Things to do in New York City: Sports and more

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The Big Apple is a city for all seasons — and in this case we’re not just referring to the ever-changing look and feel that weather patterns bring to Central Park and other venues at its core.

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It is a metropolis that’s always evolving with new attractions to entice its visitors, but in this case “season” refers to a “sporting” love I have when I travel.

From baseball to hockey, football and much more, New York City offers so much for sports fans, whether rooting for the home team, your home team or just witnessing the spectacle.

Here are some ways to get your sports fix and more as I did recently in NYC.

WATCH

Few things beat being among a crowd watching athletes give it their all — especially when they do it in iconic venues.

Though the original is long gone now, having closed in 2008, taking the subway to the Bronx to visit Yankee Stadium should be on everyone’s bucket list (bonus if it’s to catch the Blue Jays hopefully humiliating the home team!). I love the authentic New York vibe around the stadium — including the famed “Bleacher Creatures,” part of the demanding hard-core followers who put the fanatic in fans. To add to the atmosphere before opening pitch, be sure to grab a beer pre-game at Yankee Tavern across the street and chat with the locals.

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Make the trek to Queens, too, to visit Citi Field, which also opened in 2009 and is home to the Mets (and former Jays manager John “Gibby” Gibbons!). With its home run apple, historical tributes and museum, green seats and Jackie Robinson Rotunda, it’s a sports fan must-do. Plus, a mental note for when planning your future visits: A new stadium set to open in 2027 next to Citi Field for New York City FC will be the city’s first soccer-specific stadium.

If you can’t get tickets to a game, you can always watch it at a bar — we liked Route 66 and Beckett’s on Stone Street, a historic brick lane in Lower Manhattan lined with fun bars and outdoor patios. Keep an eye out for owner Ronan — he’s a hoot.

LEARN

Each year on April 15, Major League Baseball celebrates Jackie Robinson’s historic 1947 debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers that broke MLB’s colour barrier. The story of his military and baseball careers and his civil rights and political activism is recounted in the Jackie Robinson Museum (JRM), which opened in July 2022 and features an extensive archive of artifacts that his widow Rachel (who recently turned 102!) collected over the decades.

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As our knowledgeable guide Sidney Carlson White told us, JRM is “not a sports museum or civil rights museum specifically but an American history museum.” As a quote from Rachel upon entry puts it: “I hope this tribute to my beloved Jack ignites the humanitarian spirit in all of us, not only when we convene around sport, but in all our interactions. May it spark dialogue that leads to better understanding ourselves, our shared experiences, and the plight of others.”

DO

Being one who likes to take advantage of “The City That Never Sleeps,” I wasn’t so sure about having exercise at Central Park at dawn as part of the itinerary. It turned out, however, to be a highlight of the trip.

City Fit Tours combines fitness and tourism, giving people the chance to continue their daily routine, whether it’s running, yoga or biking, so they can feel like themselves while in NYC.

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Our guide Annika shared historical information about the park and its iconic landmarks interspersed with stops to teach us yoga poses. I felt the pauses provided us with a chance to be more in touch with the beautiful natural surroundings.

With our blood flowing, we headed to Edge at Hudson Yards – the highest outdoor sky deck in the Western Hemisphere. Being on the western edge of Manhattan, the panoramic view — the glass panels are angled outward — includes the top of Central Park down to the Statue of Liberty. Like the CN Tower, it has a glass floor, where you can look down 100 storeys to the street, and has a City Climb experience for those braver than myself who want to lean out 1,200-plus feet over New York City.

For some indoor fun, we hit mini-golf venue Swingers NoMad, a few blocks from the Empire State Building. Aimed at adults and with three nine-hole courses, Swingers bills itself as the “crazy golf club.” Order your cocktails from a caddie and they’ll be brought to you on the fairway – because “drinking on the course is encouraged” (I think it helped my game!). The decor in the basement venue is picturesque, music pumps like a club, and elevated street food is served. Good times.

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EAT

Originally built in 1907 as a shipping terminal and then destroyed in a 1947 fire, Pier 57 was reconstructed in 1952 and considered an engineering marvel due to its use of three hollow concrete caissons rather than pylons to support the main structure. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Pier 57 was abandoned for years but has undergone a restoration that maintained its historic character and now sports a James Beard Foundation-curated food hall, community spaces and rooftop park.

At nearly two acres, the eclectic Meatpacking District park offers great panoramic views day and night of New York Harbor and Lower Manhattan. Inside, Market 57 — launched in April 2023 — boasts more than a dozen women- and minority-owned local independent businesses. At Harlem Hops, friends, business partners and beer aficionados Kim, Kevin and Stacey feature brewers of colour on their menu. I chose a refreshing Moor’s session IPA to wash down my scrumptious meal from Bessou, which serves reimagined Japanese home cooking. Twice named best fried chicken by New York Magazine, the Japanese fried chicken karaage marinated in a soy sauce blend then “fried twice for extra crunch” comes in original (yum!) or hot honey.

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New food hall Urban Hawker, located about a four-minute walk from MLB’s Flagship Store near Rockefeller Center, has Singapore street food on tap. Identified by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Singapore hawkers prepare a variety of food in hawker centres that serve as community dining rooms, and curator KF Seetoh says Urban Hawker is the first of its kind in the U.S. to feature stalls from the hawker centres of Singapore. The 17 vendors represent cuisines such as Malay, Chinese, Indian, Peranakan, and more. For lunch, I tapped Mr. Fried Rice for their Singapore signature fried rice with fermented Chinese pork sausage and dried baby shrimp. Watching the masters prepare the meal is captivating.

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STAY

Conrad New York Downtown is a prime location for exploring by foot all that Lower Manhattan offers, including One World Trade Center, 9/11 Memorial & Museum, Wall Street and The Battery park. The 463-suite hotel has a cool lobby design, and my west-facing suite had a great view of the Hudson River with the ferries going past the backdrop of Jersey City, as well as the Irish Hunger Memorial across the street. In addition to a sitting area, the shower had its own room and there was a filtered still water machine as part of the hotel’s sustainability effort.

For a place in the heart of the action, New York Marriott Marquis hits the spot in Times Square. It’s within steps of major attractions, Broadway shows, transit stations, shopping, dining — the whole shebang. With 1,971 guest rooms and suites (ask for one with a view of the ball — the hallway trek will be longer but worth it!), the largest M Club on the East Coast, and a 37-storey atrium, the huge and impressive hotel underwent a $135-million renovation during the pandemic.

IF YOU GO

Porter flies to Newark Liberty International Airport five to 10 times daily from Toronto’s Billy Bishop airport and two to three times daily from Ottawa. I’m always a fan of its complimentary beverages and lack of middle seats. After clearing EWR, we used White Rose Experiences airport transfer to the hotel.

Find out more at nyctourism.com.

cmcleod@postmedia.com

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