Fifty years after Pelé arrived and first put on a Cosmos uniform, attracting the eyes of the soccer world to a floating nook of New York City, it’s Gotham FC’s turn to host a match on Randall’s Island.
On Wednesday night, Gotham will open their defense of the CONCACAF W Champions Cup — the hardware the team proudly hoisted after winning the final of the inaugural regional club tournament in May — when they face Mexico’s CF Monterrey Femenil at Icahn Stadium.
Gotham’s regular home field, Sports Illustrated Stadium, was unavailable for the midweek tilt. Instead, they’ll decamp to Randall’s Island, a part of Manhattan nestled in the East River next to the South Bronx and Astoria.
The venue has changed, the crowd size will be different, but the local soccer legacy will be shared.
“Pele Still Has That Draw,” declared the back page of The Post the day after the Brazilian icon debuted with a goal and an assist for the Cosmos on June 15, 1975.
“The decaying WPA horseshoe glittered like a Rose Bowl float, decorated in people instead of flowers,” Larry Merchant wrote in The Post after the game at Downing Stadium, the Depression-era Randall’s Island venue with a capacity of 22,500.
“Another 500 or so were strung out along the upper deck, usually known as the Triborough Bridge.”
That monumental occasion “helped us understand what soccer can bring to the island,” Phillip Bausk, communications manager for the Randall’s Island Park Alliance, told The Post this week. “That kicked that into high gear.”
The Cosmos played on Randall’s Island in 1974 and 1975 before moving on to Yankee Stadium and then Giants Stadium.
Today, Downing Stadium, which hosted the exploits of Olympic hero Jesse Owens and guitar hero Jimi Hendrix in its day, has long since been replaced.
Icahn Stadium, which opened in 2005, fits up to 5,000 including standing room and is best known for track and field events (Usain Bolt set a 100-meter world record there in 2008).
A recent $3 million donation from NYCFC funded a new field surface at Icahn that’s suitable for pro soccer. NYCFC II, the MLS team’s affiliate in the lower-division NEXT Pro league, has played some home teams there going back to last season.
Now, Gotham lands there, in the city limits, for the first of four group-stage Cup matches, trying to shake off Sunday’s regular-season upset loss in New Jersey and their middling NWSL form to repeat as continental champs.
“I think it’s a great place; the pitch was fantastic,” Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amorós said Tuesday. “We represent New Jersey and New York, but I’ve been here three years; we’ve always been playing as a home team in New Jersey, so playing in New York for one game also is important. And there’s a lot of fans that can come to this game that normally it’s a bit more challenging.”
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