TAMPA, Fla. – The 2019 USL Championship season will open with a landmark opening day on Saturday, March 9 thanks to a 17-game slate of action – the most on a single day in the league’s history – that kicks off the regular season.
The Championship’s home openers were revealed in full on Friday as fans of the league’s 36 clubs got their first glimpse of the 2019 campaign, with an opening day of games that includes inaugural home matches for four expansion franchises across the country.
Real Monarchs SLC will face Sacramento Republic FC on Saturday, March 9 to open its fifth campaign in the USL Championship. The Monarchs will then return home the following weekend to host league newcomer El Paso Locomotive FC at Zions Bank Stadium on March 16, a venue in which the Monarchs earned a league-best home record of 13-2-2 in 2018.
Birmingham Legion FC, El Paso Locomotive FC, Memphis 901 FC and New Mexico United will all open their inaugural seasons on home turf, with Memphis welcoming the Tampa Bay Rowdies to AutoZone Park for its first regular-season home game and Birmingham facing 2018 USL Cup Playoffs side Bethlehem Steel FC in its opener at BBVA Compass Field.
Locomotive FC will begin its inaugural season at Southwest University Park with a visit from OKC Energy FC, while New Mexico United will play host to Fresno FC in its inaugural home opener at Isotopes Park.
Other notable games on the opening day of the season include high-profile games in each conference with two-time defending USL Cup champion Louisville City FC opening its season on the road against North Carolina FC and a rematch of the 2016 USL Cup as the New York Red Bulls II play host to the Swope Park Rangers highlighting the slate in the Eastern Conference.
Defending Western Conference champion Phoenix Rising FC also opens its campaign on the road as it visits San Antonio FC at Toyota Field, while Reno 1868 FC plays host to Orange County SC at Greater Nevada Field in a rematch from the 2018 USL Cup Playoffs.
Beyond the opening weekend of the season, the Championship will see the opening of a pair of soccer-specific venues over the course of its opening weeks, with Austin Bold FC playing host to Texas rival San Antonio FC on Saturday, March 30 for the first regular-season contest in Bold Stadium history. The spotlight will then fall on Hartford Athletic on Saturday, May 4 as it hosts its inaugural home opener at historic Dillon Stadium with a visit from the Charlotte Independence.
2019 USL Championship Home Openers
Home Teams Listed First
Saturday, March 9
ATL UTD 2 vs. Hartford Athletic
Birmingham Legion FC vs. Bethlehem Steel FC
Charleston Battery vs. Ottawa Fury FC
El Paso Locomotive FC vs. OKC Energy FC
LA Galaxy II vs. Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
Las Vegas Lights FC vs. Austin Bold FC
Memphis 901 FC vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies
Nashville SC vs. Loudoun United FC
New Mexico United vs. Fresno FC
New York Red Bulls II vs. Swope Park Rangers
North Carolina FC vs. Louisville City FC
Reno 1868 FC vs. Orange County SC
Sacramento Republic FC vs. Real Monarchs SLC
Saint Louis FC vs. Indy Eleven
San Antonio FC vs. Phoenix Rising FC
Seattle Sounders FC 2 vs. Rio Grande Valley FC
Tulsa Roughnecks FC vs. Portland Timbers 2
Friday, March 15
Charlotte Independence vs. Indy Eleven
Saturday, March 16
Bethlehem Steel FC vs. North Carolina FC
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC vs. Sacramento Republic FC
OKC Energy FC vs. Las Vegas Lights FC
Orange County SC vs. Tulsa Roughnecks FC
Phoenix Rising FC vs. New Mexico United
Real Monarchs SLC vs. El Paso Locomotive FC
Rio Grande Valley FC vs. Fresno FC
Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Saturday, March 23
Fresno FC vs. Reno 1868 FC
Louisville City FC vs. Hartford Athletic
Portland Timbers 2 vs. Las Vegas Lights FC
Swope Park Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Saturday, March 30
Austin Bold FC vs. San Antonio FC
Indy Eleven vs. Hartford Athletic
Saturday, April 6
Ottawa Fury FC vs. Nashville SC
Saturday, April 13
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC vs. Hartford Athletic
Friday, May 3
Loudoun United FC vs. Bethlehem Steel FC
Saturday, May 4
Hartford Athletic vs. Charlotte Independence
