Orlando City hosted their first MLS home game over the weekend with a huge crowd at the Citrus Bowl. Their opponent in that match and fellow expansion team, New York City FC, are looking to welcome a big group as well for their home opener.
NYCFC announced on Monday that they will open the 400 level at Yankee Stadium due to the high demand for their first home game, which will take place on Sunday against the New England Revolution (5 pm ET, ESPN2). Though normal capacity for NYCFC games at the stadium is expected to be be 27,528, more than 30,000 tickets have been sold already for the game.
“Demand for seats for this historic game has been tremendous and momentum is growing by the day," said NYCFC president Tom Glick in a team statement. "It was only 10 days ago that we announced that the 300 level will be open. Now with more than 30,000 sold, we have decided to open even more seats. New Yorkers clearly want to be part of this landmark moment for our club and for soccer and we are giving them every opportunity to come and support their new team.”
In addition to expanding capacity for Sunday's game, the club also announced that they have reached 15,000 season ticket holders for the 2015 season. According to NYCFC, more than 60 percent of those fans have never before purchased season tickets in any sport in the market.
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“It is incredible how fast our fan base is growing," sporting director Claudio Reyna said in the statement statement. "We have added another 1,000 founding members in less than two weeks. Our team is excited for Sunday and can’t wait to play for New York City and for our new fans.”
