To our New York Red Bulls family:
In these unprecedented times, I hope this note finds you in good health. Our thoughts are with you and your families. Although we miss seeing you at Red Bull Arena during this time, our utmost focus and priority is the safety of those in our community.
Our organization always strives to put people first and as such, we have been in close communication with our players and staff throughout these trying times to confirm their health, safety and general welfare and to protect them going forward.
During this time, we have been amazed at how many of you have reached out and expressed concerns for our players and staff. I wanted to take this time to thank you and provide you with the most current update.
We are continuing to take direction from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state and local public health authorities, and our medical staff, along with Major League Soccer (MLS) and United Soccer League (USL) on the appropriate next steps and plans. Our players and coaching staff have been following MLS and USL policies on the training moratorium and we are limiting Red Bull Arena and Training Facility access during this time to essential operational staff. We have implemented a work from home operational plan that was tested earlier in the month.
We have postponed or canceled several Red Bulls programs, including youth soccer camps and clinics, to ensure the health and safety of our participants, staff and partners. In light of these currently scheduled cancellations and postponements, we have implemented solutions to mitigate the impact on both our full-time and part-time employees.
As of tonight, our Red Bull Arena event schedule has already been impacted by changes to two scheduled soccer matches. The 3/26 international friendly has been cancelled and we are working closely with the League to reschedule our 3/28 match. Following the recommendations from the CDC restricting events of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks, we are proactively planning accordingly as more events may need to be considered. Our organization remains in close contact with our valued Red Bull Arena partners, Delaware North and Securitas, to mitigate any challenges to their gameday staff, both short and long term, for future events scheduled at Red Bull Arena.
As a club who strives to make an impact on the community each and every day throughout the year, we are committed to stepping up and taking action. We are working with our partners at Hackensack Meridian Health on innovative solutions for testing locations to better help and serve our community during this time. More updates on these initiatives will be coming soon.
This crisis has created a complicated and constantly evolving set of circumstances; we urge you to please follow the guidance of the CDC and our state and local health officials. Most importantly, come together and take care of one another (while being mindful of social distancing). We will continue to provide updates as they become available.
On behalf of the entire club, I sincerely thank you all, our Red Bulls family, for your continued support and loyalty. Wishing you and your loved ones good health, now and always.
Sincerely,
Marc de Grandpré
