Saturday night in philadelphia - anything worth doing?

gcuan

Flight from Dublin connecting in Philadelphia on Sunday in mid May
Have the option to fly Saturday and stay in Philadelphia Saturday night

Arrive after lunch Sat
Connecting flight Sunday evening 9pm

was thinking I might go to a sports event or something like that?

Would there be anything to do on a short stop in Philadelphia?
or should I bother?

ProudDUB

It is a major US city. Of course there are plenty of things to keep you occupied for 24 hrs. It depends on what you are into really. You could visit the Reading Terminal Market, (not staring at the Amish traders is very hard,) climb steps of the Art Museum Rocky Style, visit the old squares and the Liberty Bell if you are into historical stuff, take part in the obligatory Pats vs Geno's Philly Cheese steak battle, or take in a game if one is on and you can get tickets at a decent price. There is loads to do.

InTheTrees

Baseball is almost every night, teams usually only get a night off every week.

So it depends on whether the Phillies are playing at home that Saturday.

Yahoo/sports/mlb is good for team schedules.

I checked... not sure which weekend you're there but they play at home both weekends mid may. NY Mets on the 8-10th then Arizona 15th-17th. You should go, baseball is a nice slice of americana, its a big family thing. More so than football. Its pretty slow with plenty of breaks, lots of opportunity to walk around, buy food, etc. Its fun. Ive become quite a fan since living in the us. Oh and because the season is so long with games every night it means there's rarely sellouts so tickets are easy to get and reasonably priced, unless the team is doing really well. I don't know anything about the stadium in Philly though.

cena

Try a hockey game if one is on

gcuan

Sold

sure I WOULD be crazy not to. Flight is actually a bit cheaper the day before so that might fund a couple of cheese steaks and a game.

gcuan

cena wrote: »

Try a hockey game if one is on

really like the hockey idea

I had a quick look but I think they finish in April

would be happy with any of the sports really, just to soak up the atmosphere

gcuan

InTheTrees wrote: »

I checked... not sure which weekend you're there but they play at home both weekends mid may. NY Mets on the 8-10th then Arizona 15th-17th

arrive 2pm 16th
depart 9pm 17th

so that should work fine, thanks.

InTheTrees

Ice Hockey is a winter sport.

So is american football. Basketball would be over too I think. But even if the NBA season is on they play in small venues so i expect you need to get tickets in advance.

Soccer season is up and going in may. Philadelphia have a team too.

I'm afraid baseball is your best option though. A little research on the rules would help maybe. Ask for a primer on the baseball forum on boards.ie. Its not like cricket, its a lot faster, and it can be very exciting.

rockonollie

There's a 50/50 chance of there being a baseball game in Philly on any given Saturday April through October. Their stadium is considered one of the better ones for fans to visit.

cena

InTheTrees wrote: »

Ice Hockey is a winter sport.

So is american football. Basketball would be over too I think. But even if the NBA season is on they play in small venues so i expect you need to get tickets in advance.

Soccer season is up and going in may. Philadelphia have a team too.

I'm afraid baseball is your best option though. A little research on the rules would help maybe. Ask for a primer on the baseball forum on boards.ie. Its not like cricket, its a lot faster, and it can be very exciting.

NBA don't play in small venue.

If the flyers are in the playsoff of even the final could be a game on than. Baseball well be on tham

InTheTrees

cena wrote: »

NBA don't play in small venue.

Well... around 20,000 maybe for an average NBA team?

gcuan

InTheTrees wrote: »

Ice
Soccer season is up and going in may. Philadelphia have a team too.

I'm afraid baseball is your best option though. A little research on the rules would help maybe. Ask for a primer on the baseball forum on boards.ie. Its not like cricket, its a lot faster, and it can be very exciting.

I think the NBA finishes in April by the looks of it

Looks like the Phillies are playing at home tho' so I should be able to get to that.

Not too pushed about the soccer, would prefer the baseball.

Only other thing would be a rodeo but nothing on up that way I think.

Dave1442397

gcuan wrote: »

Only other thing would be a rodeo but nothing on up that way I think.

If you want a rodeo you need to venture across the bridge to Cowtown, NJ - http://www.cowtownrodeo.com/

It doesn't start until May 23rd, though, so it might be too late for you.

Otherwise, I'd go for baseball. It's nice to hang outside and watch a game, and the stadium is right by the airport.

If you want a much cheaper baseball experience (cheaper food and beer too), try the Camden Riversharks - http://www.riversharks.com/home/

The stadium is really nice, right by the Ben Franklin Bridge in Camden, NJ. I know nothing much about baseball, and I like these games just as much as the major league games I've been to.

InTheTrees

gcuan wrote: »

Looks like the Phillies are playing at home tho' so I should be able to get to that.

Phillies stadium looks like the modern open kind so you can buy a cheap ticket and then ignore your seat and wander around and watch from different spots.

Baseball is very loose. You can turn up late, leave early no problem. There's a 3 minute break (commercial break on tv) in the middle of each inning and at the beginning and the end of each inning so there's plenty of opportunities to get up. (9 innings per game)

I found this youtube video which gives a pretty good run down of the rules:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skOsApsF0jQ