HARRISON, N.J. (January 12, 2017) – The New York Red Bulls and Major League Soccer announced today the club’s 2017 MLS Schedule. After facing Vancouver in a home-and-home series in the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League, the Red Bulls will open MLS play with a match at Atlanta United FC on Sunday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m., with coverage on FS1, Fox Deportes and Red Bulls Radio.
The eighth season of soccer at Red Bull Arena begins the following weekend, with the Red Bulls hosting the Colorado Rapids on Saturday, March 11, at 4 p.m. ET, with coverage on UniMas and Red Bulls Radio.
The full schedule is available by visiting www.newyorkredbulls.com/schedule.
2017 Red Memberships are available now, with information available by visiting www.NewYorkRedBulls.com or calling 1.877.727.6223.
- RED MEMBERS: Get your 2017 season tickets
The national television schedule was also announced by Major League Soccer. The Red Bulls will have 15 nationally-televised games in the United States, and 19 across the United States and Canada, with four on TSN and TVA.
MSG Networks will be again be the regional home for the Red Bulls (previously the Metro Stars), as it has since 1996. Additional broadcast details on MSG's coverage will be announced at a later date.​
All 34 Red Bulls regular season games will be available on Red Bulls Radio. All MLS matches are also available via MLS live.
The New York Derby will resume on Saturday, June 24 with a 1:30 p.m. match at Red Bull Arena. The Red Bulls will also face New York City FC on Sunday, August 6, at Yankee Stadium and Friday August 25 back at Red Bull Arena. The third match on August 25 will be part of MLS Heineken Rivalry Week.
The Red Bulls close out the season on Sunday, October 22, at D.C. United.
- SCHEDULE: See the 2017 games
MLS will break for the CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage. Just as MLS has done for the World Cup since 2010 and the 2016 Copa America Centenario, the 2017 schedule will include a break for the CONCACAF Gold Cup group stage for the first time. Group stage matches for the CONCACAF Gold Cup will be played from July 7 through July 17.
New York finished the 2016 season as the top team in the Eastern Conference for the third time in the last four seasons. After a slow start, New York finished the regular season on a club-record 16-game unbeaten streak. The mark reached 20 games across all competitions, including CCL.
The Red Bulls Champions League series gets underway with a home match against Vancouver on Wednesday, February 22, at 8 p.m. The return leg will take place on Thursday, March 2, in Vancouver.
The Red Bulls begin preseason on Monday, January 23, in Tucson, Arizona.
Red Bulls Schedule Notes:
- Thirteen of New York’s 17 home regular season matches take place on Saturday or Sunday, with two Friday night games at Red Bull Arena, and two Wednesday night matches.
- As it stands, RBNY’s longest road trip is two games, which happens four times during the MLS season. This may change based on additional matches in competitions outside of MLS, such as further matches in the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League or US Open Cup.
- With the addition of MLS expansion teams Atlanta United FC and Minnesota United FC, New York will play 23 games against Eastern Conference opponents and will face each Western Conference opponent once. New York is on the road for six of those Western Conference games.
- In addition to opening the season against Atlanta United FC, New York will play its first match against Minnesota United FC on Saturday, July 22.
- New York is on the road for just two of the last five matches of the season.
Additional schedule notes courtesy of MLS PR
ESPN regular season schedule to include 2017 expansion club matchups; MVP vs. MVP; and key rivalry games
MLS coverage in 2017 on ESPN, a broadcast partner of MLS since the league’s inception, will again see games air predominantly on ESPN’s premier network, with 28 games on ESPN and three on ESPN2. All matches will be simulcast on ESPN Deportes and streamed live on both WatchESPN and ESPN Deportes+.
- ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and WatchESPN will carry the only two matches between the league’s new expansion teams – Minnesota United FC and Atlanta United (March 12 at 5 p.m. ET and August 13 at 6 p.m.ET)
- The Toronto FC vs. New York City FC match on July 30 features a rematch of 2016 MLS Eastern Conference semifinals and a matchup between the last two league MVPs – Toronto FC’s Sebastian Giovinco (2015) and New York City’s David Villa (2016)
- ESPN will also continue its cross-platform coverage of the League via ESPN FC, ESPNFC.com and The Heineken Boot Room.
- ESPN’s coverage will culminate with the pinnacle of the MLS season: 2017 MLS Cup (date and time to be announced).
FOX schedule includes premier placement on network television for four MLS matches
After making its FOX broadcast network debut in 2016, MLS action will return to the over-the-air English-language network four times this season, with the network carrying some of the season’s biggest matches. Additionally, 29 games will air on FS1, bringing marquee MLS moments to fans all season long.
- FOX network television events will feature premier games and MLS rivalries:
- Orlando City SC vs. LA Galaxy (Saturday, April 15)
- Seattle Sounders FC vs. Portland Timbers – a rivalry that dates back to 1975 (Saturday, May 27)
- New York Red Bulls vs. NYCFC match during Heineken Rivalry Week (Saturday, June 24)
- Atlanta United vs. Orlando City SC – the opening of Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Sunday, July 30)
- FS1 and FOX Deportes will kick off the season by showcasing the debuts of both Atlanta United and Minnesota United FC in Week One.
- FS1 will air the 2017 MLS All-Star Game; further details to be announced in the coming weeks.
Univision Deportes to showcase MLS on Univision network; UniMás games move to Saturday
Back for an 11th consecutive season, and 15th overall, Univision’s 2017 lineup is set to bring MLS matches to a wider audience than ever before with at least six matches on Univision network and 18 matches on UniMás, most simulcast on UDN.
- New UniMás programming windows on Saturday afternoons bring MLS action to Univision’s biggest platforms
- Select broadcasts, including the 2017 MLS Cup broadcast, will incorporate the popular La Barra MLS pregame program, bringing viewers the sights and sounds of the stadium atmosphere as well as pre-match interviews with players, coaches and MLS experts.
- All Univision Deportes matches will be available in English via SAP and livestreamed online via UnivisionDeportes.com.
New Canadian broadcast partnerships to provide more MLS action and content in Canada than ever before
MLS this week renewed its media rights partnership with Canada’s most-watched specialty network, TSN, while welcoming new partner TVA Sports for French-language broadcasts in Canada.
- TSN will air a record number of live MLS matches in 2017 with destination viewing on Friday nights from March 31- June 2 and a game of the week on Saturday nights throughout the season.
- TVA Sports will air more than 50 MLS matches in 2017 with additional weekly news programming.
- Individual TSN and TVA Sports match times will be announced in the coming weeks.
Additional notes
Schedule Format: Each club will play 34 games, including 17 home games and 17 away games. Teams will face each of their 10 conference opponents twice during the season with one game at home and one game away. Clubs also will compete in select additional games against different conference opponents three times, and they will face each non-conference opponent once.
Midday Summer Windows: The 2017 schedule reduces the number of matches affected by heat in the summer with just nine matches, six national broadcasts, on early summer afternoons (vs.15 total matches in 2016). Additionally, those six matches will be played in more temperate climates (Atlanta inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Toronto, Portland, Minnesota, Montreal, Seattle). Total number of matches,
Record Number of Matches: 374 matches will be played this season, more than any other MLS season.
MLS Cup Rematch: Toronto FC will travel to Seattle to face Sounders FC in a 2016 MLS Cup rematch on May 6 that will air on ESPN (4 p.m. ET).
Postseason Schedule: Details for the Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs and 2017 MLS Cup will be announced at a later date.
MLS All-Star Game: Dates and details for the 2017 MLS All-Star Game will be announced in the coming weeks.
