Planes, Trains and No Automobiles
A Different Kind of Road Trip
By Carl Danbury
It helps to be obsessively compulsive. How else could you even conceive of seeing seven sporting events in a six-day period at six different venues?
Fan experiences involving more than three events are tough enough. When you consider that no vehicle slurping up $4-a-gallon gasoline was involved (except for hotel shuttles and cab rides), this particular trip was nothing short of a sports-lover’s fantasy.
The Mid-Atlantic, or Northeast if you prefer, not only has an obliging number of professional sports franchises, it also boasts an intricate railway system that allows commuters or zealous sports fans to zip to and from ballparks and arenas, often inexpensively, and without the stress of dealing with overcrowded roadways, toll booths, parking lots and road-raging drivers.
When the schedule for the first round of the NHL playoffs hit the wires in early April, SportsUnlimited conjured the trip and travel details without much difficulty. However, this trip wasn’t just about ice hockey. We still had three baseball stadiums on our checklist — Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia and the newly opened
Nationals Park in Washington.
Any game that involves two geographically proximate teams or division rivals stirs emotions, even if you don’t have a dog in the hunt. In this case, the New Jersey Devils would face their cross-river rivals the New York Rangers, while the Washington Capitals squared off against former Patrick Division nemesis the Philadelphia Flyers in the opening round. Upon further review, we discovered the Mets and Phillies were playing in Philadelphia. The Maraschino aloft the whipped cream appeared when we realized the Yankees had a three-game set at Camden Yards.
Day One: A Garden State of Mind
After a prompt AirTran flight from Atlanta to Newark, we took a shuttle to our hotel (booked on Priceline.com for $86.66, a savings of about $60 per room) to unwind before the Devils-Rangers game. We hopped back on the shuttle to board a New Jersey Transit train from the airport to Newark’s Penn Station, a two-block walk from the sparkling Prudential Center, aptly nicknamed “The Rock.” A taxi would have run $25 each way. Round-trip train fare was $15.50 each.
The Rock, the Devils’ new home in the beatifically challenged urban environs of Newark, is like finding the Hope Diamond in the middle of a landfill. Guarding the arena on all sides are crumbling buildings that either are condemned or should be. It is a downtown area better suited for nunchucks than hockey sticks. While the surrounding blocks don’t entice pre- or post-game revelry, once inside the building we discovered the perfect way to enjoy a hockey game — ledge seating in the Restaurant!
Available to all ticket holders, the cleverly named Restaurant offers seating for up to 350 guests, but ledge seating is the optimal way to watch a game and enjoy a fabulous meal. During the regular season, patrons viewing games from the ledge must make a minimum purchase of $50 per person. Playoffs hike the minimum to $125. But the a la carte menu features three excellent courses for the price (the N.Y. strip and sea bass were incredible) and the buffet seemed worth the investment too.
We watched the entire game from our perch, located on Suite Level 1 above lower level sections 13 and 14. Our advice is to purchase $20 to $35 upper level seats in advance, and call the Restaurant for reservations. We walked up, waited five minutes and were seated just in time for the opening face-off.
The Rangers-Devils rivalry is venomous, and those clever New York fans showed their creativity with one of our favorite chants: “Devils take it up the ---, Do-Dah, Do-Dah!”
On the strength of that chant (and a Brandon Dubinsky goal with a minute left) the Rangers won the game and the series.
Day Two: The Amtrak Shuffle
Following check-out and another shuttle ride, we boarded a southbound Amtrak train for Washington. Amtrak provides an excellent solution for game-day traffic, obscene parking rates and road, bridge and tunnel tolls. Train travel also reading, quality laptop time, conversation with travel companions, or simply the ability to stretch your legs. A visit to the club car for refreshments also is a plus. Cell phones are allowed in most cars, although “quiet cars” have been introduced for those who enjoy a peaceful ride.
In the corridor stretching from Washington to Boston, nearly every professional arena or stadium can be accessed by train, or at the very least by a connecting subway. Upon arriving at Union Station, we hopped aboard the Metro for a quick trip to the Chinatown-Gallery Place station, the stop for the Verizon Center. The entire trip, including picking up tickets at will-call, took just a bit more than three hours. We had time for lunch before the 1 p.m. face-off.
Unlike Newark, the area surrounding the Verizon Center is replete with restaurants and bars, including Rosa Mexicano, an excellent upscale Mexican place just across the street from the arena.
The Verizon Center is a fabulous venue for basketball and hockey. During the first intermission, we explored and found two great restaurants/clubs. The Acela Express restaurant, coincidentally sponsored by Amtrak, is on the second level. It is similar to the restaurant at the Prudential Center but without the same flair. If you want ambiance with a classic club feel, Collaborations, one level above, is the definitive in-arena locale for discerning corporate patrons (SU will feature Collaborations in our August issue).
The Caps won Game 5, staving off elimination and sending the series back to Philadelphia for Game 6.
Our Saturday had really just begun. Retracing our steps on the Metro, we made it back to Union Station in time to board a northbound Amtrak train to Baltimore, but an equipment maintenance issue delayed us 20 minutes. With our luggage back in tow, we had a decision to make. Our hotel was nearer BWI airport than downtown Baltimore, the per-night rate so friendly (again booked on Priceline.com for $71.32, an $80 savings), that we felt it was worth the inconvenience of staying near the airport.
We decided to drop the bags and took another shuttle from the hotel to the MTA Light Rail straight to Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
We were a little tardy and the Orioles had already jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the Yankees. But the game was secondary. Maybe it was the fact the Yankees were in town; maybe it was the fact that it was a gorgeous Saturday evening; maybe it was the fact that we were finally attending a game at Camden Yards; but this park certainly felt like a field of dreams.
The sites, smells, sounds and New Years’ Eve-like atmosphere were on-par with Wrigley Field. We hardly sat down long enough to enjoy our seats. Picnic tables, bars, concession stands and viewing areas for standing-room only patrons are plentiful and well placed. Even Yankees fans enjoyed the evening, despite being on the short end of a 6-0 game.
No trip to Baltimore is complete without a trip to Fells Point. There you will find trendy clubs (some a bit too trendy), fine restaurants, shops and boutiques. After a post-game dinner and walk through the cobblestone streets, we took a cab back to the light rail station only to discover — after 30 minutes of waiting — that southbound trains stop running near midnight and the only way back to our hotel was by taxi. That was a $30 mistake that could have been avoided by staying in-town.
Day Three: Brotherly Love
The next morning we boarded another northbound train to Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station. Upon arrival, we took a SEPTA subway train to within a block of Center City hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn on Arch Street. The hotel was a welcome surprise because of its location and plush rooms (Priceline.com strikes again: $71.31 per night, saved $267 off the hotel Web site rate for two rooms).
With no events that afternoon, we took advantage of the historical sites in Philadelphia, visiting the Christ Church (founded 1695) burial ground where Benjamin Franklin, four other signers of the Declaration of Independence and other notable colonialists rest. We also visited the National Constitution Center, two blocks from Independence Mall, which also conveniently included the “Baseball as America” display from the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
A new exhibit, “Sports: Breaking Records, Breaking Barriers,” focuses on 35 athletes and their performances in 17 different sports, and will be displayed at the Center through Aug. 20.
After an obligatory Philly cheese steak we took another SEPTA train for $2 to Citizen’s Bank Park for the Phillies-Mets matchup. Lincoln Financial Field, the Wachovia Center, the Wachovia Spectrum as well as Citizens Bank Park sit adjacent to the station. While this area of Philly doesn’t offer much in pre- or post-game entertainment outside the venues, the park itself offers plenty of activities for children and adults.
With no kids in tow, we opted for McFadden’s Restaurant & Saloon (behind the 3rd base stands) where patrons watched the first playoff game between the Sixers and Pistons on television while watching the baseball game in person. Passionate Philly fans erupted when the Sixers took the lead at Detroit. Just three seconds later they erupted again at Chase Utley’s home run soar over the right-field wall.
After the Sixers won, we left McFadden’s and toured the park. At Bull’s Barbecue in Ashburn’s Alley we shook hands and visited with host Greg “The Bull” Luzinski, who bashed 223 home runs for the Phillies from 1970 to 1980. The Phils won their first and only World Series in Luzinski’s final season.
Located just beneath the left-field scoreboard is Harry the K’s Broadcast Bar & Grille, named for Phillies’ long-time play-by-play voice Harry Kalas. We asked Kalas if he liked the new park, opened in 2004 after the team spent 35 seasons in horrific Veterans Stadium.
“I love it,” he said. “It’s a fabulous facility. Everyone loves it here — except for the pitchers.”
Day Four: The Series Extended
Raucous Flyers’ fans that withstood a horrible 2006-07 season were set to see Philly vanquish the Capitals. The Wachovia Center, awash with supporters wearing orange “Vengeance Now” T-shirts, rocked when the Flyers took a 2-0 lead early in the second period.
But three Capitals players (who were still in middle school the last time the Flyers were playoff relevant) scored four straight goals sending the now-depressed to the exits. For us, that meant a return Amtrak trip to the Nation’s Capitol for Game 7.
Day Five: Nothing better than Game 7
Back at the Verizon Center after an uneventful train ride, Caps fans were as giddy as a senator with a new page. They exploded when rookie Nicklas Backstrom scored the first goal less than six minutes into the first Game 7 in Washington since 1992.
Tension mounted as the Flyers scored two straight goals and took a 2-1 lead into the late stages of the second period. Without warning, Alexander “the Great” Ovechkin skated into the Flyers’ zone and unleashed a wicked wrist shot that beat goalie Martin Biron. The rivets in the Verizon Center quivered as the home crowd danced and screamed when the game was knotted 2-2.
It remained tied through the third period, despite 16 shots on goal for the Caps, and went to overtime. Unfortunately for the Caps, defenseman Tom Poti was whistled for a tripping penalty and moments later Philly’s Joffrey Lupul scored the deciding goal sending the Flyers to the second round.
Day Six: The Anticlimax in a Great New Park
Johan Santana on the mound notwithstanding, going from the drama of a Game 7 to a mid-April regular season game is like choosing between Holly Weber and Holly Hunter for a date. The conversation might be more intriguing with the latter but not the excitement.
Staying in the northwest suburbs (Bethesda), we took the Metro red line, switched trains at the Chinatown-Gallery Place station, and hopped the green line to the Navy Yard station, about two blocks from Nationals Park. The entire trip took 45 minutes, but the last leg is only 10.
A good mid-week crowd of 32,000-plus was on hand. The Nationals new ballpark rivals anything in baseball. It is reminiscent of Pittsburgh’s PNC Park, Citizens Bank Park and Camden Yards, which shouldn’t be a surprise since the same architect, HOK Sport designed all three.
The mezzanines are wide and there is a plaza entrance in centerfield with tons of souvenir vendors and games. Concession stands are plentiful so you don’t have to wait long for your $8 beer.
Unlike the charming, retro feel to the area surrounding Camden Yards, the area around Nationals Park is a work in progress. Plans for the currently uninviting sea of concrete include a re-worked Capitol Riverfront along the Anacostia River. Construction cranes are more plentiful than pigeons, and the condo development, when completed, will afford residents the chance to hear the crack of a bat from their balconies. Hotels, restaurants and bars should follow.
Pricing Your Trip
We were amazed at how smoothly the trip went. The current price for the entire first itinerary shown is just $213 per person, according to Amtrak.com. Our trip in April was roughly the same. We selected regional service rather than the Acela Express service, which is faster but roughly $140 more expensive.
We also utilized Priceline.com’s “name your own price” service. However, if you change plans in the midst of your trip, pre-paying for rooms isn’t the ideal scenario. If you keep to your schedule the money you save on hotel rooms can be used to buy great seats at the games, and there really is no substitute for having a good view of the action.
The excursion proved to us that retro train travel to ball games still has its place in America, it’s just a shame that the Northeast is one of the few regions left where it’s still convenient and timely to do so.
All aboard! SU