Giants
Stadium
New York's
football battleground in New Jersey.
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50
Route 120
East Rutherford, NJ 07073
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Phone
(201) 935-3900
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Cross
streets
Meadowlands Sports Complex |
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across the Hudson River from NYC, the 76,891-seat Giants
Stadium is part of the larger Meadowlands complex that also
includes the Continental Airlines Arena. Both the New York
Giants and the New York Jets football teams play their home
games here--the Jets having moved from Shea Stadium in the
'80s. In 1996, Giants Stadium (referred to as "the
Meadowlands" during Jets home games) became home to the
area's Major League Soccer team, the New York/New Jersey
MetroStars. Giants Stadium also serves as a venue for some of
the larger music concerts in the region. The Stadium converted
to a natural-grass playing surface in 2000. |
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Madison
Square Garden
The
"World's Most Famous Arena" is home to the Knicks
and Rangers.
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2
Pennsylvania Plz (7th Ave)
New York, NY 10121
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Phone
(212) 465-6000
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Cross
streets
Between 32nd Street and 33rd
Street |
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The
Arena
The Garden was renovated in 1991, just in time for the
Democratic National Convention. Half the "blue
seats" were removed for luxury boxes, and the old
iron railings were replaced by knee-crushing concrete
walls--which makes going to a game like sitting in a
bunker.
The Amenities
There are food stands on every level, serving
everything from Caliente Cab Company nachos to Ranch
One Chicken to the Garden's hot dogs (decent) and
fries (excellent). There's also the Play By Play
restaurant and sports bar downstairs.
The Knicks and The Rangers
A Knicks game at the Garden is part
celebrity-watching, part mass business meeting and
part ... basketball game. The fan experience at a
Rangers game, on the other hand, is one of greater
intensity, mainly because more people are interested
in the action than their cell phones. |
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Shea
Stadium
Where the
airplanes overhead are almost as loud as the Mets fans.
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123-01
Roosevelt Ave
Flushing, NY 11368-1612
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Phone
(718) 507-8499
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Cross
streets
126th Street |
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The
Scene
The '60s-era circular home of the Mets may lack the
historical charm of Yankee Stadium, but Shea is
definitely the more charmingly eccentric of the two.
For starters, it's filled with that rare and exotic
breed known as Mets fans. Beyond that, its location
right near Laguardia airport guarantees a ceaseless
barrage of airplane noise to add to the spirited
cheers and jeers. Then there's the mechanical apple
that pops out of a giant top hat to celebrate Mets
homeruns. All of this--and did we mention the Mets
fans there?--gives Shea a heartening touch of Coney
Island-like weirdness.
Sacred Ground
On April 17, 1964, Shea was christened with "holy
water" from the Gowanus Canal (representing
Ebbetts Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers) and the
Harlem River (for the Polo Grounds, home of the New
York Giants). |
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US
Open--Flushing Meadows
The
loudest, craziest Grand Slam in the world.
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Flushing
Meadows
New York, NY 10014
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Phone
(212) 647-5727
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The
Event
The U.S. Open, which runs from late August to early
September, is arguably the premier athletic event in
New York City--even when the Yankees go to the World
Series. Each year, the world's finest tennis players
take to the hallowed hard courts of Flushing Meadows
to battle it out in one of the most difficult Grand
Slam events.
The Venue
Vertiginous Arthur Ashe stadium is the centerpiece of
the grounds, and the home to the finals and big-name,
early-round match-ups. Smaller outlying courts offer
the chance to get up-close-and-personal with your
favorite players or tomorrow's unknown stars.
Expansive grounds offer all you need to while away a
late-summer day, including a popular food court that
offers great burgers, fries and ice-cold beer. |
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Yankee
Stadium
The house
that Ruth built is still standing proud.
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161st
St and River Ave
Bronx, NY 10451
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Phone
(718) 293-4300
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Grand
Slam
Yankee Stadium is still the best place in town (in the
world?) to watch a baseball game. Whether you're
perched in the upper deck hanging out with the
bleacher creatures, or settling into one of the comfy
box seats near the field, nothing beats nine innings
at this palace of baseball history.
The Sporting Life
Our national pastime offers few experiences more
poetic than a perfect Yankee Stadium summer evening,
with the sun making nearby buildings glow orange and
the grass growing greener than it seems to anywhere
else. If you've never been to a game here, you're
missing out on a quintessentially New York experience.
And now with Mike Bloomberg in office, the Bronx
Bombers' home, which Giuliani threatened to raze, has
a renewed lease on life. |
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