Home Economy Maintaining affordability, stadium event planning now at forefront for Rhode Island FC...

Maintaining affordability, stadium event planning now at forefront for Rhode Island FC officials

By

James Bessette

-

09/30/2024

A RENDERING SHOWS a completed Tidewater Landing Stadium hosting a Rhode Island FC match. Despite some ticket prices increasing for next year, club officials say their primary focus was affordability for fans to come to games. / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND FC

PAWTUCKET – Soccer fans attending Rhode Island FC matches next year may be paying slightly more to see the team in action at the soon-to-be-named Tidewater Stadium than what they had at Bryant University’s Beirne Stadium this year, depending on the section they sit in. However, club officials say that despite the pricing modifications for

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PAWTUCKET – Soccer fans attending Rhode Island FC matches next year may be paying slightly more to see the team in action at the soon-to-be-named Tidewater Stadium than what they had at Bryant University’s Beirne Stadium this year, depending on the section they sit in. However, club officials say that despite the pricing modifications for home matches in the 10,500-seat stadium’s inaugural year starting next spring, affordability for all families will be the name of the game for Rhode Island FC. Plus, stadium officials are currently planning various other events to help introduce the new facility to Rhode Island. According to Rhode Island FC’s pricing that was recently released and with tickets expected to go on sale to the public Tuesday, Tidewater Stadium’s 100 level general seating ranges from $16.36 per seat – the price point is based on the year 1636 when Rhode Island was founded – to $44 per seat. In the 200 level, tickets range from $16.36 per seat along the west sideline to $24 per seat at midfield. Tidewater Stadium’s premium seating prices range from $90 per person for riverside field seats to $105 per person for benchside field seats to $200 per person for platinum club seats. By comparison, the field-level seats at Beirne for Rhode Island FC matches ranged from $38 to $58. Seating near the Rhode Island FC supporters’ section at Tidewater will be cheaper at $16.36 than at Beirne, which cost $23. The north endline at Tidewater will have much more general seating at Tidewater, at $24 per seat, than the minimal rows currently along Beirne’s south endline. In general, 56% of Tidewater Stadium’s seating will cost $25 or less next year for Rhode Island FC matches, club President David Peart told Providence Business News. He said the club is “very sensitive” about what the entertainment costs is for local families and felt that low price point for fans wanting to go to Rhode Island FC matches was “very important.” “We wanted to have a price [point] for all of Rhode Island [to attend our matches],” Peart said. “Coming to a game for a family of four, it will be roughly around $100. I can’t take my family of four out to dinner for $100.” [caption id="attachment_477831" align="alignleft" width="419"]

RHODE ISLANF FC forward Noah Buson, right, moves the ball upfield past Tulsa FC defender Arthur Rogers during Rhode Island FC's 2-1 win on Sept. 21 at Beirne Stadium at Bryant University. / PBN PHOTO/JAMES BESSETTE

RHODE ISLANF FC forward Noah Buson, center, moves the ball upfield past Tulsa FC defender Arthur Rogers, left, during Rhode Island FC's 2-1 win on Sept. 21 at Beirne Stadium at Bryant University. / PBN PHOTO/JAMES BESSETTE[/caption] Peart said Rhode Island FC officials reviewed what other area teams, including Providence College men’s basketball, the New England Revolution in Major League Soccer and the Worcester Red Sox – formerly the Pawtucket Red Sox – charge to come up with a pricing structure that promotes affordability for the soccer club. Third-party ticket vendor VividSeats says Worcester Red Sox tickets on average cost $39 per seat, while PC men’s basketball tickets cost an average $26 per seat, according to ticket vending app company Gametime. Although, PC basketball tickets may be priced higher than average based on the day or opponent. Peart said the cheapest Rhode Island FC ticket next year will be less than seeing a Marvel movie at Providence Place mall. He also noted that prices for Rhode Island FC home matches next year are on average with what other USL clubs are charging their respective fans for admission. Rhode Island FC’s new season ticket purchases and renewals for next year, including the new premium seating, has been pacing “better than expected,” Peart said, but he did not offer specifics as to how many such packages were acquired or renewed. While the club is pleased with the progress being made, Peart said there is still “a lot of work to do.” Prior to the PawSox’s departure from Rhode Island in 2021, home games at McCoy Stadium ranged from $6 per general admission seat to $14 for several years. Peart, when asked if Rhode Island FC’s pricing may be too much for some families living in close proximity to Tidewater Stadium, said it is an “ownership commitment” to make the club affordable to the community, including for fans who may not have the financial means to see a game. Back on Sept. 21, the club for the first time this year held a “Kids Day” at Beirne where children from community groups attended the match - a 2-1 win over Tulsa FC - for free, Peart said. Rhode Island FC will promote fan affordability through similar ongoing initiatives, he said. The club, Peart said, will also soon begin marketing campaigns in southeastern Massachusetts to help welcome potential fans from the Bay State within a 25-mile radius of Tidewater Stadium into the Ocean State to see Rhode Island FC. Peart said the club “will be very active” in the youth soccer communities within southeastern Massachusetts, as well as with businesses there, to help promote and build the club’s brand. “We’re going to leave no stone unturned,” Peart said. Peart also said cost dynamics have “changed dramatically” since before the COVID-19 pandemic – which canceled the PawSox’s final season in Rhode Island in 2020. He suspects that the discussions about and eventual decision by the PawSox to move to Worcester, Mass., impacted the then-local baseball team’s pricing strategy for McCoy at the time. With Rhode Island FC, though, the club is moving into a new facility – one of 12 USL stadiums with a seating capacity of 10,000 or more – and the gameday experience at Tidewater Stadium will be “vastly different” from what the area has previously experienced, including this year at Beirne, Peart said. “We’re a brand-new franchise and we’re not going anywhere,” Peart said. “We have a state in our name and we’re … committed to building the absolute best connection with the community. No disrespect to Bryant, but this new stadium will blow everything out of the water.” Paul Byrne, Tidewater Stadium’s general manager, also told PBN he hopes to have a full events schedule, both for soccer and other events, by the start of January. He also hopes the stadium can host between 30 and 40 non-Rhode Island FC events starting next spring. Those events may range between small meetings to concerts hosting more than 16,000 people, he said. [caption id="attachment_477832" align="alignright" width="473"]

FENWAY PARK in Boston hosted the 2023 NHL Winter Classic. Paul Byrne, general manager for Tidewater Stadium in Pawtucket, says officials are looking into potentially having hockey as an event at the stadium down the line. /AP FILE PHOTO/CHARLES KRUPA

FENWAY PARK in Boston hosted the 2023 NHL Winter Classic. Paul Byrne, general manager for Tidewater Stadium in Pawtucket, says officials are looking into potentially having hockey as an event at the stadium down the line. /AP FILE PHOTO/CHARLES KRUPA[/caption] “I’m pushing as hard as we can to have as many things in this building as we can,” Byrne said. “I have lofty goals.” Along with working with national festival and concert promoter Grand Rising Curations, Byrne is also working with the city to have the stadium as an anchor for many community events, such as food truck festivals, the annual Dragonboat Festival and even graduation ceremonies. Stadium staff, Byrne said, is also communicating with the Rhode Island Interscholastic League to host state high school sports championship events at the facility, as well. Hosting college sports and even outdoor hockey games at Tidewater Stadium is also on the table. Byrne said he “would love” to put a hockey rink on the stadium’s field and is “definitely looking into it.” James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X at @James_Bessette.