Yankee Stadium soccer pitch criticized by Union’s Alejandro Bedoya: ‘Absolutely the worst field ever’
Yankee Stadium’s temporary soccer pitch drew ridicule and criticism from fans and Philadelphia Union midfielder Alejandro Bedoya, who called it “absolutely the worst field ever” before Sunday’s win over New York City FC.
The field at Yankee Stadium, which mostly hosts baseball, has long been problematic for Major League Soccer matches. Grass is laid over the infield dirt of the baseball diamond, which is often still visible.
But it looked especially grotesque on Sunday evening. Significant chunks of the temporary grass — near second base on the baseball diamond, and near the sideline at midfield of the soccer pitch — looked dead.
“Look how patchy it is,” Bedoya said in a video that he later posted to Instagram.
There was also a solid strip on the field of play near one corner flag that wasn’t covered with grass. It appeared to be the first-base coach’s box.
“Look at this, rock hard,” Bedoya said in his video as he stomped on the solid surface. “This is terrible.”
The video was taken during pre-game familiarization, a time when players stroll the pitch in sneakers and casual clothes before changing into their boots and kits. In the background, one of Bedoya’s peers said: “MLS. S***!”
Bedoya then turned his camera to show a dark line — which appeared to be an outfield portion of the first-base line — intersecting the six-yard box.
About the pitch…
— Jonathan Tannenwald (@jtannenwald.bsky.social) 23:13 · Aug 16, 2026
“I cannot wait for the new stadium,” Bedoya continued, “because, yeah, Yankee Stadium, it’s cool for baseball. For soccer? Never.”
The “new stadium” that Bedoya referenced is Etihad Park, which will open in July of 2027. It is the soccer-specific stadium that NYCFC has been seeking for more than a decade, ever since it launched as an MLS expansion franchise in 2015 and even beforehand.
While the club explored potential sites and pursued various stadium plans, Yankee Stadium has been its primary home. The stadium, located in the Bronx, is owned by the City of New York but operated by Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees, whose holding company also owns a 10 per cent stake in NYCFC.
Throughout its decade-plus as a soccer venue, Yankee Stadium has drawn consistent derision, both for the narrowness of its pitch and the playing surface.
“It’s not a good pitch,” Montreal Impact coach Remi Garde said after a game there in 2019. “It’s a shame that good players, like there were on the field today on both sides, cannot play good football.”
It is not always as bad as it was on Sunday, though. The reasons for the pronounced issues weren’t immediately clear. An NYCFC spokesperson declined to comment. The Yankees had played there on Thursday, but were out of town for a weekend series and will remain on the road until Friday of the coming week — a relatively standard cadence.
After Thursday’s baseball game, a reporter on site captured a video of the field-conversion process beginning.
The pitch did not significantly impact Sunday’s match between the Union and NYCFC in any major moments, though all five goals were scored at the other end, where the outfield grass generally makes for an OK soccer surface.
NYCFC led 2-0 at halftime, but the Union came back to win 3-2, with striker Bruno Damiani scoring both the equalizer and the winner.
The Athletic has approached a MLS spokespeople for comment.