Rhode Island FC, Pawtucket team up for July 4 fireworks night

The City of Pawtucket, Rhode Island FC and Centreville Bank Stadium will again join forces for the Official City of Pawtucket Fourth of July Celebration, with the club’s July 4 home match against Orange County SC at 7:30 p.m. serving as the night’s centerpiece. Rhode Island Energy is sponsoring the city’s official fireworks show, which will follow the match at Centreville Bank Stadium and carry the holiday from kickoff into the night sky.

The repeat setup marks the second straight season Rhode Island FC has been built into Pawtucket’s Independence Day programming, a clear sign that the club and the city are treating the stadium as more than a match venue. Rhode Island FC’s schedule labels the date “Independence Day at Centreville Bank Stadium,” and the club has said tickets are moving quickly, suggesting the holiday date should draw one of the stronger crowds on the USL Championship calendar that week.

Last year’s celebration showed how broad the footprint can be when the city and club team up. Pawtucket moved its fireworks to Friday, July 5, 2025, for what it called its first-ever Fourth of July collaboration with Rhode Island FC, and the evening included family-friendly activities, food trucks, music and a fireworks display at 9:30 p.m. The city also pointed fans to Festival Pier and the Division Street Bridge as popular viewing spots, and said the Division Street Bridge would close to traffic at 7:30 p.m.

Rhode Island FC gave the holiday night an added layer of local history by saying the fireworks tradition paid homage to the fan-favorite practice started by the Pawtucket Red Sox. The club also tied the 2025 game to the 50th anniversary of Cape Verdean Independence Day, a nod to Pawtucket’s large Cape Verdean community and to the way the holiday has been used to connect the stadium schedule with the city’s identity.

The 2026 pairing with Orange County SC gives Rhode Island FC another chance to turn a regular-season fixture into a civic anchor, with Centreville Bank Stadium functioning as both the match site and the launch point for the city’s fireworks. The club’s July slate also places the holiday match inside a wider homestand, keeping the celebration embedded in a summer stretch that the club and city appear intent on making a recurring part of Pawtucket’s calendar.