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The largest crowd at Citi Field this year was not for a New York Mets game, but rather for Wednesday night’s record-breaking contest between Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
A total of 42,175 fans braved poor air quality in New York due to wildfires in Canada, the most ever for a women’s sporting event in New York. But this spectacle, said one of the stars on the field, should not have been performed.
“If we have to take a hydration break every 15 minutes, then we shouldn’t be playing the game, and that’s my opinion,” Washington’s Trinity Rodman said, via The Athletic. “But at the end of the day, there are 40,000 people. It’s quite an event, so it’s really difficult. It’s just a very difficult situation for everyone to get around.”
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Trinity Rodman of the Washington Spirit controls the ball against Midge Purce of NJ/NY Gotham FC during an NWSL match at Citi Field in New York on July 15, 2026. (Dustin Satloff/NWSL via Getty Images)
Air quality in the tri-state area has been rated “unhealthy,” which could put a damper on Sunday’s World Cup final at nearby MetLife Stadium. Rodman said the air quality was “challenging” to accompany temperatures near triple digits.
“I don’t want to make excuses at all, but I think on both sides we were all like ‘another break, another break, another break,'” said Rodman, whose team lost 1-0.
Earlier this month, Gotham announced that the club would begin playing at the new Etihad Park adjacent to Citi Field starting in 2028. They currently play at Sports Illustrated Stadium, home of MLS’s New York Red Bulls, in New Jersey.
A general view of Citi Field before the Queens Classic match between Washington Spirit and Gotham FC in New York. (Brenden Willsch/Imagn Images)
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NYCFC has played most of its home games at Yankee Stadium, but has also started frequenting Citi Field, as it will also be moving to Etihad Park.
Due to the air quality, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherill said she has “directed” NJ Transit and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority “to make certain quantities of masks available to commuters and rest areas along the Turnpike and Parkway.”
Smoke from Canada’s wildfires hangs over Times Square in New York on Wednesday, June 7, 2023. (Julia Bonavita/PK Press Club Digital)
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged residents to “stay in a cool place” and “drink lots of water.”
