NEW YORK – After days of speculation surrounding Red Bull Arena in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy’s disastrous landfall in New Jersey, Major League Soccer announced on Wednesday that it has requested second seeded D.C. United and the third seeded New York Red Bulls alternate home dates in their upcoming Eastern Conference semifinal series.
United will now host the first leg on Saturday (8 pm ET, NBCSN) before traveling to Red Bull Arena for the return leg of the two-game, total-goal series on Wednesday, Nov. 7 (8 pm ET).
New York Red Bulls general manager Jerome de Bontin told reporters after Wednesday's practice session that Red Bull Arena has been without power since Monday evening, when the brunt of the storm made landfall New Jersey and New York.
"We've been dealing off the generators,” de Bontin said. “The generators are not enough to provide all the electricity we would need to hold a game.”
De Bontin also told reporters that the club was awaiting word from the City of Harrison about when power was expected to return to the area, but all indications were that it could take several days for power to be restored.
