PAWTUCKET – The paint on Centreville Bank Stadium will barely be dry when one of the biggest soccer matches Rhode Island FC will play in its infancy takes place a mere days after the home opener.
With that, Rhode Island FC’s top official hopes that the match can cast a wide net to attract more soccer fans to come and experience both the local club and the new 10,500-seat venue this season. That and make an immediate splash on downtown when the stadium’s doors open in a couple of weeks.
On Thursday, it was announced that Rhode Island FC will host the New England Revolution in the U.S Open Cup Round of 32 on May 7 at 7:30 p.m. The match of two professional soccer clubs separated by just 20 miles will feature one team that made the United Soccer League Championship final in its inaugural season last year against a charter member of Major League Soccer.
But it will be more than just a local grudge match to see which team advances to the Round of 16. Rhode Island FC President David Peart told Providence Business News that the club’s upcoming tilt with the Revolution could further help raise Rhode Island FC’s profile both locally and nationally. The match is being televised on Paramount+.
That increased interest in Rhode Island FC around the Ocean State could build on both the momentum of
the new stadium set to debut on May 3 and
the club’s championship push last fall. Peart hopes that sports fans who don’t normally watch soccer will attend the May 7 Rhode Island FC-Revs match to support “an event of significance in this region.”
The local club’s match with the Revolution is a centerpiece of what will be a major opening week early next month at Centreville Bank Stadium. Four total sporting events, including
the Boston Banshees Women’s Elite Rugby team playing on May 4 and then Rhode Island FC’s May 10 match with Monterey Bay FC, could bring between 25,000 and 28,000 fans into the city over that period, Peart said.
“That’s impact. That’s bringing people into downtown Pawtucket that ordinarily in the first week of May would not be coming here,” Peart said. “I can’t think of a more electric way to open the building and to demonstrate the promise that was made several years ago. If we build this state-of-the-art venue, it will serve as an attraction not just for the city or state, but for the region.”
Peart also said advanced ticket sales for the Rhode Island FC-Revolution match, purchased by season ticket holders, have gone “better than we had anticipated.” Tickets are on sale now via
the club’s website, and Peart said the team is “very confident” there will be a “very solid crowd” at Centreville Bank Stadium for the Revolution match.
Peart also expects Centreville Bank Stadium to be at maximum capacity when it hosts its “open house” event on April 26, giving local fans a first glimpse of the new venue. Along with the public seeing the stadium,
the free event will also include a live DJ, free face painting, hair braiding, balloon artists, cornhole, sub-soccer, various food offerings and other family activities.
Additionally, Peart said the local club is also eager to welcome New England Revolution fans to Centreville Bank Stadium on May 7 for them to see the soccer-specific stadium’s intimate environment, contrasting the spacious and cavernous Gillette Stadium – also home to the New England Patriots – in Foxborough, Mass. The match with the Revolution plus hosting close to 100 soccer teams for an amateur tournament during the April 26 open house gives Rhode Island FC the opportunity to further introduce and promote professional soccer in the Ocean State, Peart said.
“We’re really excited about raising the profile of soccer in this region,” he said. "We’re proud to be able to do that. [Hosting the match with the Revolution] benefits anyone who has an interest in soccer, anyone who is interested in spectator sports in this region."
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.
