Baseball and basketball are hugely popular sports in the United States, drawing millions of viewers to the stadiums nearly every week, both professional and college. In New York, too, it is of course easy to see a little sport as a tourist, if you are ready to reach into your pocket for it.
Let’s start with the most popular sport in the United States: football. The NFL, i.e. the professional league, usually plays its few games from September to December, plus the pre-season in August and the play-offs in January, which end with the Super Bowl in February. In New York, there are two NFL teams, the New York Giants and the New York Jets, both of which play in the rather new MetLife Stadium, which, funnily enough, is not in New York but in New Jersey. The advantage for tourists: Since two teams play their home games here, the stadium is in use almost every week during the season.
Tickets for the games are available both on the official NFL website and on the homepages of both clubs. The cheapest tickets for the worst seats, however, usually cost well over $ 100, good seats close to the field and at the height of the centerline are in the range of $ 500 and up. In addition, the tickets are almost always sold out several months in advance.
Visiting a baseball game is much easier, primarily because the baseball season consists of 162 matches per team instead of 16, which is why the stadiums are rarely sold out. The season usually starts in April and ends in September, followed by the playoffs in October. In New York, the New York Yankees play at Yankee Stadium, which is located in the Bronx. During the season you theoretically catch at least one game here almost every time you visit the city.
Tickets for the games are available for purchase on the Yankees’ official website and, fortunately, prices start at around $ 25, good tickets are available for just under $ 100. Nevertheless, it should be noted that baseball is, of all American sports, the one that takes the most getting used to, since in most games relatively little happens for the inexperienced viewer. The stadium experience is, therefore, more like a picnic and, although fascinating in its own way, cannot be compared to soccer, football, or basketball.
Speaking of basketball: It is not too difficult to get tickets here either. The season consists of 82 matches per team, usually starting in October and ending in April. There are also a few pre-season games from the beginning of October and the play-offs after the main season. In New York, the New York Knicks play in the famous Madison Square Garden and the Brooklyn Nets (formerly New Jersey Nets) in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Here, too, you can get tickets on the official website of the NBA and the teams, prices are similar to baseball, mostly between $ 30 and $ 150.
Finally, the fourth major sport is ice hockey, which is much more important in Canada than in the USA. Nevertheless, there are three teams here: The New York Rangers and Islanders as well as the New Jersey Devils. 82 games per team will be played from October to April, followed by the play-offs. Tickets again on the league’s website, prices comparable to baseball and basketball.
In addition, there are various college teams in New York and in the surrounding area, which are in no way inferior to the professional leagues in terms of visitor numbers and where the atmosphere is almost even better – unless you are surprised about half orchestral groups in a stadium.
The best and most well-known team, at least in football, is the Syracuse Orange, which is a long way from New York City. Tickets are a little easier to get than for the NFL, but not necessarily significantly cheaper.
New York Knicks Home Arena – Madison Square Garden. The team was founded in 1946 and won the NBA Championship twice, in 1970 and 1973. More information about the team and its history is on the official website of the New York Knicks.
The team’s news and more detailed information are available on the Brooklyn Nets website.
Madison Square Garden is home to New York Rangers. The team won the Stanley Cup four times: 1928, 1933, 1940, and 1994. In 2014, New York Rangers reached the final but lost the Stanley Cup to Los Angeles LA Kings. Read more information about the team on their website.
New York Islanders moved to Barclays Center in 2015. The famous team won the Stanley Cup four times: in 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1983. More on the team.
Although New York Red Bulls’ home arena is located in Harrison, New Jersey, the football team represents the so-called New York Metro Area. The Red Bull Arena in New York City can be reached by public transport or car rental.
The New York Jets home arena is located in East Rutherford, New Jersey. However, the team represents New York City. New York Jets won the NFL Championship once in its history, in 1968. Official website New York Jets.
Like Jets, it is located in East Rutherford, NJ, but represents New York City (it is called the New York Metro area). New York Giants won the NFL Championship four times, in 1986, 1990, 2007, and 2011.
New York Yankees and New York Mets are New York City baseball teams. The more successful Yankees won the championship in 2009, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1996, 1978, 1977, 1962, 1961, 1958, 1956, 1953, 1952, 1951, 1950, 1949, 1947, 1943, 1941, 1939, 1938, 1937, 1936, 1932, 1928, 1927, 1923
Tickets to sporting events in New York are often hard to buy and can be sold out weeks before the event. We advise you to use the following ticket search algorithm:
Try to avoid buying paper tickets – they are often lost when you send them. It is desirable to buy tickets that are delivered electronically: they are sent by e-mail or will be available for download. When choosing delivery options, choose the safest one – “E-ticket”.
Getting an e-ticket – as a rule, the ticket will be sent to you by e-mail, or you will get a link to the page where the ticket can be downloaded.
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