Red Bulls Kick Off 2026 Home Season at SIS Feb. 28

The New York Red Bulls’ 2026 Home Opener is set for Saturday, February 28, 2026, with a 2:30 p.m. kickoff at Sports Illustrated Stadium (SIS) in Harrison—an earlier-than-usual start time for a Saturday match in the Red Bulls’ home building. The opponent for opening day is a familiar Eastern Conference rival: the New England Revolution.

The Red Bulls’ matchday guide also urges fans to plan ahead due to regional transit impacts. In a pregame notice shared with fans, the club highlighted PATH service disruption (JSQ → Newark) with shuttle options connecting Newark and Harrison. The disruptions are overnight Saturday morning (midnight to 5 a.m.), Sunday (midnight to 5 a.m.), and Monday (midnight to 5 a.m.) for FDA-mandated system testing between the Harrison PATH Station, Journal Square Station, and the Grove Street Station.  Hopefully, the Port Authority of NY/NJ doesn’t leave the shuttle buses in Harrison on Saturday during the day.

Opening Day fan activities: The BULLevard pregame zone

For supporters who like to turn Opening Day into an all-afternoon event, Sports Illustrated Stadium promotes The BULLevard, the fan area in front of the stadium with activities for all ages, operating three hours before kickoff until 30 minutes before kickoff—a built-in pregame block. So expect some early-morning noise as fans arrive at the stadium around 11 a.m. Nothing like a Saturday Red Bulls game.  .

Team background: New York Red Bulls

The New York Red Bulls are one of Major League Soccer’s original clubs, established in 1994 (launching play in 1996 when MLS began). Today, the club plays its home matches in Harrison at Sports Illustrated Stadium, the soccer-specific venue that opened in 2010 and seats roughly 25,000 fans (commonly listed at 25,189).

While the team’s identity is rooted in the New York metro region, matchdays are a distinctly local Harrison event—drawing crowds to the Riverbend District with a game presentation built around high-energy pressing soccer and one of MLS’s most recognizable supporter cultures.

Team background: New England Revolution

The New England Revolution were also founded in 1994 as an original MLS club. They represent the Greater Boston/New England market and play home matches at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Gillette is a large multi-purpose venue: it lists a 64,628 seating capacity for football configurations, while soccer crowds are often set around 20,000 (expandable), depending on the event and seating setup.

For Red Bulls fans, the Revolution are more than just another opponent—they’re a long-running conference rival with decades of history, meaning the Home Opener arrives with a built-in edge even before the first whistle.

A quick note on the stadium’s “new era” name

If you still catch yourself saying “Red Bull Arena,” you’re not alone. The venue officially became Sports Illustrated Stadium under a naming-rights deal announced in late 2024, marking the latest chapter for the 2010-opened venue that has hosted everything from MLS and international soccer to major concerts and special events.

What’s next at SIS after the Home Opener?

The stadium’s public events calendar lists the next major date at Sports Illustrated Stadium as Saturday, March 7, 2026, when the venue hosts the SheBelieves Cup (presented by Visa), featuring USWNT vs. Colombia.

SheBelieves has become one of the marquee annual women’s international events in the U.S. It began in 2016 as an invitational tournament and is run by U.S. Soccer, typically staged in late February/early March across multiple U.S. cities. And if you’re looking for a non-soccer (or at least non–11v11 soccer) headline on the near horizon: SIS is also scheduled to host HSBC SVNS Rugby Sevens on March 14–15, 2026, bringing the world’s top sevens competition to Harrison for a weekend-style festival atmosphere. I know just what you were looking for as a resident of Harrison NJ.

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