Sports and Entertainment

For the sports fans:

The Meadowlands

Football, Soccer, Basketball, Hockey, and more! The sports capital of the state.

Located in East Rutherford, NJ, this sports complex includes a football stadium that can seat 78,741 people! The stadium is called Giants Stadium, but it is the home of the New York Giants and New York Jets (even though it’s in Jersey!). Some high-profile high school football games are played here, as well as some soccer. Football games are so much fun; people usually arrive hours before kickoff to tailgate and toss around footballs in the parking lots. Just don’t wear a jersey of the visiting team – you’ll get heckled!

Right across the street (and tunnel) is Continental Airlines Arena, home of the New Jersey Devils hockey team and the New Jersey Nets basketball team. And if you think New Jersey fans are lame, just come to one game. The intensity of a Nets playoff game or any fast-paced hockey game is incredible. Fans in Jersey are very loyal to their teams, even when the football teams are incorrectly labeled “New York.” As you head to south Jersey, you’ll find more Eagles (and other Philly team) fans, but from central to north Jersey, it’s Giants and Jets country.

The Meadowlands

Commerce Bank Ballpark
Somerville

The Somerset Patriots are an Atlantic League baseball team based in Bridgewater, New Jersey. Since 1998, they have played in the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which is an independent league (not MLB minor league officially). The team plays in Commerce Bank Ballpark, which can seat 6,100 people. Always a great summer night activity, the ballpark offers lots of promotional nights including free hats, mugs, and even fireworks nights. Test your arm strength with the pitch radar and if you’re the fastest, you’ll win a Patriots t-shirt (I’ve done this, it’s awesome). Everything from peanuts to popcorn to cotton candy is served in the concessions stands. It’s a great baseball experience, as fun as a major league game for much cheaper tickets and a much cozier feel.

Patriots

Mercer County Waterfront Park
Trenton

The Trenton Thunder is an American minor league baseball team and is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. The Thunder’s home field is Mercer County Waterfront Park in Trenton, New Jersey. Derek Jeter played a few games for the Thunder in May 2003, coming off rehabilitation of a shoulder injury. Similar to the Patriots games with the mini-MLB excitement and coziness, the only differences here are that the Thunder is official Double-A minor league baseball and the stadium is slightly larger, holding 6,341 people.

Trenton Thunder

Entertainment for all:

McCarter Theater

This is the only organization in this country that is both a professional producing theater and a major presenter of the performing arts. New plays are produced all the time, open to all audiences from local schools to adults from all over. Well-known artists and performers are brought in as well, making this theater quite a catch. It even holds local playwriting competitions with high school student winners!

91 University Place
Princeton, NJ 08540
609.258.ARTS(2787)

McCarter Theater

PNC Bank Arts Center

About 17,500 people can occupy the amphitheater; there are 7,000 seats and the grass area can hold about 10,500 people. Concerts are from May through September featuring 35–45 different events of many types of musical styles. It is ranked among the top five most successful amphitheatres in the country. It is one of two major outdoor arenas in the New York City Metropolitan Area, along with Nikon at Jones Beach Theater. Opened in 1968, the Center is still incredibly popular today. Summer concerts are awesome; people come from all over Jersey to see their favorite singers and bands perform. Always tough to get tickets, ordering through Ticketmaster is usually best.

Exit 116 Garden State Parkway
Holmdel, NJ 07733

732.203.2500

PNC Bank Arts Center

New Jersey Performing Arts Center
Newark

New Jersey decided to build a world class performing arts center in 1986, when then Governor Thomas Kean appointed a committee to decide the location and the needs of New Jersey’s performing arts organization. The committee picked Newark over other cities because of the density of the surrounding areas, proximity to New York City, highway and rail access to the site, and a location inside a dying city in need of revitalization. The variety of talents who have performed here is great – N’Sync to the Vienna choir boys to Lauryn Hill. The facilities are top-notch. It’s easy to access, there’s good food, and every seat gives you a great view of the show.

1 Center Street
Newark, NJ 07102

New Jersey Performing Arts Center