The USL Championship is the second tier of the US Soccer Pyramid, with 24 current clubs and at least 10 more slated to join over the next few seasons. One of the newest additions to the circuit is Rhode Island FC, who started play last season using Bryant University's stadium before moving into a brand new venue in Pawtucket for 2025. Fellow sports traveler Andrew has season tickets and invited me to join him for a derby match against Hartford Athletic on Saturday afternoon.
Centreville Bank Stadium is located on the banks of the Seekonk River, with the surrounding area, known as Tidewater Landing, still under development. Capacity is 10,500 and the team is drawing very well, with this match being sold out. The stadium cost an incredible $132 million to construct, so someone was padding the numbers.
Along the lower level of the west side there is a club area with windows, with the dark blue seats in front reserved for club seat holders. Andrew has these tickets, so we spent the game inside the club, where food and drink are included (one of the beers on offer was labeled 'Beat Hartford'). Meanwhile, the top deck spells out RIFC in yellow letters among the navy blue seats.
The stadium has a concourse running around it, though on the far side, you have to walk behind the seats to get from one end to the other. This was a 4:00 start and the sun was shining in the faces of those on the east side for the entire match. The main videoboard is above this side, while fans in those seats make do with a smaller on in one of the corners on the west side.
Below is a shot of the far side walkway, which has a few food trucks, with the river next to it. Obviously with food and drink provided, I did not try any of the concessions.
Soccer venues can be attractive, but they are generally similar to each other, which makes sense as you want fans to be close to the action, and the rules are pretty specific about field size. I wandered around the concourse for a bit, but did not see anything particularly compelling, though with the crowd and the heat, I wasn't looking too hard.
Overall, Centerville Bank Stadium is a beautiful new venue, and it will be interesting to see how the surrounding area develops over the next couple of years.
The Game
This was the third meeting between the two clubs, with the derby dubbed El Clamico after the El Clasico that describes any match between Real Madrid and Barcelona. RIFC was last year's Eastern Conference Champion, quite impressive for an expansion team, but they lost the final to the Colorado Springs Switchbacks. This season, they lie a disappointing 10th in the conference with a 4-8-4 record, two spots above bottom-dweller Hartford, who were 3-8-3. The match was broadcast on CBS and you would expect the teams to put on a show for the national audience, but instead, they played a chippy contest with lots of fouls and flopping and few chances.
The best play was a remarkable foot save by Hartford keeper Antony Siaha (in pink above) midway through the second half that stopped what seemed like a sure goal from fellow Cameroonian Albert Dikwa. Late in the game, Siaha made another good save on a JJ Williams header in close, and the game finished without a goal, with Hartford failing to get a shot on target. The match lasted over two hours with the cooling breaks and injuries; there were 12 minutes of stoppage time in the second half. Soccer is a game of patience and mine was surely tested on this afternoon. If you want a more positive outlook, try the USL's official report, which also includes a highlight of that kick save.
Notes
This was my 7th USL venue and 13th in the lower tiers of American soccer, with five of those coming in the now defunct NASL and one more in the PDL, which is now USL2.
Dylan is an RIFC fan who follows this blog and contacted me after he saw I had the game on my schedule. We met up with him at halftime and it was interesting to hear his thoughts on the stadium and the team.
There are 92 professional men's clubs in the US (27 MLS, 24 USLC, 14 USL1, 27 MLS Next Pro), another 13 in Canada and then 144 in the semi-pro USL2. Soccer certainly is on the rise and does make for good road trip options if you can tolerate the games, which are often not that entertaining and last longer than ever. There simply isn't enough talent in the country to fill up so many teams (hell, even MLB has trouble finding enough quality pitching) but good marketing can sell anything and fans are enjoying themselves, so that's really all that matters.
Unfortunately, there are some fans that take things too seriously, even in a rivalry that has existed for only a year. According to media reports, an RIFC fan attacked some Hartford fans and was arrested for his troubles. I mean, come on, are Rhode Island and Connecticut seriously rivals? It's getting a bit silly but again, marketing.
Next Up
I'm heading to Germany and Austria and hope to find a few sporting events to see. Check back next month to see if I did.
Best,
Sean
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