| The New York Red Bulls haven't even started their | | | | they hosted Santos FC from Brazil on Saturday, |
| season yet, but they are already finding plenty of | | | | March 20. The gleaming $200 million stadium was |
| reasons to celebrate. The first is the opening of their | | | | marked with a win by the Red Bulls, as they |
| brand new stadium, Red Bull Arena. The stadium | | | | decisively topped Santos 3-1. The scoring started |
| boasts some of the best amenities in all of Major | | | | with a goal by Joel Lindpere in the 10th minute, and |
| League Soccer. Like other professional sports | | | | Mike Petke scored in the 43rd minute to give the |
| teams in New York, the Red Bull Arena is actually | | | | Red Bulls a 2-0 lead. Dane Richards finished out the |
| located in New Jersey in the city of Harrison. At first | | | | scoring for the Red Bulls, and Santos couldn't regain |
| glance, it will be clear that Red Bull Arena isn't like | | | | momentum. Many stars from other sports showed |
| many other stadiums in the league. Instead of | | | | up to cheer on the opening of Red Bull Arena, from |
| following the norm of soccer stadiums in the U.S., the | | | | Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn to football great Reggie |
| creators of Red Bull Arena looked to the soccer | | | | Bush . Both athletes had milestones of their own this |
| facilities overseas, where soccer has a much stronger | | | | year, from a gold medal to a Super Bowl win, |
| history. | | | | respectively. |
| Since it was designed specifically for soccer, the | | | | In honor of the opening of Red Bull Arena, the New |
| experience for fans with <a rel="nofollow" | | | | York Red Bulls also announced the franchise's all-time |
| onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(' | | | | First XI. The list was chosen through online voting by |
| outgoing/article_exit_link');" href=" York Red Bulls | | | | fans, and included greats from past and current |
| tickets</a> will be unmatched in the league. The | | | | teams. The lineup was goalkeeper Tim Howard, |
| crowds will be louder and larger at the Red Bull | | | | defender Jeff Parke, defender Mike Petke, defender |
| Arena, as it holds around 25,000 fans for soccer | | | | Eddie Pope, midfielder Youri Djorkaeff, midfielder |
| matches, including 1,000 club seats and 30 luxury | | | | Amado Guevara, midfielder Tab Romos, midfielder |
| skyboxes. The Red Bull Arena is hooked up with | | | | Dave van den Bergh, forward Jozy Altidore, forward |
| state-of-the-art technology, with two video boards | | | | Juan Pablo Angel and forward Clint Mathis. |
| at either end of the arena and one 360-degree | | | | Coming into the 2010 season, the Red Bulls also have |
| wraparound board. Fans will want to head to <a | | | | another reason to celebrate, as they have inked a |
| rel="nofollow" | | | | deal with veteran midfielder Carl Robinson. The Red |
| onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(' | | | | Bulls sent a fourth-round pick in the 2011 MLS |
| outgoing/article_exit_link');" href=" to get tickets to | | | | SuperDraft to Toronto FC in exchange for Robinson. |
| experience Red Bull Arena this season. | | | | The Welsh player has spent time playing |
| The New York Red Bulls didn't wait until they kicked | | | | professionally in Europe before starting with Toronto |
| off the MLS regular season on March 27 against the | | | | in 2007. Last season, he had two assists in 21 games. |
| Chicago Fire to christen the new stadium. Instead, | | | | |