Posted on July 21, 2022 by Hunter Hulbert - Community

Red Bull Arena is an ideal venue to take in a game and continue New Jersey’s rich soccer tradition. Photo courtesy of NJ Advance Media

Meagan McClelland has played in big games across the country and all around the world. She was the starting goalie for Rutgers last fall when the Scarlet Knights reached the Final Four. She also was a keeper on the youth National Team that played the 2016 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Jordan, and she is now a member of the U-23 Women’s National Team.   

One of the best players in the nation, McClelland grew up in Kearny in the shadow of Red Bull Arena and remembers a 2.5-mile trip to the 25,000-seat stadium in high school for a county championship game. The chance to play on the big stage in an arena that has featured some of the best players in the world left an indelible mark.  

What once was an industrial wasteland is now home to a soccer beacon in Harrison — just a PATH ride from New York City. It’s a must-see attraction for soccer fans, the host arena for Major League Soccer’s New York Red Bulls and, as of last fall, the National Women’s Soccer League’s NJ/NY Gotham FC — a club owned by Gov. Phil Murphy.  

Red Bull Arena is the third-largest soccer-specific stadium in the United States and has a curved, tension-fabric exterior shell made of fiberglass. Photo courtesy of NJ Advance Media

Red Bull Arena has coaxed international crowds to Harrison, too, with national teams from Ecuador and Colombia playing there, along with Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Manchester City and Juventus.  

“To have that championship environment and to be able to play in an arena and on a field that the pros play on is inspiring,” McClelland said. “It’s a moment you’ll never forget. It’s awesome to have something like that so close to home and know that soccer in our area is going to continue to grow with the arena there.”  

Red Bull Arena opened in 2010, when the Red Bulls beat the Chicago Fire in front of a sellout crowd. That long-awaited moment brought to life a plan that began in the summer of 2004, when the club, known then as the MetroStars, announced it would move from Giants Stadium to a soccer-centric arena.  

After years of planning, the state-of-the-art stadium rose just off Frank E. Rodgers Boulevard in Harrison and has since sparked development in that area, including luxury apartments, storefronts and a rejuvenated PATH station a few blocks from the arena.  

Red Bull Arena is the third-largest soccer-specific stadium in the United States and has a curved, tension-fabric exterior shell made of fiberglass. That roof feature allows natural light to come in, but also makes sure that every seat in the stadium is covered.  

It’s an ideal venue to take in a game and continue New Jersey’s rich soccer tradition.  

Soccer star Carli Lloyd, a Delran native, played the final home game of her professional soccer last year for NJ/NY Gotham FC at Red Bull Arena. Photo courtesy of NJ Advance Media

Basking Ridge’s Tobin Heath and Delran’s Carli Lloyd are local stars who helped the United States win the World Cup, and their careers have been marked by milestone games at the arena. Lloyd played the final home game of her professional soccer last year for NJ/NY Gotham FC at Red Bull Arena. Fittingly, she had scored a goal in the final match of Gotham FC’s first full season at the stadium.  

Gotham FC played a pair of games at Red Bull Arena in 2019, but making the move there full time last season was a big moment and signified the growth of the club. When the news was announced, General Manager Alyse LaHue said Red Bull Arena “was the perfect venue to host (Gotham FC) and showcase this incredible league.”  

The stadium has twice been selected from all the professional sports and entertainment venues in the New York metropolitan area as J.D. Power’s “Best in Fan Experience.”  

The stadium has twice been selected as one of J.D. Power’s ‘Best in Fan Experience.’ Photo courtesy of NJ Advance Media

Now, players in New Jersey have stars to look up to right in their backyard.  

Harrison native Omar Sowe played at Red Bull Arena in high school, taking on Kearny in the Hudson County final. Harrison’s all-time leading scorer played in his first match for the Red Bulls in that same arena in 2021 — a full circle moment for the hometown hero.  

Sowe was on hand this past fall to watch Harrison and Kearny meet in the county final again as a new group of soccer players lived a dream of playing in a pro stadium.  

“It’s a great experience and something they’ll never forget,” Kearny boys soccer coach Bill Galka said. “To play in a stadium of that caliber is a great thrill for anybody involved — players, coaches, parents and spectators — and something they can always look back on.”  

Brandon Gould is a high school sports reporter for NJ Advance Media, including NJ.com and Jersey’s Best.

This article originally appeared in the Summer 2022 issue of Jersey’s Best. Subscribe here for in-depth access to everything that makes the Garden State great.

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