Schedule news

Union’s 2016 schedule released

Philadelphia Union’s complete 2016 schedule was released on Thursday.

21 matches will be played on Saturdays, 6 on Sundays. 5 matches will be played on Wednesdays, 2 on Fridays, both of which are at home. Here’s the schedule:

Sunday, March 6: at FC Dallas, 3 pm
Saturday, March 12: at Columbus Crew, 7:30 pm
Sunday, March 20: vs. New England Revolution, 2 pm (6abc)

Saturday, April 2: at Chicago Fire, 5 pm*
Friday, April 8: vs. Orlando City, 7 pm (UniMas)
Saturday, April 16: at Seattle Sounders, 10 pm
Saturday, April 23: vs. New York City FC, TBD
Saturday, April 30: vs. San Jose Earthquakes, TBD

Wednesday, May 11: vs. Los Angeles Galaxy, TBD
Saturday, May 14: at Montreal Impact, TBD*
Friday, May 20: vs. DC United, 7 pm (UniMas)
Wednesday, May 25: at Orlando City, 7:30 pm*
Saturday, May 28: at Colorado Rapids, 9 pm*

Wednesday, June 1: vs. Columbus Crew, TBD
Saturday, June 18: at New York City FC, TBD
Wednesday, June 22: Chicago Fire, TBD
Saturday, June 25: vs. Vancouver Whitecaps, TBD

Saturday, July 2: at Houston Dynamo, TBD
Saturday, July 9: vs. DC United, TBD
Sunday, July 17: vs. New York Red Bulls, 7 pm (FS1, Fox Sports Go)
Saturday, July 23: at Montreal Impact, TBD*
Sunday, July 31: vs. Real Salt Lake, TBD

Saturday, August 6: at DC United, 7 pm
Saturday, August 13: at New England Revolution, 7:30 pm
Saturday, August 20: vs. Toronto FC, TBD
Wednesday, August 24: at Columbus Crew, 7 pm
Saturday, August 27: vs. Sporting Kansas City, TBD

Saturday, September 3: at Chicago Fire, 8:30 pm*
Saturday, September 10: vs. Montreal Impact, TBD
Saturday, September 17: at Portland Timbers, 6 pm
Saturday, September 24: at Toronto FC, time TBD

Saturday, October 1: at New York Red Bulls, 7 pm*
Sunday, October 16: vs. Orlando City, 5 pm
Sunday, October 23: vs. New York Red Bulls, 4 pm

As you can see the starting times for many of the games will be announced later. Some of the announced starting times could change.

Additionally, TV information for almost all of the games is not yet available. A Union release says, “The club will have three nationally televised matches, including two on UniMas and one on Fox Sports 1. Each of the remaining 31 matches will air locally, either on 6abc, Comcast SportsNet or The Comcast Network. All matches can also be streamed live throughout the country via the MLS Live app.” The Union schedule on the league website lists broadcast information of 7 games as “TV TBD,” which suggests the possibility of a national broadcast. Those games are indicated in the schedule above with an asterick.

The team will play six in-conference opponents three times, and the remaining three teams twice. It will play one-game each against Western Conference opponents. Here’s the breakdown:

Eastern Conference
Three matches against (two home): DC United, New York Red Bulls, Orlando City
Three matches against (two away): Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew, Montreal Impact
Two matches against (home and home): New England Revolution, New York City, Toronto FC

Western Conference
Home: LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, Sporting Kansas City, Vancouver Whitecaps
Away: Colorado Rapids, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders

Partial season ticket plans will go on sale on Monday, Jan. 11, at 1 pm. Single game tickets and group packages will go on sale Wednesday, Jan. 20, at 10 am.

So, there you go, Now let’s sign some players.

32 Comments

  1. Not liking that there are no Saturday afternoon home games in May. And these Friday night games? Ugh!

  2. OneManWolfpack says:

    FINALLY!! Oh, and I was hoping when I was in Orlando in August the U would be playing there… ah well 🙁
    .
    4 Wednesdays, 5 Sundays at home… I need to take some time off from work!! 🙂

  3. At least MLS has the sense to get out of the way of Copa… having said that…the four game stretch: May 20, 25, 28, June 1… is a kick in the rucksack… I hope they just fly from Orlando to Colorado and skip coming back for a cheese wit…
    .
    I imagine most other teams have a frenetic period similarly.
    .
    What a smorgasbord of football mid may to late June is going to be.
    .
    So now we wait — again….tap tap tap tap tap fingers feet fingers feet.

  4. Zizouisgod says:

    Lately, it always seems like we get the big clubs out West (LAG and Seattle) coming here for a midweek match. This pretty much guarantees that we get a weakened side. Improves our chances for all three points, but any Gerard, Keane or Gio fans will likely be disappointed when they don’t make the trip.

    • Old Soccer Coach says:

      That will depend on how we are doing. If we start well they might have to think about bring their big guns, particularly if they are not doing well. But I fear that Arena will leave Keane and Gerrard home.
      Schmid will probably bring Dempsey and Martins. It will also depend on what each faces before and after the visit to Philly.

  5. The Oenophile says:

    All those Wednesday and Friday games will be hard to get to with rush hour, and I fear that the stadium will appear empty on national TV many Sunday school nights. Seeing this schedule makes me glad I did not renew my 4 season tickets.

    • I think you and a few others on this board are significantly overstating the number of Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday night home games scheduled for this year.
      .
      By my count, there are only 3 home matches scheduled on Wednesday nights, 2 on Friday nights, and 1 on Sunday night.
      .
      In contrast, there are 7 matches scheduled for Saturdays, 3 for Sunday afternoons/early evenings, and one Sunday match with an undetermined start time.
      .
      Seems like a reasonable schedule to me (and our family travels from about an hour away in NJ).

      • Your dedication to the team is admirable and your even-handed comment is welcome. Although it’s true that there are only 3 Wednesday and 2 Friday matches, most of us do believe that those numbers are too high. It’s a fact that the stadium has thousands of empty seats at kickoff for those evening matches.
        .
        The sad truth is that the ground, located literally between a large river on one side and a highway AND an active rail line on the other, is difficult to reach during evening rush hour. I know, the rail is freight not passenger, and there’s no dock for a boat, but it’s hard to believe nothing can be done. Easier to land a freakin’ helicopter on the training field.

      • The main issue is 291 and the entrance to the parking lots. This is the only road to get there and the main pinch point. In my opinion, the union need to buy up all/most of the land from 291 to the river in the stadium/parking lot area and improve it to handle the flow of traffic into the parking lots.

      • No, 291 is not the only pinch point. I-95 is a piece of shit that sometimes takes me 45 minutes to an hour just to get from Street Road down to Vine Street.
        .
        As an example, despite leaving work early for the two Open Cup finals, we arrived after kickoff for both games. And not a minute or two afterward, either. This year, for example, we arrived after Le Toux scored the opener.

      • I meant by the stadium. not sure what the union are supposed to do about I-95 up there, would be the same issue if the stadium was in the sports complex. I was talking about issues the union could actually fix. I was at those same games (and also missed both kickoffs) and both times traffic was backed up in 1 long line from the stadium ramp to I-95 and even onto 476. This is all because traffic could not flow into 291 and into the parking lots.
        .
        but yeah, overall traffic during rush hour sucks in general when trying to get to a sporting event, although all the other teams deal with it too.

      • I understand your concerns about rush hour traffic on weekdays (though it appears to be worse on the PA side than coming from NJ), but what are the alternatives?
        .
        No weekday home matches? I don’t see how that would be possible without a complete overhaul of the league calendar.
        .
        Move the Union to a new stadium elsewhere? Isn’t going to happen. Even if it did, rush hour traffic would still be a problem at any other location in the Philly area.
        .
        Delay the weekday start times? This might help with pregame traffic, but it would also push back the times when people arrive home after a match, creating problems at the back end for fans who have to get up early for work/school the next day.
        .
        To be clear, I wouldn’t object to some experimentation with weeknight start times (say 7:30 on Wednesdays and 8:00 on Fridays), but I do think the schedule complaints posted here by some (not you) are way over the top.

      • I bet if the Friday games were moved to 8… many people would relent the wednesday games at 7.
        .
        Your position is good.
        .
        No reason to start a friday night game at 7 pm.

      • All I’ve ever asked for is a 7:30 start time instead of 7:00 start time. Oddly, once I actually get out of the parking lot, I don’t usually have any problems getting home, regardless of the day of the week or start time.
        .
        I usually leave work at 6:30pm. When there’s a weekday game, I sneak out at 5pm. I have to rely on the PA turnpike to get home, and as long as there’s no accident or similar, I get home in about 45 minutes. A quick change, gather my daughter and our stuff, and I’m usually back on the road no later than 6:00. Typically, that gets us to Chester at about 7:15 – every once in a while we’ll get there just before 7.
        .
        So yeah. 7:30 start time is enough to make me shut up about mid-week games. At least until my boss starts complaining about me leaving early…

      • i have been saying for years that they need to get a barge that picks people up at the end of spring garden and drops them off at the stadium. sell beer and hoagies on the boat and the thing will pay for itself

      • do this! take my money please!

      • I love the idea of a barge from Center City. When can I buy my official Union-logo life preserver?

      • I would drive over the other bridge just to try that out!

  6. I guess it’s Boston for the summer road trip.

  7. WAY too many Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday games at home. It’s going to look really bad on national TV when no one is in the stands at kickoff because they are all stuck on the Blue Route. Weeknight games shouldn’t kickoff before 8. As a STH, I won’t be able to make half of the games, and Union tickets have no resale value.

    • The Oenophile says:

      So much for those STH surveys they send out, many of us have repeatedly stated that weeknight and Friday night games should start at 8 PM because of the traffic.

  8. I know the U ownership group doesn’t exactly have deep pockets, but they gotta figure out a better stadium situation. Offer some convertible bonds, buy out the rest of the lease in Chester, and head up to Philadelphia. Cut a deal with the Phils or Penn and go play at either CBP or Franklin Field for the time being. Would do wonders for the fan support and revenue streams.

    Seriously, 5 Wednesday / Friday night 7PM home games? WTF??

    • The Oenophile says:

      Retrospectively, a great spot for the stadium would have been in the Valley Forge / King of Prussia area near where Rte 202, Rte 422, the Schuylkill Expressway and the PA Turnpike all intersect, not too far from YSC Sports. There was an old public golf course there that got sold off and is now slowly being developed.

      • I love the idea…. however that interchange area is so busy and was so poorly re-designed when they made all the improvements I’m concerned it would have been a ridiculous mess.
        .
        They had a chance when The Spectrum was demolished to consider another idea closer to the city…
        .
        The stadium is in Chester. It is a crown jewel remember. Nothing is going to change there.

    • At this point the stadium isn’t moving so we are stuck there. That said, the Union need to really pony up some money and pressure on penndot/septa/chester to improve the transportation access to the stadium.

      • Zizouisgod says:

        Very true. The stadium is in Chester and there’s no amount of money or political willpower that’s gonna change that.

        If the train options were better, I’d definitely take it from Center City.

  9. Hard to sweat the schedule when you don’t know who’s going to suit up! 7pm games make it much easier for families that have kids in school the next day. For those that like to tailgate, traffic has never been an issue, I commit for the games(split season tickets so attend half the home games), arrive early, stay late. I will admit that Delco residents are spoiled. Location, location, location. BTW, love the comment sections on PSP, you guys are clever fans.

  10. Friday night games at 7 involve brutal traffic on I95. I would be happier with 0 Friday night games, or at least start them later.

    I understand why the Wednesday night games can’t start later, but, like I like others, could not get into my seats for the start of the Open Cup final the last 2 years. That seems to have more to do with Union parking logistics than I95.

  11. Sorry to say we have a very easy trip in from South Jersey. The location was almost in Jersey… That would have been less than 20 mins from my front door. But its in Chester…so more like 60 mins…but still easier than if it was at the complex.

  12. The Oenophile says:

    Not to beat a dead horse, but even a 7:30 PM start time on weeknights would be better than 7:00 PM … that extra half hour permits the main body of rush hour traffic to subside.

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