National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1
Sun Belt Conference
Saturday 16th April 2016
First pitch 14.00
University Texas Arlington Mavericks 0 Georgia Southern University Eagles 6, attendance 277
@ Clay Gould Ballpark
1400, Allan Saxe Parkway
Arlington, TX 76013
$5 admission
Programme free, 4 pages.
The ballpark was opened in 1974, formerly known as Allan Saxe Ballpark and Arlington Athletic Center. Capacity these days is 1,600.
Major League Soccer
Sunday 10th April 2016
Kick off 19.00 Actual 19.28
New York City F.C. 0 Chicago Fire 0, attendance 22,930
@ Yankee Stadium
1, East 161st Street
The Bronx, NY 10451
Admission $30 plus $9.10 fees, print at home ticket *
No programme.
As stated earlier, there is a direct subway line, travelling north from Manhattan on Line 4 to 161st Street Station, where the Yankee Stadium is right in front of you as you exit the station. When my match ticket was booked, it was a print at home option, but this was then changed by Ticketmaster to an e-ticket accessible through your phone only. I am not too keen on this method as if you lose your phone, or something prevents you getting a signal etc,etc, then you have no chance of getting into the match. Thankfully, after a phone call, I was able to change my ticket to ‘will call’, which was not an option for online bookings, and the ticket office is on the same side of the stadium as the subway station exit, so it took less than 5 minutes to collect. Very efficient in the end. Apparently the tickets are sent via phone to try and make it harder for touts to ply their trade.
The Yankee Stadium opened in April 2009 and is built one block north of the original home to MLB team the New York Yankees, who New York City share the stadium with, whilst waiting for their own stadium to be built, although whether they actually ever build a stadium of their own remains to be seen. Capacity here is 49,638 when used in MLS, although NYC are unlikely to ever see crowds of that number and today’s turnout looked much less than the figure given.
If NYC play this poorly every week then it is little wonder the crowds are staying away. They may scrape into the end of season play offs, but any half decent side will surely have no problem beating them as they were absolutely dreadful. The visitors were simply dire, which sadly seems to be pretty much what the standard of the league is these days.
Today was also the first time I have seen hooliganism here in the States. A group of around 20 home ‘fans’ attacked two Chicago supporters in the toilets, but swift action by stewards and police soon had it sorted and at least a dozen were led away.
Major League Baseball
Sunday 10th April 2016
First pitch 13.10
New York Mets 2 Philadelphia Phillies 5, attendance 37,233
@ Citi Field
123-01 Roosevelt Avenue
Queens, NY 11368
Admission $29
Programme ? Didn’t look for one.
When I booked my flight from Montreal down to New York I hadn’t even considered doing anything other than my evening game at 19.00. I only noticed the fixture on Saturday night and when I checked where it was I was surprised to see it was by both the airport and my hotel. However, my Air Canada flight wasn’t due in to La Guardia until 12.20, which would mean my chances of making it for a 13.10 start were pretty slim. As it turned out, I was off the plane for 12.18 and checked into the hotel by 12.50. I was advised the next hotel shuttle to the subway drop off, Mets-Willets Point Station, was at 13.00. The station just happened to be right next to Citi Field. Despite the shuttle leaving a couple of minutes late, it was still going past the stadium before the game was due to start. The driver asked if any of us were doing the game and, even better, he stopped right outside the ticket office as it was en route to the station drop off. What service! Having just bought the cheapest available ticket, on the top tier, it was into the first lift and into my seat as Mets were about to bat their first innings.
Citi Field opened on 29th March 2009, with a college baseball game. The Mets played their first game there on 3rd April 2009 versus Boston Red Sox, in an exhibition, before playing their first regular season game 10 days later against San Diego Padres. The capacity is 41,922, with the record attendance of 45,186 set for the 2013 All-Star Game.
After the game it was a couple of hundred yards walk to Mets-Willets Point Station and then taking subway Line 7 into Manhattan and then heading north for my next game. It was an hours journey, with just one change, and for a very reasonable $3.
Major League Soccer
Saturday 9th April 2016
Kick off 16.00 Actual 16.18
Montreal Impact 2 Columbus Crew 0, attendance 22,053
48′ 1-0 H. Camara
86′ 2-0 K. Bekker
@ Stade Olympique de Montreal
4545, Avenue Pierre-De-Coubertin
Montreal, QC H1V 3N7
Admission $29 + $8 fees, print at home ticket.
No programme.
Quebec weather is too severe for early season home games in MLS, so Montreal Impact move their first couple of matches from their Saputo Stadium, just a few hundred yards away, to the much bigger Stade Olympique, which has one distinct advantage, it has a roof. This guarantees the game will go ahead, but as the pitch here is synthetic, it also means that star striker Didier Drogba will not be playing as his knees cannot take the pounding on these pitches compared to the much more forgiving natural grass. When I exited the airport on Friday evening to catch my hotel shuttle bus, it was snowing very lightly and was already down to minus 4 degrees, and it was only 8pm !
The Stade Olympique was opened in 1976, and as the name suggests, hosted the Summer Olympics of that year. It has a capacity of 66,308, some three times that of Saputo Stadium. Access to the stadium is easy if arriving on the subway as you enter directly from the station without going outside, which helps when the temperature was minus 9 degrees later that evening.
The first difference I notice here, is unlike in U.S.A., the fans actually watch the match, rather than go to eat and drink for the whole ninety minutes. So much better and means you can actually enjoy the match without constant interruptions of people filing in and out of their seats. Surely a visit to their local restaurant would be a better way of spending their time if the actual sport is of no interest to them ?
Great atmosphere, despite only being a third full, and pleasantly warm as well. Impact were always in control, but never totally comfortable until the second goal killed it off.
The match ticket also included admission for the F.C. Montreal match in the USL, but I didn’t fancy hanging around until 7.30pm for that one to start. I also had an option of ice hockey at Montreal Canadiens in the NHL, but despite being doable by subway, the starting price of $166 for tickets, even on the resale websites, put me off.
Major League Baseball
Tuesday 5th April 2016
First pitch 19.05
Texas Rangers 2 Seattle Mariners 10, attendance 28,386
@ Globe Life Park
1000, Ballpark Way
Arlington, TX 76011
$10 admission
Programme available, didn’t bother.
Globe Life Park was opened in 1994 and has a capacity of 48,114. The record attendance is 52,419. Despite being relatively new and a superb venue, the Rangers are looking to build a new stadium, just to the south of the current one, and be playing there by 2020.
When enquiring about tickets we were quoted $37, but that as a promotion by Dr Pepper, it was possible to get them for $27 if you show up at the ticket office with one of their products. No problem then, but when we arrived at the ticket office we were told it’s ‘$10 Tuesday’ so a real bargain. Why do these clubs have promotions running against each other ? Pretty bad business I’d have thought ? Not wanting to walk too far meant $20 to park, but also nowhere to eat anywhere near the stadium, so food would be eaten inside. Not bad as it goes, although prices as you would expect, not cheap.
As for the game, Rangers were always in with a chance as they were only 2-4 down going into the eighth innings, but that was to change dramatically !
North Texas Premier Soccer Association
Division 1A (Spring Season)
Sunday 3rd April 2016
Kick off 17.00 Actual 17.22
Santos F.C. 1 Leon F.C. 3, attendance 26
23′ 0-1
24′ 1-1
39′ 1-2
83′ 1-3
@ Samuell Garland Park, Pitch 7
11500, McCree Road
Dallas, TX 75218
No admission or programme.
Since opening, the entrance has moved to a different road, if the address on the sign outside is believed. There are a mixture of pitches here, six of them being full size. This pitch is floodlit and has a small section of metal bleachers.
North American Soccer League
Saturday 2nd April 2016
Kick off 19.00 Actual 19.28
Rayo OKC 0 F.C. Edmonton 0, attendance 6,416
@ Miller Stadium
1777, South Yukon Parkway
Yukon, OK 73099
$10 admission
Programme free, 36 pages.
From Norman, it was a 45 minute drive for the second game of the day and debut of N.A.S.L. newcomers Rayo OKC. They have the same owners as Rayo Vallecano in Spain’s La Liga, who would perhaps be better off financing them, as they regularly struggle in the top flight, rather than set up another professional club in direct competition to Oklahoma City Energy F.C. who admittedly play in the U.S.L. at level 3.
Miller Stadium is home to the Yukon High School Millers American Football team, who also play in red and white colours, so the stadium does look more like a proper home to Rayo. A pretty good crowd in a stadium that holds 6,500, although judging by the empty spaces, either the crowd was wrong or the stadium holds more than stated. I have to say the food on offer was of very poor quality, especially the cheese burger I sampled. One bite, which was of a cold bun and barely warm burger, saw it returned to the counter where the offer of a refund was gladly accepted. The pathetic excuse offered for serving sub standard fayre was that they only have one microwave to warm the food up. Disgusting. At least the mobile catering van on the far side of the stadium was better, especially the beef tacos.
Eventually, nearly half an hour late, made worse by having to endure two National Anthems, the match finally started. It certainly wasn’t worth the wait and was absolutely dire, not helped by a red card for the visitors after 30 minutes. There was a slight improvement when new signing Georgios Samaras, former Manchester City and Celtic striker, came on for the final 12 minutes and Rayo actually looked like they might nick it.
National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I
Big 12 Conference
Saturday 2nd April 2016
First pitch 15.00
Oklahoma University Sooners 3 University Texas Longhorns 5, attendance 1,826
@ L. Dale Mitchell Baseball Park
401, Imhoff Road
Norman, OK 73072
$8 admission
Programme free, covers season, 32 pages, plus free team sheet.
The ballpark is named after Dale Mitchell who holds the career and single season batting records for the Sooners. It was opened in 1982 and has a capacity of 3,180.
Stockyards Championship Rodeo
Friday 1st April 2016
Start time 20.00
@ Cowtown Coliseum
121, East Exchange Avenue
Fort Worth, TX 76164
$17.50 admission
$3 Programme , 30 pages, plus schedule insert.
The Stockyards Championship Rodeo is held every week on Friday and Saturday evenings. It is not something I would watch regularly, but as a one off nights entertainment it was worth the trip.
The Cowtown Coliseum was built in 1908 and is part of the Fort Worth Stockyards. It was the first ever indoor arena to host rodeos in the U.S.A. It was refurbished in 1986 and has seating for 3,418, which all seemed to be sold tonight.
Dallas Cup
U19 Semi Final
Saturday 26th March 2016
Kick off 10.00
Prepa Tec Monterrey 0 F.C. Golden State 1 (AET), attendance 115
116′ 0-1
@ MoneyGram Park, Pitch 5
2100, Walnut Hill Lane
Dallas, TX75229
No admission or programme.
Prepa Tec were absolutely awful and never had an attempt on goal in the entire match and their plan was to take the game to penalties from the outset. The fact that their ‘keeper was Man of the Match says it all.
So, as with Richland College, I managed to tick off 9 of the 10 pitches in use, so maybe I’ll be back to complete the set next year ?
