First off, baseball. The Tri-City ValleyCats moved from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to Troy in 2002. They are a Class A affiliate of the Houston Astros. The New-York Penn League season runs from mid-June to the beginning of September, and the league usually features many of the top draft choices right out of college, and young international players. Bruno Stadium is an excellent place to see a game, with plenty of free parking available on the HVCC campus, and plenty of seats with a great view of the field. Ticket prices range from about $5 to $8. The Albany Colonie Diamond Dogs began play in the independent Northeast League in the Summer of 1995. In 1999, the league merged with the Northern League (mostly midwestern teams) and the combined league was named the Northern League. Heritage Park is a 5,000 seat ballpark just across the street from the Albany International Airport in Colonie. The Dogs play a short season, from mid-June until August. Ticket prices range from $4 for general admission to $6 for VIP seating behind home plate. There are plenty of good $4 seats and a $5 seat is right behind home plate. Parking is $2.00. Another Northern League team is an easy drive from Troy. The Adirondack Lumberjacks play their home games at East Field in Glens Falls.
Minor League Hockey is also very popular. The Albany River Rats, the top farm team of the New Jersey Devils, play their home games at the Knick Arena. You probably know that the Devils won the Stanley Cup in 1995, but the Rats were also champions, winning the AHL's Calder Cup for the first time. A Rats game is always a lot of fun, and it's a good chance to see NHL rookies just before they come up. The River Rats crowds tend to be largest on the weekends, but sellouts are rare. I believe tickets start at $8.00, but bring your student ID and get in for a reduced price, I think $5.00. Parking very close to the arena is $5.00, but if you go up into the Empire State Plaza lots, you can walk about 10 minutes each way and park for free. Again, there is another minor league team nearby. The Adirondack Ice Hawks of the United Hockey League made their debut in 1999-2000, replacing the Adirondack Red Wings at the Civic Center in Glens Falls.
During the summer, the Pepsi/Knick is the home of the Albany Conquest of the Arena 2 Football League. The Albany Firebirds were the 1999 Arena Bowl champions and were always a big draw, but they moved on to Indianapolis, leaving Albany with a team in lower-level Arena 2 league. There is usually a block party on South Pearl Street before the games, so head down early if you want to join in. It's really a show in the Arena League, with fireworks before the game, constant music and side shows, and a game where scores tend to average 50-70 points per team. Tickets are in the $10-15 range.
A fairly recent addition for part of the summer is the New York Giants training camp. From late July until mid August, the Giants call the University at Albany home. Practices and scrimmages are open to the public for a small entrance fee.
Saratoga Springs is home to the famous Saratoga thoroughbred horse racing meet from late July to around Labor Day. The highlight of the meet is the Travers Stakes late in August which usually features many of the same entries as the Triple Crown races earlier in the year.
College Sports are also very popular in the Capital District. Of course, there is RPI's Division I Hockey team, but you can also catch Siena's Division I basketball team and Union's Division I hockey team. An RPI-Union hockey matchup is always well worth seeing. Siena basketball hosts some big-name schools at the Knick each season in addition to holding some regular season MAAC home games there. The Knick is also frequently home to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference basketball tournament. Keep an eye out for special NCAA events at the Knick as well. The Knick has been host to NCAA Hockey Regionals and the Final Four, as well as being a first round site for the NCAA Basketball Tournament. The 2000 NCAA East Regionals and 2001 Frozen Four for Men's Hockey will be held in Albany.
Directions to Joseph L. Bruno Stadium:
From the RPI Campus, take 15th Street south to Congress Street (Rte
2). Take a left on Congress Street for a short block to the traffic
light. At the light, bear right onto Pawling Ave (Rte 66 South).
Stay on Pawling for a couple of miles, then take a right on Winter
Street (at the light by the laundromat and gas station). Follow
Winter Street to Rte 136. Take a right on Rte 136. HVCC will come up
on your right. Take a right onto campus and park anywhere. The
ballpark will be right in front of you.Directions to Heritage Park:
From Troy, take Rte 7 West. Stay on Rte 7 until you get to the
intersection with Albany-Shaker Road in Colonie. This is the
intersection with 2 left turn lanes and has Keeler Motor Car on your
right, opposite Albany-Shaker. Take a left onto Albany-Shaker.
Follow Albany-Shaker past the airport on your left. Soon after the
airport, the Heritage Park parking lot is on your right.
Directions to the Knickerbocker/Pepsi Arena:
From Troy, get on Rte. 7 West, but after the Collar City Bridge, get
on I-787 South. Continue South into Albany. You can get off of
either the Empire State Plaza exit (brings you right past the Knick)
or the Madison Ave. exit. From the Empire State Plaza exit, you can
either: 1) Park in the Empire State Plaza Parking garage. 2) Go past
the garage, and bear right after it. Then go to State Street and make
a right. Follow State Street until you get to South Pearl Street, and
a right turn puts you right at the Knick.
Jim Teresco - E-mail domain: cs.rpi.edu, username: terescoj --
Fri Sep 6 10:28:35 EDT 2002