NYC visitor guide: The top New York City sports teams to see live

One of the best ways to understand the New York state of mind is to spend a few hours attending a live sporting event. No matter the season there is always a game going on, with 10 major league teams, 2 minor league teams, and the US Open Tennis tournament all based in the New York metropolitan area.

Keep reading for a list of major New York City sports teams– along with advice on buying tickets and getting yourself to the game.

>> Do you know of an offbeat sporting event in the Big Apple? Share your tip by leaving a comment below!

NY Mets Baseball at Citi Field

The New York Mets play at Citi Field stadium in Queens.

Baseball

New York Yankees

The Yankees, with 27 world championships, are the most popular sports team in the New York area. It’s always fun to see them play live in the Bronx, where they built a new stadium in 2009 to replace the “House that Ruth built.” Tickets to most games are easy to find and cost as little as $25 on the Yankee’s website.
Location: Yankee Stadium – The Bronx.  Reachable from midtown Manhattan in about 25 minutes via the 4, B, or D trains
Website: Yankees.com
Season: The regular season runs from the beginning of April to early October, with 81 home games.

New York Mets

The Mets often play second fiddle to the Yankees but have their own passionate fan base and a gorgeous new stadium in Queens.  Because the “Amazin’ Mets” have struggled the last several years, their tickets are usually much cheaper than Yankees games. Fans are optimistic about the 2012 season since the Mets are off to a solid start and even earned their first no-hitter in June.
Location: Citi Field – Flushing, Queens.  Reachable from midtown Manhattan in about 35 minutes via the 7 train or Long Island Railroad (LIRR).
Website: Mets.com
Season: The regular season runs from the beginning of April to early October, with 81 home games.

Brooklyn Cyclones

If you want a baseball experience that’s a little more personal, then you should check out one of the two minor league teams in the New York area. The Brooklyn Cyclones are an affiliate of the New York Mets and a number of players on the current Mets roster played with the Cyclones earlier in their career, so there’s a good chance of seeing some future major leaguers. Tickets are readily available and start at $9; since the stadium only seats about 12,000 (a quarter of big league stadiums), all seats are close to the action.
Location: MCU Park – Coney Island, Brooklyn.  Reachable from Manhattan in about 1 hour via the D, F, N or Q trains.
Website: BrooklynCyclones.com
Season: The regular season runs from mid June to early September, with 38 home games.

Staten Island Yankees

The main rival of the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Staten Island Yankees are an affiliate of– you guessed it– the New York Yankees. The stadium is even smaller and more intimate than that of the Cyclones, with only 6,500 seats. Tickets start at about $10, and for slightly more (about $15) you can opt for a “meal deal” that includes food.
Location: Richmond County Bank Ballpark – Staten Island.  Reachable from Manhattan in about 1 hour via the 1, 4, 5, R, or W train to the free Staten Island Ferry.
Website:
StatenIslandYankees.com
Season:
The regular season runs from mid June to early September, with 38 home games.

Basketball

New York Knicks

Despite having not made it past the first round of the playoffs in 12 years, Knicks games are among the more popular sporting events in the city. Given the convenient Midtown location of Madison Square Garden, tickets for Knicks games can sometimes be expensive and difficult to get, even more so now that they are enjoying their best season regular season in over a decade.If you are willing to see the Knicks play some of the second tier teams in the league, tickets can be had for a reasonable amount.
Location: Madison Square Garden – Manhattan.  Conveniently located right in midtown Manhattan at Penn Station, 34th Street and 7th Avenue.  Reachable by A, C, E, 1, 2, 3, B, D, F, M, N, Q, R trains
Website: Knicks.com
Season: The regular season runs from late October to mid April, with 41 home games.

Brooklyn Nets

Up until last season, Nets games were readily available and among the cheapest sporting events in town. Now that the Nets are playing in a brand new stadium located in downtown Brooklyn, however, this much-maligned franchise is commanding a lot more interest. Though typically regarded as second tier to the Knicks, the Nets are also enjoying their best regular season in over ten years. Cheaper tickets for the many of the remaining games this season are sold out, but can be had for reasonable amounts on secondary markets such as Stub Hub.
Location: Barclays Center – Brooklyn.  Reachable from midtown Manhattan in about 35 minutes via the 2, 3, 4, 5, B, D, N, Q, R train or LIRR
Website: Nets.com
Season: The regular season runs from late October to mid April, with 41 home games.

New York Liberty

If you’re a fan of the WNBA (the women’s basketball league) or perhaps are visiting New York City in the summer and crave some live basketball, then a Liberty game is an good option. They play right in Madison Square Garden and are a much cheaper alternative to the Knicks, with tickets always readily available and priced at $10 and up.
Location: Madison Square Garden – Manhattan.  Conveniently located right in midtown Manhattan at Penn Station, 34th Street and 7th Avenue.  Reachable by A, C, E, 1, 2, 3, B, D, F, M, N, Q, R trains
Website: LIberty.com
Season: The regular season runs from early May to late September, with 17 home games.

  Hockey

New York Rangers

The Rangers are coming off a season in which they had the best record in their conference and, despite a disappointing performance in the playoffs, their home games are the the most difficult tickets to get. The Rangers have a rabid fan base and, even for a casual fan, watching a live hockey game is a fun experience (due to fast action, fights between players and vocal fans). Single game tickets are almost always sold out, but can be bought off of secondary exchanges like Stub Hub— often for prices only slightly above face value.
Location: Madison Square Garden – Manhattan.  Conveniently located right in midtown Manhattan at Penn Station, 34th Street and 7th Avenue.  Reachable by A, C, E, 1, 2, 3, B, D, F, M, N, Q, R trains
Website: Rangers.com
Season: The regular season runs from early October to early April, with 41 home games.

New Jersey Devils

The Devils are coming off a season in which they made the Stanley Cup Finals, and seeing them live is an exciting experience. Due to their stadium’s location in Newark, New Jersey, tickets are usually more easily available and cheaper than Rangers tickets. They have an intense rivalry with the Rangers, who they beat in the 2012 playoffs.
Location: Prudential Center – Newark, New Jersey.  Reachable from Manhattan in about 30 minutes via NJ Transit or PATH trains.
Website:
Devils.com
Season:
The regular season runs from early October to early April, with 41 home games.

New York Islanders

I’ll be honest here – unless you are a die hard Islanders fan or are basing you trip in Long Island, there is little reason to attend an Islanders game. They are in a rebuilding phase and have been near the bottom of the league for the past five seasons, their outdated arena is considered one of the worst in the league, and their location in Long Island is notoriously difficult to reach from Manhattan. Mercifully, the Islanders will be moving to Barclays Center in Brooklyn in 2015.
Location: Nassau Coliseum – Long Island, New York.  Reachable from Manhattan in about 1.5 to 2 hours via the LIRR and MTA bus or taxi. If taking a taxi, arrange return transport beforehand as getting a taxi after the game is nearly impossible.
Website: Islanders.com
Season: The regular season runs from early October to early April, with 41 home games.

Football

New York Giants

Eli Manning and the Giants are a year removed from their second Superbowl victory in the last five years and are beloved here in New York. With only eight home games per season, single game tickets are amongst the most expensive of any sporting event in the area; check out secondary online exchanges like Stub Hub to try to score deals. The Giants stadium is located in New Jersey but can be easily reached by public transportation.
Location: MetLife Stadium – East Rutherford, New Jersey. Reachable from Manhattan in about 20 minutes via the NJ Transit trains
Website:
Giants.com
Season:
The regular season runs from early September to late December/early January, with 8 home games.

New York Jets

The Jets often take a backseat to the Giants, despite being competitive and making the playoffs for two of the last three years. Like the Giants, the “New York” Jets also play in New Jersey and have expensive ticket prices that are easiest to find through secondary online exchanges.
Location: MetLife Stadium – East Rutherford, New Jersey. Reachable from Manhattan in about 20 minutes via the NJ Transit trains
Website:
Jets.com
Season:
The regular season runs from early September to late December/early January, with 8 home games.

Soccer

New York Red Bulls

The only area sports team named after an energy drink, the Red Bulls have been in New York (under several different names) since the league was founded in 1996. They received a new stadium in 2010 and tickets are readily available for almost any game for about $20.
Location: Red Bull Arena – Harrison, New Jersey.  Reachable from Manhattan in aboutt 1 hour via the PATH train to a free shuttle, or New Jersey transit.
Website: RedBulls.com
Season: The regular season runs from mid March to mid October, with 16 home games.

Tennis

US Open

Seeing the US Open live is a fun, all-day experience. The way the ticket system is structured, you can spend a whole day in the complex, wandering from court to court to check out different matches. There are a number of different ticket packages, with the most affordable sold on a first-come, first-served basis for the earlier rounds of matches. Tickets for matches in August 2013 go on-sale early June.
Location: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center – Flushing, Queens.  Reachable from Manhattan in about 35 minutes via the 7 train or LIRR
Website: USOpen.com
Season: The US Open takes place over a period of two weeks, beginning in late August.

Have you been to a New York City sporting event?

Tell us about your experience by leaving a comment below! If you are reading this via email or RSS feed, click on Downtowntraveler.com to leave a comment.

About Jake Semmel

I'm a blogger and round the world traveler. I'm always on the lookout for new places to scuba dive, hike and ski.

9 Comments

  1. Lifelong Yankees fan, yet somehow I have never seen a game live…probably time to change that…

  2. I’m heading to NYC this July but sports are the last thing on my mind, so many other great things to see.

    • Hey Ayngelina! When are you going to NYC? I”m heading there in July also!

  3. Gotta get to the baseball game! I had no time to enjoy the city, as you know, but now I do this summer! Looking forward to it. 🙂

    • Make sure to see a Mets game when you come to NYC! They’re the preferred team of Downtown Traveler’s editorial staff 🙂

  4. Lots of great detailed info here! I’ve been to see the Mets, Yankees, and the U.S. Open.

  5. Denn_is_will_i_ams

    Went to Yankees game on a visit in April 2012 and certainly had a wow factor. Exhubrant crowd, particularly when they played theYMCA song and was made more enjoyable when diamond maintenance staff joined in with a dance routine of their own. We sat along 1st baseline & beyond 1st base great seats. Impressed by padded sears complete with food ordering system and great choices of food for a sporting match. Certainly consider going again if we returned to NY

  6. Carol

    wow. Very informative post. I really love it. So much information that may help others regarding this matter. anyways this is a very useful post !

  7. Now THIS is my kind of travel! I would love to do all of these and make a series out of it. However, I didn’t know about the minor league teams so good to learn a little about them.

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