MetroStars Announce Postseason Home

SECAUCUS, NJ (September 19, 2002) - MetroStars President/General Manager Nick Sakiewicz announced today that the team will host all of its potential 2002 MLS Cup playoff home games at intimate Riverfront Stadium in Newark, NJ, should the MetroStars clinch their third straight postseason berth this weekend in New England.

Giants Stadium, where the MetroStars have played all of their regular season and playoff home games over their seven-year history, is unavailable to the team for the first four potential 2002 playoff game dates (September 25, 26, 28 and 29) due to scheduling conflicts.

Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium, located directly off of Route 280 and within a 50-yard walk of New Jersey Transit’s Broad Street rail station, is a state-of-the-art ballpark built in 1999 for minor league baseball’s Newark Bears. The stadium, configured to seat 6,200 fans for baseball, will be temporarily reconfigured for the MetroStars to accommodate more than 8,500 fans, and possibly more, during the team’s drive for the 2002 MLS Cup.

“While we would love to play our playoff games in the stadium where we have played every one of our home games during our franchise’s history, it is unfortunately not an option we have,” said Sakiewicz. “That being said, we are absolutely thrilled to be able to bring our most important games of the year into Riverfront Stadium and the city of Newark, which is not only a hotbed of MetroStars supporters but is also incredibly easy to get to not only by car but by various methods of mass transit.

“And on top of it all, we get the incredible, intimate atmosphere of Riverfront Stadium, which should provide us with the perfect environment as we try to bring home the MLS Cup.”

Advance tickets for each MetroStars playoff game at Riverfront Stadium will go on sale this Monday. All advance tickets will cost $25, and are available by calling 1-888-4-METROTIX, the Newark Bears ticket line at 973-483-6900, and at the Riverfront Stadium box office at 450 Broad Street in Newark. All fans purchasing advance tickets through the MetroStars at 1-888-4-METROTIX will also receive a Burger King value voucher, good for one free value meal (sandwich, fries, soft drink), with each advance ticket purchased.

Advance tickets are also available at all local Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets for all seats purchased on the day of the game or games, if available, will cost $30.

As part of their season ticket package, all MetroMember season ticket holders will receive the same number of seats that they own at Giants Stadium at no additional charge for games at Riverfront Stadium. The MetroStars will make every possible effort to relocate the seats of season ticket holders in the best possible similar locations at Riverfront, though the small confines of the park give every seat a great vantage point of the playing field.

The MetroStars are currently in a three-way tie for sixth place in the MLS Cup playoff race, with five teams vying for the final three spots in the eight-team playoff race. The MetroStars (35 points) need only a tie on Saturday to clinch their third straight playoff spot, and could know even before game-time against New England (35 points) whether they have qualified or not provided D.C. United (32 points) loses or ties tonight against Dallas, along with Kansas City (35 points) losing at Colorado on Friday night.

The MetroStars own the head-to-head, season-series tiebreaker edges over both Kansas City (1-0-1) and New England (3-0-0 so far).