="merch" />

### MERCH

If there's one thing this ownership group seemingly knows how to do, it's push merchandise - something they seemingly did quite a bit of in the months after revealing their name/logo. However, I can't exactly say I was interested until they unveiled their jerseys, which happened in mid-September.

It is here that I do need to confess something: the BIG reason I went to the open house event was because it was the first in-person opportunity to buy the new jerseys (which were the only things available that night[^8]). Given how late in the offseason the reveal was (it was already September), I felt that I'd rather not "chance" waiting for this game if I wanted a jersey (not to mention the fact that I almost wasn't able to go). I'm going to lean on the side of this idea being prudent, as at that event, the box of jerseys in the size I typically get looked pretty empty by the time they packed up...

At this game, the outdoor plaza SUPPOSEDLY had merchandise available, but I didn't see anything (though again, I arrived pretty late). Inside the arena, there were three separate areas where items were available: one had just jerseys (akin to the club hockey game), another had special inaugural season shirts, and the third was the main store with just about everything else. The latter two had a commemorative puck featuring the date and matchup for this game, and just like the Flyers matchup puck, this one sold out (or at least I'm pretty sure it did, as I checked midway through the game and saw none available).

Also, I got THIS after the game while waiting for the crowds heading for the exits to subside:

![An image of a Trenton Ironhawks Official Game Puck](/images/2026/1024-gamepuck.jpeg)

This is one of the pucks that was prepared for the game, but never used. They're kept in a cooler during the game (I forget why pucks are frozen), and one of the staffers responsible for giving pucks to the referees when necessary threw these into the crowd after the game. The Ironhawks have a "replica" version of this available at their team store that I ALMOST got before realizing it was just a replica.

---

[^1]: Those three teams being the Buffalo Sabres, Utah Mammoth, and New York Rangers - which explains why I saw something about them (the Rangers) loaning a player to the Worcester Railers as opposed to sending him to their nonexistent ECHL affiliate.

[^2]: I didn't realize this until recently, but the "Titans" name is surprisingly common amongst [NJ/NYC area teams](2026-07-12_mlquadball).

[^3]: One thing you should know about the Devils: they were notorious for burning through MULTIPLE AHL markets to the point where for whatever reason, the league has never truly returned (mainly in the Lou Lamoriello days); among them [Lowell](2025-08-29_bosfleet&umlhockey) and Albany (which has a decent-sized arena which now only hosts Arena Football). I’m not sure if they still have that reputation though, but given that Lamoriello is thought to be partially responsible for the demise of the Bridgeport Islanders...

[^4]: One of the locations they were in was Macon, GA where they played as the Macon Whoopee - one of the most infamous minor league sports names in history (thanks to an old game show).

[^5]: The team is still in Clevelandtown as the Cleveland Monsters (nee "Lake Monsters"); they share an arena with the Cavaliers, and won the Calder Cup (AHL championship) in 2016 - the same year their basketball friends across the hall won (and, well...).

[^6]: I counted: only eleven of the 27 hockey arenas I've discussed on this blog (so far) have real goal horns - and that figure is somewhat generous as it includes [Merrimack's trumpet player](2025-10-10_merrimackhockey_mens). Of the other 16, I do find it noteworthy that two of them are the only NHL arenas known to not normally have real horns ([TD Garden](2026-03-21_hechampionship2024) and [Madison Square Garden](2026-09-23_nyrangers)).

[^7]: I don't remember who was in goal for the first game, but this game featured a rather fun name in net: Jeremy Brodeur, the son of NHL legend Martin Brodeur.

[^8]: While it's technically not "merchandise", I did go home with a game puck that flew over my head at the open house/club hockey game. Also, I checked how much it would be to order a jersey and have it shipped, and it turned out that shipping was the exact same cost as the ticket for the open house. However, the "instant gratification" of knowing the jersey was in my hands made the trip worth it for me - and getting a puck was a bonus.


Sportventures

Ball at the Hall

Road Runners

New York "Citi" FC

Swashbuckling Soccer

The First Flight