Rhode Island FC is a men’s pro soccer team based out of, as the name suggests, Rhode Island. Historically, their base of operation was Bryant University in Smithfield, however as of May 3rd, 2025, with the home opener against San Antonio FC, they will be playing home games out of Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket. Most of their games will be pitting them against USL teams, as a USL Championship team themselves. However, sometimes, there are situations where a MLS team will be in town, such as the May 7th US Open Cup match vs. the Revs (at which they lost 1-2). Ironically, despite the fact the team has only existed in play since……the 2024 season (damn, they really started AFTER I began this blog?!), they STILL managed to get their own soccer-specific stadium before the Revs. Take that, Bobby Kraft!
With all that in mind, y’all might have a pressing question….
Now what the HELL does a USL Championship soccer team have to do with anything I write about?!
Well, I’ll tell you what: they paid RIPTA to run game day bus service! So, without further ado, here’s what’s in store, after riding the game day service route before the May 10th game vs. Monterey Bay FC – from the Commuter Rail to the stadium via the Apex lot (M7). Let’s look at this, and let’s see how this game goes. I really hope it’s not another draw or another loss…
So, after waiting 15 minutes for a bus to even show up, the first bus shows up at the Pawtucket train station. Of course, this also comes after the driver and the on-site supervisor talk a bit, presumably with the super handling headway management to make sure buses actually leave every 8-10 minutes as prescribed. Annoyingly, though, the routes taken were not as what RIPTA’s public material has suggested (which suggested two loops). Instead, what happened, was that the bus did one big loop hitting all the lots in relatively close proximity to the stadium. Here it is mapped out.
The purple dots are the stops made (all stops are made, no requesting needed). You have stops at Exchange & Broad, Exchange & Roosevelt (lot M16), at the visitors center (lot M12), the Apex lot (lot M7, the designated tailgating lot), and at Division St. near School St. (lots D4/D5/D6). In terms of what it hits, it hits pretty much all the important places. Furthermore, given the high frequency of the route, you don’t have to worry too much about timing the bus with the Commuter Rail (which means, yes, you can take the train to the game!!! Just…..keep in mind the time of the train departures for the return trip.). As for the usefulness of the route, it really is useful. It fulfils the intended use pretty well, and even though my trip to the stadium was low ridership (it begins running 3 hours prior to the event, while the gates don’t open until 2 hours prior), my trip BACK was PACKED. Like, it was less than standing room kind of packed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a RIPTA bus that packed. Also, annoyingly, the route taken for the return was different, but whatever. So, with that out of the way, let’s get into the conclusion. In conclusion: GATRA and Bobby Kraft could probably learn a few things with better service to Gillette. RIPTA and RIFC know what they’re doing (mostly) here. Now, the good, bad, and all that fun stuff. Also, shoutout to the driver for letting me know that the pick-up spot is at the park where he dropped me off. Very much appreciated!
The good: It’s very frequent and serves most of the lots, with the other unserved lots being a VERY short walk away (5 minutes max). It gets the job done, and pretty well at that (it’s also fare-free, so passengers who PROBABLY never rode RIPTA before don’t have to fiddle around for a $2 fare). Essentially, it has one job and it does that one job VERY, VERY WELL.
The bad: Inconsistent routing vs. the information published online. That’s probably my only real issue, but I’m sure this’ll be rectified as time progresses – as this is the first season of RIFC playing at Centreville Stadium.
Nearby points of interest: This one should be obvious. The outlying parking lots, the Commuter Rail station, the visitors center (& RIFC HQ), the stadium, and Apex/tailgating lot.
Overall, it has one job and it does that job very, VERY well. And, from what I can discern, it’s miles ahead of what RIPTA and the PawSox offered for game-day bus service back before, well, before the PawSox moved to Worcester (RIP).
Rating: 10/10
So, you thought that was the end? Well, not quite, actually. This day was actually a bit important, as I also had a bit of interest in giving soccer a chance and doing something new. After riding the route, I walked back to the tailgating lot and met up with the rather lovely (i mean this in a genuine manner) people from Defiance 1636. Of course, I knew some of them from the stadium open house a couple weeks prior, but I met up with them to partake in the tailgate, talked a bit, and the whole nine yards. Overall, they’re legitimately among the most welcoming people I’ve ever met. Now, I just thought from here, it’d be off to the races once the tailgate started being dismantled at 3ish PM. Whelp, I could not be any further from the truth – and perhaps, it might be good that I was no further from the truth. So, we’re all getting ready for the march to the match, and one of the ladies just……outright asked me if I wanted to help with holding a banner (it was VERY windy). And, I said “sure, why not?” And away we went, while sticking to the sidewalk. One left turn to Taft St. later, and we had free reign of the entire road with a police escort. And, on the megaphone…
R.I.!
F.C.!!!
Cue that and a few supporter group chants for the half-mile walk to the stadium, along with trainhorns, then we clear security, and we continued on (albeit without the megaphone) with drums beating towards the supporters section (sections 115-117 at Centreville Stadium). It…..was AMAZING. Would I partake in it again? UHHH, YES! Seriously, shoutout to Defiance 1636 for being very welcoming and also adding to the pregame atmosphere. Of course, from here, it was off to the concessions to pick up, well, concessions ($1 hotdogs?!), and to my seat in section 211. So, I made myself comfortable, enjoyed the game, realized that I……might be an unhinged soccer fan(?!), and ultimately enjoyed and cheered for RIFC, as the game ultimately ended in a 1-1 draw. Damn.
Overall, it was a very good time (hence the lack of photos, I was genuinely enjoying it), and I’d strongly recommend you (the reader) go to a pro soccer game at least once in your life. If nothing else, at least just once. Because, holy SHIT, was it a glorious time.
