Gotham FC's NWSL semifinal against the Kansas City Current won't be taking place at Sports Illustrated Stadium as planned.
The game on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 3pm ET was moved to Icahn Stadium, a 5,000-seat venue, over poor field conditions at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
Gotham beat the Seattle Reign 1-0 at Sports Illustrated Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 8, but the quarterfinal match was overshadowed by a field that drew complaints from both teams after the game.
"Let's be real, there's no way a playoff game should be played on that (expletive)," Seattle head coach Laura Harvey told ESPN after the loss. "I just can't believe they've allowed it. They knew it last week."
Gotham FC defender Jess Carter added: "It was so bad."
The field was torn up in part due
to an international rugby doubleheader held at Sports Illustrated Stadium on Oct. 30. The New York Red Bulls also had a game the night before Gotham faced Seattle.
Heading into the NWSL semifinal, Gotham was faced with a difficult decision: play on that same field, or move to a much smaller stadium.
They chose the latter.
“Unfortunately, given the field conditions, we have made the extremely difficult decision to relocate our semifinal game to Icahn Stadium," Gotham FC owner Carolyn Tisch Blodgett said in a club statement."We exhausted every possible avenue before making this decision, and we are deeply disappointed that so many of our fans will now be unable to experience this moment alongside our team."
Gotham FC captain Tierna Davidson added: “We as a team worked extremely hard to earn a home playoff berth. What we got was a field that is not the standard this club, this league or our fans deserve.
"The quality of the game is not up for debate, so we’ve made the difficult decision to move to Icahn Stadium on Sunday. A smaller stadium means many of you will not be there, and that is the hardest part of this decision."
The winner of Sunday's game will face the Washington Spirit in the NWSL Championship on Saturday, Nov. 21.
The match will take place at Audi Field in Washington D.C., which hosted both the Spirit's win over the Utah Royals and a college football game on Saturday, Nov. 14. The state of the field figures to be a major talking point heading into the final.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why is Gotham FC playing its NWSL semifinal match at Icahn Stadium?
