Spectator Sports

Baseball

In 2009, it will be goodbye Shea Stadium and hello Citifield, the new ballpark in Queens for the New York Mets. While in the Bronx, the Yankees will open their new billion-dollar ballpark, to be called, as the old one was, Yankee Stadium. And with two baseball teams in town, you can catch a game almost any day, from opening day in April to the beginning of the playoffs in October. Though because both teams will have new stadiums, tickets will be even more difficult to land.

Ticket prices for the 2008 season, which are priced at Gold, Silver, Bronze and Platinum levels (based on the team the Mets are playing and the day of the week: i.e., any Yankees game is Platinum; certain early season games are "Value," with deeply discounted tickets), range from $5 to $37 for "Value" games, to $22 to $70 for Platinum games, with many variations. Trust me, you do need a program . . . or to study the seating chart on the team website. For information, call the Mets Ticket Office at tel. 718/507-TIXX, or visit www.mets.com. Also keep in mind that you can buy game tickets (as well as logo wear and souvenirs, if you want to dress appropriately for the big game) at the Mets Clubhouse Shop, which has two midtown Manhattan locations.

New Yankee Stadium, will be across the street from the old one (Subway: C, D, 4 to 161st St./Yankee Stadium). NY Waterway offers baseball cruises to games; call tel. 800/533-3779, or visit www.nywaterway.com for more info. For single game tickets ($12-$63 in 2008), contact Ticketmaster (tel. 212/307-1212 or 212/307-7171; www.ticketmaster.com) or Yankee Stadium (tel. 718/293-6000; www.yankees.com). Serious baseball fans check the schedule well in advance for Old Timers' Day, usually held in July, when pinstriped stars of years past return to the stadium to take a bow.

At current Yankee Stadium, upper-tier box seats (which run about $42), especially those behind home plate, give you a great view of all the action. Upper tier reserve seats are behind the box seats and significantly cheaper ($20). Bleacher seats are even cheaper ($12), and the rowdy commentary from that section's roughneck bleacher creatures is absolutely free. Most of the expensive seats (field boxes) are sold out in advance to season-ticket holders. You can often purchase these same seats from scalpers, but you'll pay a premium for them. Tickets can be purchased at the team's clubhouse shop in Manhattan, at the stadium on the day of the game, online at http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com, and on such online resale sites as Stub Hub (www.stubhub.com), where you can also find Mets tickets. Expect prices for tickets at both parks to go way up, especially for the higher end seats, in 2009.

Minor-league baseball coexists with the show in the boroughs, with the Brooklyn Cyclones, the New York Mets' minor league farm team, and the Staten Island Yankees, the Yanks' minor leaguers. Boasting their very own waterfront stadium, the Cyclones have been a major factor in the revitalization of Coney Island; KeySpan Park sits right off the boardwalk (Subway: D, F, N, Q to Stillwell Ave./Coney Island). The SI Yanks also have their own playing field, the Richmond County Bank Ballpark, just a 5-minute walk from the Staten Island Ferry terminal (Subway: N, R to Whitehall St.; 4, 5 to Bowling Green; 1 to South Ferry). What's more, with bargain-basement ticket prices (which topped out at $15 for the Cyclones, $13 for the Yanks in the 2008 season), this is a great way to experience baseball in the city for a fraction of the major-league hassle and cost. Both teams have a rabidly loyal fan base, so it's a good idea to buy your tickets for the June through September season in advance. For the Cyclones, call tel. 718/449-8497 or visit www.brooklyncyclones.com; to reach the SI Yanks, call tel. 718/720-9200 or go online to www.siyanks.com.

Basketball

Though the New Jersey Nets are supposed to be moving to Brooklyn (pending construction of a new arena), there are two pro hoops teams that already play in New York at Madison Square Garden, Seventh Avenue, between 31st and 33rd streets (tel. 212/465-6741 or www.thegarden.com; 212/307-7171 or www.ticketmaster.com for tickets; Subway: A, C, E, 1, 2, 3 to 34th St.). The New York Knicks (tel. 877/NYK-DUNK or 212/465-JUMP; www.nyknicks.com) are the NBA team from NYC, and their tickets range from $35 to $335. The WNBA's New York Liberty (tel. 212/465-6080; www.wnba.com/liberty), who electrify fans with their tough defense and scrappy youngsters, occupy MSG from late May through September. Tickets for the Liberty (which celebrated its 12th season in 2008) start at $10 and go up to about $229 for courtside seats, with plenty of good seats available ranging from $10 to $30.

A Big Renovation for MSG -- The owners of Madison Square Garden announced that the facility will undergo a $500-million renovation in 2009-10 The construction will be done during the summers of 2009 and 10 (the off-season for the Rangers and Knicks), which means that the WNBA's New York Liberty will be looking for new digs for all or part of those seasons.

Ice Hockey

NHL hockey is represented in Manhattan by the New York Rangers, who play at Madison Square Garden, Seventh Avenue between 31st and 33rd streets (tel. 212/465-6741; www.newyorkrangers.com or www.thegarden.com; Subway: A, C, E, 1, 2, 3, to 34th St.). Rangers tickets are hard to get, so plan well ahead; call tel. 212/307-7171, or visit www.ticketmaster.com for online orders. Ticket prices range from $27 to $140 and waaaaaaaaaaaay up (for VIP seats).