By STEPHEN WHYNO, AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — New York and New Jersey are welcoming soccer fans from around the planet this summer for the World Cup — transporting a vast majority of visitors across the river to MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands.
The home of the NFL’s Jets and Giants is set to host eight games, including the final on July 19. It’s the latest big event at the 80,000-seat stadium a dozen years after the Super Bowl was played there and three years since Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour.”
Landmarks/Places to See
The Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Empire State Building, Central Park, Coney Island and shows on and off Broadway and at Radio City Music Hall are atop a long list of tourist destinations.
Major League Baseball’s Yankees and Mets each have plenty of home games, including the Los Angeles Dodgers at Yankee Stadium the weekend of the final.
Food scene in New York/New Jersey
Start with a bagel and a slice of pizza and go from there to any type of cuisine your heart desires. There are 72 restaurants in New York City and the surrounding areas with a Michelin star, and there are quality eats at every price point.
Some of the best steakhouses and Italian can be found all over, especially in Manhattan, and Flushing in Queens features an array of excellent Asian food.
Fan Zones
There will be a free one in each of the city’s five boroughs: Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, Billie Jean King National Tennis Center — home of the U.S. Open tennis tournament — in Queens, on the East River waterfront and in Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn, a shopping mall near Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and a minor league baseball stadium in Staten Island.
Another is taking place in Harrison, New Jersey, at Sports Illustrated Stadium at a cost of $10 for adults and free for children 12 and under, though a ticket is required.
Transportation Options
A round-trip train ticket from Penn Station in Manhattan to East Rutherford on NJ Transit costs $98 — down from the $150 initially unveiled but still significantly more than $12.90 for other events — and it’s not direct. Ticket-holders must buy ahead for a specific time slot, board in one of two designated zones and then transfer at Secaucus Junction.
Fans can also take NJ Transit from Secaucus or Hoboken Terminal. FIFA’s official shuttle bus is $20 and departs from Grand Central Station, the Port Authority Bus Terminal, a to-be-determined site in north Midtown or a park-and-ride site in Clifton, New Jersey.
Despite vast lots surrounding the stadium with more than 20,000 spots usually available, the only parking on site will be what FIFA calls premium and limited availability at the American Dream mall. Ride share pickup and drop-off is at the Meadowlands harness racing track.
Stadium Tips
Allow plenty of time to get in and even more patience to get out. A regular-season football game leads to long lines and logjams, and the logistical complications of no parking or tailgating combined with the amount of fans unfamiliar with the stadium and the transportation there could cause lengthy delays.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
