GILA RIVER INDIAN COMMUNITY, AZ — Ahead of its opening match against the San Diego Loyal Soccer Club on April 30 at its new home at Gila River's Wild Horse Pass, near Chandler, Phoenix Rising Football Club revealed Thursday that it will initially reduce capacity to 50% due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to those capacity limits, the first game is "nearly sold out," the team said. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
“The safety of our fans, players and staff is our first priority,” said Phoenix Rising General Manager Bobby Dulle in a statement.
"We felt limiting our capacity and maintaining the safety measures put into place last season allows us to keep our community safe as we move forward with our return to play."
In December, the team announced that it would relocate to Gila River's Wild Horse Pass, near Interstate 10 and Wild Horse Pass Blvd., where it would build a larger arena to accommodate fans, add VIP suites and more training fields.
Fans will also notice outdoor patio seating on the east sideline, a double-sided video scoreboard, a larger team store, and for journalists covering the team, a new press box.
Other safety measures that fans need to know:
- All fans are required to wear a mask unless eating or drinking
- The arena will be a ticketless and cashless venue. Tickets can be accessed via the "Rising Mobile" app.
- Concessions and the team store will only accept debit or credit cards. There will be a "reverse ATM" where people can exchange cash for a pre-paid gift card.
- New this season, a clear bag policy will be in effect.
