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Sport Boasting some of the USA’s top sports teams, acres of parkland and beaches and state-of-the-art sports complexes, New York is a sports hotbed, offering the very best in spectator sports and a comprehensive array of activities for lovers of the great outdoors. The ultra-modern Chelsea Piers Sports & Entertainment Complex, a 12-hectare (30-acre) sports village on four beautifully restored early 20th-century piers at 23rd Street at West Side Highway, on the Hudson River, has emerged as a major attraction and weekend retreat since it opened it doors in 1995. The national sports are baseball, basketball and American football and New Yorkers are sports mad and justifiably proud of their top league teams, including the Knicks (website: www.nba.com/knicks), Mets (website: www.mets.com), Giants (website: www.giants.com), Jets (website: www.newyorkjets.com), Rangers (website: www.newyorkrangers.com), MetroStars (website: www.metrostars.com), and New York Liberty (website: www.wnba.com/liberty). The baseball season, which runs from April to October, attracts huge crowds to Shea Stadium, 123-01 Roosevelt Avenue, Flushing, in Queens (tel: (718) 507-METS or (718) 507-TIXX, for tickets), home to the New York Mets (website: www.mets.com) Major League Baseball team, while the New York Yankees (website: www.yankees.com), the most successful baseball team in US history, can be found at Yankee Stadium East 161st Street and River Avenue, in the Bronx (tel: (718) 293-6000). The local basketball season runs from October to April. Madison Square Garden Seventh Avenue between 31st Street and 33rd Street, Manhattan (tel: (212) 465 6741; website: www.thegarden.com), is the home of the city's celebrated team, The New York Knickerbockers (website: www.nba.com/knicks). The American football season kicks off in September. New York’s two leading football teams – The New York Jets (tel: (516) 560 8200; website: www.newyorkjets.com) and The New York Giants (tel: (201) 935 8222; website: www.nfl.com/giants) – now play in New Jersey, at the Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands Sports Complex (tel: (201) 935 3900; website: www.meadowlands.com). Tickets sell out well in advance and there are long waiting lists. Ice hockey is also hugely popular and New York’s National Hockey League teams include the Rangers, who play at Madison Square Garden, the Islanders (tel: (1800) 883 ISLES; website: www.newyorkislanders.com), whose home ground is the Nassau Coliseum, 1255 Hempstead Turnpike, Uniondale (tel:(516)794-9300; website: www.nassaucoliseum.com), and the Devils (website: www.newjerseydevils.com), who play at the Meadowlands Sports Complex (tel: (201) 935 3900; website: www.meadowlands.com). Flushing Meadows, in Queens, hosts the US Open Tennis Championships, which takes place in late August to early September, featuring some of the world’s top seeded players. Ticketmaster (website: www.ticketmaster.com) is the best and most recognised way to buy a ticket to a New York sporting event. Beaches: There are several fine beaches in New York City, such as Coney Island, Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach. Bowling: Bowlmor Lanes, 110 University Place, between 12th and 13th Streets (tel: (212) 255 8188), is Manhattan’s premier bowling centre with 42 lanes. Fitness centres: The Sports Center at Chelsea Piers (tel: (212) 336 6000; website: www.chelseapiers.com) is a 150,000-sq-foot adult membership sports and fitness club featuring indoor track, indoor swimming pool, sundecks, basketball courts, indoor sand volleyball court, boxing ring, rock climbing wall and multi-gym. Day membership passes cost US$50 and allow access to all facilities. Golf: The American Golf Corporation (website: www.americangolf.com) is the world’s largest golf course management company, which offers more than 70 golf courses worldwide and numerous courses in New York City, including Clearview Golf Club, 202-12 Willets Point Blvd (tel: (718) 225 4653), which is open to the public for US$22 (weekdays) and US$24 (weekends). The Golf Club at Chelsea Piers (tel: (212) 336 6400; website: www.chelseapiers.com) is America’s most high-tech super range. There is a 200-yard fairway, all-weather driving range, putting green and a full-service Golf Academy. A session on the driving range starts at US$15 and prices rise with the number of balls used in session. The American Golf website allows on-line booking of tee times. Horseracing: New Yorkers love the races and the main race tracks include Aqueduct Racetrack, Ozone Park, Queens (tel: (718) 641 4700) and Meadowlands Racetrack, East Rutherford (tel: (201) 935 8500). Running: New York Road Runners Club, 9 East 89th Street, between Madison and Fifth Avenues (tel: (212) 860 4455; website: www.nyrr.org), are the organisers of the NYC Marathon and promote the sport through races, events and publications. Sailing: Chelsea Marina at Chelsea Piers (tel: (212) 336 5600; website: www.chelseapiers.com) is the city’s largest marina, featuring a sailing school as well as boats for dinner cruising and deep-sea fishing. Skating/ice skating: The Roller Rinks at Chelsea Piers (tel: (212) 336 6200; website: www.chelseapiers.com) has two indoor ice skating rinks, two outdoor in-line/roller skating rinks and a skate park. There are two outdoor ice skating rinks in Central Park and one in the Rockefeller Center (see Sightseeing). Tennis: The tennis courts at Central Park, located at 93rd Street (tel: (212) 280 0201), are open to the public during the summer. |
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