It’s been a long road to an official home opener for Rhode Island FC.

From the groundbreaking at Tidewater Landing in August, 2022 to an inaugural season played at Beirne Stadium on the campus of Bryant University – which brought remarkable on-field success under Head Coach and General Manager Khano Smith – to last month’s unveiling of Centreville Bank Stadium as the 10,500-seat venue’s official moniker, there’s been a sense of anticipation building around the club’s permanent home.

And now, this Saturday, it will all come to fruition, to the excitement of the people who’ve brought the USL Championship’s latest great soccer-specific stadium to life.

“This has been a long time coming,” RIFC General Manager Paul Byrne told the Valley Breeze this week. “I was one of the first employees on this project, hired three years ago, when there was nothing but piles of dirt on this site. … It’s good to have that light at the end of the tunnel and open the building here. What do we have, six days now? I’ve been counting the days down.”

What’s more, Rhode Island’s new home is going to get plenty of use in the coming days.

• SOLD-OUT OPENER: Saturday’s inaugural game will see former USL Championship title-winner and current Western Conference leader San Antonio FC visit for a game that has been sold out for more than a week. The contest will air live nationally on TUDN as well as locally on NESN and online at ESPN+.

• MLS VISIT: The following Wednesday night will see RIFC host its first game in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup as the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer visit. It’ll be the first official meeting between Smith’s current club and the team he won three MLS Eastern Conference titles with as a player in the 2000s, and a game he’s eagerly anticipating.

• HE SAID IT: “It's the best thing that could happen for the club. Obviously having [the Revolution] be the second game in the stadium, you just couldn't ask for a better opportunity. They have fans and we have fans in proximity. I'm expecting another really good attended match.” – Smith on facing the Revolution to the Providence Journal

USL Q&A - Why Khano Smith is excited for Rhode Island FC to welcome the New England Revolution in the U.S. Open Cup

Centreville Bank Stadium’s opening is another major step forward for Rhode Island FC, but also for the USL Championship as another top-level soccer-specific stadium becomes part of the league’s landscape. For clubs that have opened their own venues – from Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC’s Highmark Stadium more than a decade ago to more recent openings such as Louisville City’s Lynn Family Stadium and Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC’s Weidner Field – they have become a foundation for long-term stability.

It's part of the impetus that continues around the Championship and League One at clubs like Greenville Triumph SC – which recently held the groundbreaking for its permanent home at BridgeWay Station – and Detroit City FC, which continues work at the site in the Corktown district of the city. The same is true of expansion markets, with USL Buffalo recently having unveiled its plan for a soccer-specific stadium as it prepares to join the Championship.

In addition to the yearly schedule of games at each club, the venues have become financial motors, with outside sporting events and concerts bringing both revenue and the opportunity to attract back those who haven’t previously visited for a game. Rhode Island has already jumped on that opportunity, with the Major League Rugby Championship Game set to be held at the venue in July.

After numerous youth clubs had the chance to take to the field at Centreville Bank Stadium over the past weekend, this Saturday it will be the turn of RIFC’s current stars.

It’s a day no-one in attendance is likely to forget.

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• How new soccer-specific stadiums like Rhode Island FC’s are shaping the USL’s future | Backheeled