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The largest crowd at Citi Field this year has not been for a New York Mets game, but rather for Wednesday night’s record-setting contest between Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
A total of 42,175 fans braved the poor air quality in New York stemming from wildfires in Canada, the most ever for a women’s sporting event in New York City, but the spectacle, one of the stars on the pitch said, should not have been played.
“If we have to have 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’s 40,000 people. It’s a whole event, so it’s really tough. It’s just a really hard situation for everyone to work 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)
The air quality in the tri-state area has been deemed “unhealthy,” perhaps putting a wrinkle in Sunday’s World Cup Final at nearby MetLife Stadium. Rodman said the air quality was “rough” to go along with temperatures that neared triple digits.
“Not to make excuses at all, but I think on both sides we were all like, ‘another break, another break, another break,'” Rodman, whose team lost 1-0, said.
Earlier this month, Gotham announced the club would play at the new Etihad Park adjacent to Citi Field starting in 2028. They currently play at Sports Illustrated Stadium, the home of MLS’ New York Red Bulls, in New Jersey.
Citi Field before the Queens Classic match between Washington Spirit and Gotham FC in New York. (Brenden Willsch/Imagn Images)
NYCFC has played most of its home games at Yankee Stadium but has also started to frequent Citi Field, as it will be moving to Etihad Park as well.
Due to the air quality, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherill said she “directed” NJ Transit and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority “to make select quantities of masks available to commuters and at rest areas along the Turnpike and Parkway.”
Smoke from Canadian wildfires loom over New York City’s Times Square on June 7, 2023. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged residents to “stay somewhere cool” and “drink plenty of water.”
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