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 The Sporting News voted NYC the Best Sports City
in America in 2001 for good reason. New Yorkers are passionate
about sports, both as participants
and as spectators.
Did you know you can go rock-climbing, sailing, kayaking,
and golfing in New York City? Also see the Sporting Life,
Parks,
Biking.
And did you know, NYC won the national bid to host the 2012 Olympics?
Participant Sports
The city's greatest sports center is the Chelsea Piers Sports &
Entertainment Complex, a state-of-the-art, 30-acre
athletic temple with facilities for jogging, basketball, volleyball,
lacrosse, rock-climbing, swimming, golf, and much more. Golfers
can swing a club at seven different courses throughout the
boroughs courtesy of American Golf, the
world's largest golf course management company. Bowlers try
for strikes at the Bowlmor
Lanes, NYC's hip bowling Mecca. Prefer gliding across
the ice? Skate at Central Park's Wollman
Rink or Lasker
Rink, uptown. Chelsea Piers has two year-round indoor
ice rinks, two outdoor roller rinks, and an extreme skate
park. And of course, there's the famous rink in Rockefeller
Center. Joggers and runners can contact the New York Road Runners Club
for information about participating in the world-famous NYC
Marathon in November or any of their many organized runs.
If a 4-legged trot along a tree-lined path is more your style,
Central Park is home to the Claremont Riding Academy
(212/724-5100), the oldest continuously operated stable in
the United States. Primarily a riding school, Claremont also
hires out horses for enjoyment on the six miles of bridle
paths in Central Park. If "riding" means by bicycle
to you, at Central Park Bicycle
Tours you can join a group, or rent a bikes by the
hour and explore solo. Keep in mind that Central Park is just
one of the city's vast web of 1,700 parks and playgrounds.
In fact, Manhattan's famed green oasis is number five on the
list of the city's ten largest parks! You can also enjoy running,
jogging, in-line skating, basketball, softball, and soccer
- not to mention great special events and festivals - at Pelham Bay Park
in the Bronx, the Greenbelt on Staten Island, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, Brooklyn's Prospect Park, and
many more. You can even go bird watching in New York City!
Central Park and
the Bronx's New
York Botanical Garden offer guided bird walks, and
spring in Queens brings thousands of migrating shore birds
to the Jamaica Bay
Wildlife Center's 10,000 acres. Learn more about NYC's
parks.
Spectator Sports
Sports fans who prefer to sit and root for the home team have
it made in New York. There are hundreds of opportunities to
see professional sports played at some of the world's best
venues. See below for details and directions. Yankee (Yankees) and Shea stadiums (Mets) for major
league baseball; Madison
Square Garden (the Knicks and the Liberty) for basketball,
boxing, ice hockey (Rangers), and wrestling (WWF/World Wrestling
Federation); the Giants and Jets (football), the Nets (basketball),
and the Metro Stars (soccer) are across the river at New Jersey's
Giants Stadium and Continental Airlines Arena, part of the
Meadowlands
complex. In late August, fans flock to the U.S. Open Tennis Center in Queens; and there's thoroughbred
racing year-round at the world-famous Aqueduct and Belmont racetracks,
also in Queens. The Staten
Island Yankees and Brooklyn Cyclones, Class A minor league teams of the New
York Yankees and New York Mets, played their first seasons
in 2001 in fabulous new ballparks. The USBL minor league basketball
team the Brooklyn Kings play
in surprise! Brooklyn.
Details and Directions Aqueduct
Race Track
Rockaway Blvd. & 108th St., Ozone Park, Queens, New York;
Racing Association 718/641-4700
Home of Thoroughbred racing in the metropolitan area, mid-October-May.
From Manhattan, take the A subway line to the Old Aqueduct
Station. Courtesy Bus service is available to the admission
gate.
Belmont
Park Race Track
Elmont, Queens, NY; Racing Association 718/641-4700 Largest
Thoroughbred racing facility in North America; live racing
May-July and Sept.-Oct. Beautiful grounds and picnic areas.
From Manhattan, take the F subway to 169th street or 179th
street then take the N6 or the Q2 bus to Belmont, or take
the E train to Jamaica Center (Parsons Blvd.) and then take
the Q10 bus to Belmont. You can also take the LIRR at Penn
Station to Woodside or Jamaica.
Brooklyn
Cyclones
Keyspan Park, 1904 Surf Ave & Riegelmann Boardwalk, Coney
Island, Brooklyn, 718/449-8497
Class A minor league baseball (major team is the Mets). To
reach KeySpan Park by subway, you take the Q local, W, F,
or N train. All trains stop at Stillwell Avenue/Coney Island,
which is the last stop. Exit the station towards Stillwell
and Surf Avenues (walk toward Nathan's); KeySpan Park is two
blocks away.
Madison Square
Garden
4 Pennsylvania Plaza (7th Ave. at 31st-33rd Sts.), NYC, 212/465-6741
or TicketMaster 212/307-7171
You can get tickets at this sports and entertainment complex
for the Knicks, Rangers, Liberty, World Wrestling Federation,
boxing events.
Shea Stadium
126th St. & Roosevelt Ave., Flushing, Queens, 718/507-8499
Home of the New York Mets. Season runs April-October. To get
to the stadium by subway: 7 subway to Willets Point/Shea Stadium.
From Penn Station in Manhattan, the LIRR
serves Shea Stadium on the Port Washington line on game days
only. Another option is taking the Baseball
by Boat ferry shuttle (Manhattan & NJ departures).
Cost is between $10 and $14 round trip.
Yankee Stadium
161st St at River Ave., Bronx, 718/293-6000
Home of the New York Yankees baseball team, Yankee Stadium
is a famous outdoor facility for sports and entertainment
events. Season runs April-October. To get to the stadium from
Manhattan via subway (the Yankee Stadium subway stop is right
outside the stadium at the corner of 161st St. and River Ave.),
take the 4, the B (weekdays only), or D train to 161st St./Yankee
Stadium. The ride takes about 25 minutes from midtown. By
bus: BX 6, BX 13 and BX 55 buses stop at 161st St./Grand Concourse,
a short walk from the Stadium. Another option is taking the
Baseball by Boat ferry shuttle
(Manhattan & NJ departures). Cost is between $10 and $14
round trip.
Staten Island
Yankees
Richmond Country Bank Ballpark at St. George, next to Staten
Island Ferry Terminal, Staten Island, 718/720-9265
New York Yankees minor league affiliate, featuring Yankees
prospects playing in a new stadium, overlooking New York Harbor.
To get there from Manhattan by subway, take the 4 or 5 to
Bowling Green or the N or R to Whitehall Station, then the
free Staten Island Ferry. Exit the ferry from the lower deck;
the ballpark is on your right. The ferry departs every 15
minutes weekdays 5-7 PM, and every 30 minutes weekends 11:30am-7:30pm.
For holiday schedule call 718/815-BOAT.
U.S. Open Tennis
Championships
USTA National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park,
Queens, 718/760-6200; tickets,
888/673-6849
One of the four Grand Slam events of professional tennis.
From Manhattan by subway, take the 7 subway to the Shea Stadium/Willets
Point Station. The USTA National Tennis Center is a short
walk down the ramp from the station. The ride takes about
30 minutes from midtown.
Meadowlands Sports
Complex
East Rutherford, NJ; general information 201/935-3900; New York Jets 201/560-8200;
New York Giants
201/460-4370; New
York Metro Stars 201/583-7000 Continental Airlines Arena,
along with Giants Stadium and the Meadowlands racetrack, make
up this sports complex. It cost $450 million to build and is
considered one of the greatest sports complexes in the world.
The Port Authority bus terminal offers load-and-go, round-trip
bus service for all events at the Meadowlands (a 20 minute ride).
Advance-purchase ticket required; fare is $3.25 one-way for
adults when purchased at the Port Authority ticket window ($4
when purchased on board the bus at the Meadowlands only); $6.50
round trip. |
