New York City FC to host Red Bull New York in final home match at Yankee Stadium

The 2027 sprint season will conclude with one of Major League Soccer's best rivalries playing out in the Bronx one last time.

As just announced on MLS Countdown ahead of Wednesday night's slate of MLS matches, New York City FC and Red Bull New York will close out their shortened 14-match seasons at Yankee Stadium with the first-ever Hudson River Derby played on an MLS Decision Day.

Kickoff is set for 5:00 pm ET on Saturday, May 8. The full schedule for the 2027 sprint season will be released tomorrow, October 29, based on multiple teasers shared by other MLS clubs, but MLS Countdown shared other key dates.

The sprint season begins on February 19, with the first match of the season set to be Inter Miami CF vs FC Cincinnati, according to what was announced on MLS Countdown.

This will be the last regular season match New York City FC will ever play at its odd, sometimes charming baseball stadium home in the Bronx. The team will debut at its newly-built soccer-specific stadium, Etihad Park in Queens, to kick off the league's first season played while following a Fall-Spring calendar.

The club's Etihad Park home opener is scheduled to be played on July 17, 2027, according to what NYCFC and the league announced earlier this summer.

Touring Etihad Park at a moment of struggle for NYCFC

Etihad Park is starting to look like the home New York City FC has long waited for. The club, however, is facing challenges on multiple fronts as the stadium's opening nears.

New York Soccer JournalJohn Baney

One more time

The Decision Day match will mark the 13th installment of the Hudson River Derby played at Yankee Stadium, and most likely the final one, barring a repeat meeting in the Bronx during the sprint season's version of the MLS Cup Playoffs.

The 2027 MLS sprint season will see each Major League Soccer team play a grand total of 14 regular-season matches, seven home and seven away, between February and May. All matches will be against teams from the same conference.

At the conclusion of the regular season, the top eight teams in each conference will qualify for the 2027 MLS Cup Playoffs. Meaning this final Hudson River Derby in the Bronx will be the 14th and final match for each team, and could play heavy into the 2027 playoff race, especially with so few games to separate teams in the table.

Derby stats

Overall, Yankee Stadium has provided a middling home-field advantage for NYCFC in terms of results in the history of the derby.

New York City has the slight edge in all-time results in the Bronx at 6W-2D-4L. However, Red Bull is unbeaten across its last two trips to the venue dating back to 2023, most recently earning a 1-0 win off a Julian Hall goal "assisted" by NYCFC's James Sands.

The Red Bulls still have the better overall record in the derby, as well. Dating back to 2015 across all competitions, RBNY is 17W-5D-13L with a +13 goal differential when facing New York City FC.