Credit - X

Raghav Mehta

The Awful State Of MLS Pitches At Chicago Fire And NYCFC Matches

Chicago Fire, MLS, New York City FC

Now that the FIFA World Cup has ended, fans are desperately looking for their next fix of football action.

While the biggest European leagues are yet to kick off their 2026/27 campaigns, MLS is in full swing as they follow a different calendar which is more in-line with the traditional North American sports schedule.

As superstars such as Lionel Messi, Son Heung-Min, Antoine Griezmann and Robert Lewandowski have joined teams in the United States, the quality of football on display in MLS has grown exponentially.

However, one major factor still lagging behind is the quality of pitches on display.

While teams in Europe play on near-perfect natural grass pitches which are meant specifically for football, several MLS venues still use multipurpose pitches, with soccer games often taking place right after another sports team has finished using the facilities.

This was especially apparent during Chicago Fire’s game against the Portland Timbers and New York City FC’s game against Philadelphia Union, both of which took place on Sunday.

Chicago’s game took place at Soldier Field, which is also the home of the Chicago Bears of the NFL. The NFL pre-season is now underway, and the Bears hosted the Cleveland Browns on Saturday.

Even though Chicago’s game was a day later, the markings on the pitch from the previous game were still clearly visible, as was the large Chicago Bears logo in the centre circle.

Credit – X user @stevefromlynn1
Credit – X user @atlutdjames

While multiple teams using the same venue is not unheard of and actually quite efficient if executed the right way, cases like this end up taking away from the viewing experience.

In this case it almost appears as if the Chicago Bears are the ‘primary’ occupants of Soldier Field, while Chicago Fire are the less important ‘secondary’ option.

During New York City FC’s game against Philadelphia Union, however, clear baseball-related markings were visible all over the pitch.

NYCFC play their home games at Yankee Stadium, the home of MLB’s most successful franchise, the New York Yankees.

Most recently, the Yankees played a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays away from home, and their last home game was against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday.

Despite this, the pitch was in pretty bad shape during Sunday’s game.

So appalling were the conditions, that Philadelphia Union midfielder Alejandro Bedoya actually ended up sharing a video to his Instagram story, directly calling out those in charge of setting up the venue.

“This is horrible, absolutely the worst field ever…I can not wait for the new stadium because yeah Yankee Stadium is cool for baseball, but for soccer? Never.”

Even on TV, it was clear to see just how unsuitable the field was for any sort of football action, let alone a game involving two professional football clubs competing in the country’s highest division.

Credit – X

Causing the ball to bounce unevenly, such playing conditions often lead to matches being much less enjoyable to watch, as teams are not able to pass the ball and progress play as they usually do in training.

Additionally, a more serious risk of long-term injury is also heightened, as players can easily lose their footing or get their boots caught on parts of the field that is meant for an entirely different sport.

Leave a comment