(Editor’s note: This is the 12th installment in a weekly series spotlighting Rhode Island FC and Centreville Bank Stadium from a business perspective throughout the 2025 United Soccer League Championship season. To read past stories in this series, click here.)
PAWTUCKET – Quite literally, Rhode Island FC’s long-awaited new players jersey – or kit – made some waves last weekend at Centreville Bank Stadium.
It got to a point where shelves had to be constantly restocked to keep up with the significant demand from local soccer fans both July 24 at the club’s kit reveal event at the stadium and during the July 26 match with Hartford Athletic. The club’s
new white jersey includes subtle blue wave designs that both play off
Rhode Island’s primary license plate design and paying homage to the Ocean State’s maritime heritage.
Financially, it was an overall net positive for Rhode Island FC.
And soon, Rhode Island FC merchandise will be available beyond the stadium thanks to a new partnership between the club and a national sports retail chain, allowing for more growth to occur there.
The July 24 kit reveal event, which was exclusive to season ticket members and club partners, attracted close to 600 people to the stadium. Along with having a chance to see – and purchase – the new players jersey, attending fans also got the rare opportunity to meet Rhode Island FC players for a conversation, an autograph and a selfie or two.
“For a lot of these people, soccer is very new for them. What the state and the marketing team and everyone here is building is really special,” Rhode Island FC forward JJ Williams said.
But the jersey, at least from a sales perspective, was the star attraction last weekend. At around 6:30 p.m. on July 24 and for much of the reveal event, the line to get into the Centreville Bank Stadium team store extended all the way into the venue’s beer garden concession area.
While the club declined to give specific sales figures, Rhode Island FC Chief Marketing Officer Sabine Feldmann told Providence Business News the club sold more of the new white jerseys on July 24 and July 26 than they did in the club’s initial jersey launch – unveiling the blue and amber kits – in December 2023. Feldmann also said jersey sales were so high over those two days, a reorder was needed after last weekend so Rhode Island FC can keep up with future demand.
The new jerseys were being sold for around $100 each, with season-ticket members being given discounts. If 600 kits were sold over the weekend, the club would have netted approximately $60,000 in sales.
[caption id="attachment_501511" align="alignright" width="419"]
CLOSE TO 600 Rhode Island FC season-ticket members and club partners attended the club's VIP kit reveal event on July 24 at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket. / PBN PHOTO / JAMES BESSETTE[/caption]
Those jersey sales also continue the club’s momentum in that department. Club President David Peart
previously told PBN the club’s No. 1 selling item has been associated with the jersey – 45% of all its retail sales have come from fans buying Rhode Island FC jerseys.
“Fans want what the players have,” Feldmann said. “And of course, fans always want a piece of that. Fans have been waiting since the end of 2023 to get a new jersey. When you get the team to like it and the fans to like it, you’ve got a win on your hands.”
Having a jersey that was “directly inspired” by the Ocean State was “a nice touch” for Rhode Island FC fans, as well, Feldmann said. She also said the team’s online store is currently being revamped so all jerseys, including the white ones, will be available to purchase digitally. Feldmann did not provide a date as to when the online store will be updated.
However, Rhode Island FC fans will soon have another spot to purchase team jerseys. Feldmann told PBN the club is finalizing a partnership with national retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. to have all Rhode Island and southeast Massachusetts locations sell the team’s jerseys.
Feldmann says jerseys will start being sold in local Dick’s Sporting Goods locations – including in Warwick, Cranston, Smithfield and North Attleborough – in the coming weeks, certainly within August. Having Rhode Island FC’s jerseys being sold at a national retailer is a “big bump” from a club branding and validity perspective, Feldmann said.
“Our jerseys will be sold alongside Red Sox, Celtics and Patriots jerseys,” she said. “That is really underscoring in this market that there is another professional team that is now part of the mix. The most important part of this partnership is the branding it gives to us.”
- Current team record (wins-losses-draws): 4-8-5, 17 points; 10th place of 12 in USL Championship Eastern Conference
- Result of previous match: Hartford Athletic 2, Rhode Island FC 2, (Hartford 4-3 in penalty kicks; USL Jagermeister Cup game on July 26)
- Next match: Aug. 2, at Pittsburgh Riverhounds, 7 p.m.
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.
