Gotham FC's relocated NWSL semifinal against the Kansas City Current sold out in ten minutes, the club announced on 11 November. Its ticketing update confirms that the match is scheduled for Sunday, 15 November, at 3pm Eastern time at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island in Manhattan. That corresponds to 10pm in Jerusalem.
The reason for the move
In a separate statement dated 9 November, Gotham attributed the relocation to concerns about the playing surface at their usual Sports Illustrated Stadium home. Those concerns are the club's stated assessment, rather than an independent inspection by this publication. The venue change leaves Gotham hosting the semifinal they earned as the top playoff seed.
Gotham reached the last four by beating Seattle 1–0, with a fifth-minute own goal settling that quarterfinal. The club identifies this as a fourth consecutive semifinal appearance. Kansas City progressed through a 1–0 extra-time victory over Angel City to reach the semifinals for the third time. Both sides therefore arrive after one-goal knockout wins, although their decisive moments came in very different parts of their matches.
A place at Audi Field
The winner advances to the championship match at Audi Field on 21 November. Gotham are the reigning NWSL champions and have also claimed their first regular-season Shield and this year's Challenge Cup, the latter against Kansas City. The semifinal consequently brings an established recent rivalry back into a knockout setting. For supporters without tickets, the club has announced four official watch parties across New York and New Jersey, alongside a prematch Fan Fest at Icahn Stadium.
Rose Lavelle for Gotham against Bay FC on 25 April 2026; archival, not from the upcoming semifinal. Image credit: Bryan Berlin — Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0.
