Page 29 - Guide to Greater Philadelphia

RECREATION
great games and the great outdoors
The Philadelphia region has all the right venues for your active lifestyle.
Philadelphia is one of the few cities with a pro- fessional franchise in all six major-league sports, so it’s a great place to take in a game. At the same time, the city’s beautiful waterfront, along with the natural beauty of Southern New Jersey and Northern Delaware, beckons lovers of outdoor fun with a wide range of recreational choices.
Professional Sports
Greater Philadelphia is a sports fan’s dream. Philadelphia has six major franchises – in baseball, football,
basketball, hockey, soccer and arena football. Add to that minor league baseball and basketball teams, and college sports, including the NCAA powerhouse, Villanova.
Five of the region’s professional teams play at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, which is easily accessible from northern Delaware, southern New Jersey and the suburbs of southeastern Pennsylvania as well as from neighborhoods across the city. With public transportation through the Broad Street Line, and ample parking, the complex is strategically located where I-95 intersects with I-76, Route 611 (Broad Street) and the Walt Whitman Bridge.
Lincoln Financial Field is home to the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles (philadelphiaeagles.com). Built in 2003, the “Linc” is known as a state-of-the-art facility with exceptional Wi-Fi, sound system, seating and video boards. The Eagles have been Philadelphia’s football team since 1933, and have a famously passionate fan base.
While the Eagles’ history in Philadelphia is long and eventful, they are relative newcomers compared to the Philadelphia Phillies (mlb.com/phillies). Established in 1883, the Phillies are the oldest continuous one-name, one-city baseball franchise in America. The team’s current home is Citizens Bank Park, just across the street from the “Linc.”
In addition, the complex houses The Wells Fargo Center, home to Philadelphia’s NHL franchise, the Flyers (nhl.com/flyers), and its NBA franchise, the 76ers (nba. com/sixers). This 20,000-seat arena also hosts concerts, and is notable for hosting two political conventions – the 2000 Republican National Convention, and the 2016 Democratic National Convention. It is also home to arena football team Philadelphia Soul (philadelphiasoul. com), which has twice won the ArenaBowl.
The Philadelphia Union (philadelphiaunion.com) competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer. The club plays its home games at Talen Energy Stadium, located just off of I-95 in the City of Chester, Delaware County.
Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies
For a minor-league 76ers affiliate, head to Newark, Del., where the Delaware 87ers (delaware.dleague.nba. com) play on the campus of the University of Delaware.
There are plenty of opportunities to see up-and-coming baseball players, too. In Wilmington, Del., it’s the Blue Rocks (bluerocks.com) and in New Jersey’s capital city, it’s the Trenton Thunder (trenton- thunder.com), a AA affiliate of the New York Yankees.
Outdoor Activities
In addition to spectator sports, Greater Philadelphia offers an abundance of physical activity options. Blue Cross
RiverRink at the Delaware River Waterfront (delaware- riverwaterfront.com) is a winter wonderland for ice-skating, while in summer, it transforms into a roller-skating venue and general outdoor playground.
For those who like to practice their swing, historic and nationally famous golf courses abound in Greater Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania suburbs are particu- larly famous for their more than 70 scenic courses.
A comprehensive list can be found at mainlinetoday. com/main-line-today/may-2016/the-2016-golf-course- directory. New Jersey, meanwhile, is home to several hundred golf courses, many of which (such as Pine Valley Golf Club) are nationally famous. Golf Digest pro- vides a ranking of the best options at golfdigest.com/ story/new-jersey-best-in-state-rankings. In Delaware, Fieldstone (fieldstonegolf.com) has been listed among Golf Inc.’s “Most Admired Private Clubs.”
Feel like taking a walk amid trees and blossoms? Head to Montgomery County’s Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania (business-services.upenn. edu/arboretum). The venue originated as a garden
surrounding the summer home of the Morris family, owners of manufacturing firm The I.P. Morris Company. Today, the arboretum includes more than 12,000 labeled plants of some 2,500 types.
For those looking to exercise the youngest members of the family, Smith Memorial Playground & Playhouse (smithplayground.org) sits on six-and-a-half acres of open fields, wooden terrain and sloped hills (and still within the city limits).
Discover the beauty of New Jersey’s outdoors by enjoying one of the shore towns located just about an hour east. Atlantic City, Ocean City, Avalon and Cape May are just a few of the dozens of beautiful resort communities where family fun awaits.
Brandywine Creek State Park (destateparks.com/ park/brandywine-creek) in northern Delaware offers great amenities for hiking, biking, horseback riding, fishing, canoing and more.
Other options for outdoor fun include biking and rowing along the Schuylkill River, or participating in one of many organized races around the region. Perhaps the most famous of these is the Blue Cross Broad Street Run (broadstreetrun.com), which sees about 40,000 participants each year.
FUN FACT: Philadelphia Fairmount Park
is one of the largest urban parks in the country. With more than 9,200 acres, there are athletic fields, waterfront access for boating and pier-side fishing, and miles of trails for horseback riding, off-road cycling and deep woods hiking. Fairmount Park is also the site of the 1876 World’s Fair!
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