HARRISON, NJ (December 18, 2012) – The New York Red Bulls will host their 2013 Major League Soccer regular season home opener on March 16, 2013 at Red Bull Arena against long-time rival, D.C. United, in a rematch of the teams’ 2012 MLS Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Semifinals Series.
In addition to the Red Bulls-D.C. United fixture, MLS announced the 2013 home openers for the other 18 clubs today. New York will begin the season on March 3, traveling to JELD-WEN Field to battle the Portland Timbers. Kickoff time and broadcast information for these matches will be announced in the coming weeks as part of the complete 2013 MLS regular season schedule announcement.
Season ticket plans for the Red Bulls’ 2013 home schedule at Red Bull Arena are available now by calling 1.877.RBSOCCER or logging onto www.newyorkredbulls.com/tickets.
New York will be facing D.C. United in the franchise’s 18th all-time home opener. The two sides are familiar with each other, with United most recently knocking the Red Bulls out of the 2012 MLS Cup Playoffs after a 2-1 aggregate win in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Prior to that, the Red Bulls went 1-1-1 in 2012 regular season play versus their Atlantic Cup foe.
New York has gone 11-3-3 in its previous 17 home openers, including a 6-0-3 mark since 2004 (including 3-0-0 in three Red Bull Arena home openers). Last year, the Red Bulls defeated the Colorado Rapids, 4-1, on March 25 in its first match of the season at Red Bull Arena. This will be the fourth time New York has hosted D.C. in its home opener. New York is 2-1-0 in the previous three matches, winning in 2000 and 2004 and losing in 1999.
This is the first time that New York will square off against Portland in a season opener. The Red Bulls beat the Timbers, 3-2, on Aug. 19 at Red Bull Arena in the teams’ only meeting last year.
Dates and matchups for the 2013 MLS Regular Season home openers are below.
WEEK 1
Saturday, March 2:
Philadelphia Union vs. Sporting Kansas City (PPL Park)
FC Dallas vs. Colorado Rapids (FC Dallas Stadium)
Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Toronto FC (BC Place)
Houston Dynamo vs. D.C. United (BBVA Compass Stadium)
Seattle Sounders FC vs. Montreal Impact (CenturyLink Field)
Chivas USA vs. Columbus Crew (The Home Depot Center)
Sunday, March 3:
LA Galaxy vs. Chicago Fire (The Home Depot Center)
Portland Timbers vs. New York Red Bulls (JELD-WEN Field)
San Jose Earthquakes vs. Real Salt Lake (Buck Shaw Stadium)
WEEK 2
Saturday, March 9:
Toronto FC vs. Sporting Kansas City (Rogers Centre)
D.C. United vs. Real Salt Lake (RFK Stadium)
Colorado Rapids vs. Philadelphia Union (Dick’s Sporting Goods Park)
Chicago Fire vs. New England Revolution (Toyota Park)
WEEK 3
Saturday, March 16:
New York Red Bulls vs. D.C. United (Red Bull Arena)
Sporting Kansas City vs. Chicago Fire (LiveStrong Sporting Park)
Real Salt Lake vs. Colorado Rapids (Rio Tinto Stadium)
Montreal Impact vs. Toronto FC (Olympic Stadium)
Columbus Crew vs. San Jose Earthquakes (Crew Stadium)
WEEK 4
Saturday, March 23:
New England Revolution vs. FC Dallas (Gillette Stadium)
