RIFC soccer team begins practicing in Tidewater Stadium
The scene at the Thursday morning practice was befitting of an origin story for a venue the team hopes will be the setting of glory and triumphs to come.
- The Rhode Island Football Club held its first practices this week at its new stadium, which is still under construction.
- The stadium will also host rugby, concerts, and other events.
- The team plans to announce a corporate sponsor for the stadium’s naming rights by April 26th.
- The $124 million stadium is expected to be the anchor for a larger residential and commercial development.
PAWTUCKET − The Rhode Island Football Club held its first practices this week at its as-yet-unfinished stadium, a closed practice on Tuesday and one open to the media on Thursday morning.
The scene at the Thursday morning practice was befitting of an origin story for a venue the team hopes will be the setting of glory and triumphs to come. The field on the west bank of the Seekonk River was shrouded in mist as the sun struggled to penetrate a foggy morning. While the pitch was the domain of practicing soccer players, construction workers buzzed throughout the rest of the stadium preparing for the last few weeks of work before the contractor turns the keys over to the team.
The practice comes ahead of the team’s first game scheduled at the stadium, a closed-door preseason exhibition match on Saturday. The team will have its home opener at the stadium on May 3.
Rhode Island Football Club Stadium
The Rhode Island Football Club celebrated a “topping off” ceremony today at the Stadium at Tidewater Landing.
The 10,500-seat stadium, which can be configured for soccer, American football and rugby, as well as concerts and other events, is currently known as the Stadium at Tidewater Landing, but the team promises that, by opening day, it will have a new name after the team signs a naming-rights deal with a corporate sponsor. It is expected that the deal will be in place by April 26, when the stadium will host a five-on-five tournament aimed primarily at youth teams.
The $124-million-plus-facility was sold to Rhode Island politicians as the anchor for a residential and commercial development spanning both sides of the Seekonk River at the edge of downtown Pawtucket, a deal that has been reworked as construction realities shifted in the post-COVID-pandemic world.