4 hour radius... brooklyn

[Deleted]

Realizing this Brooklyn tourney is darn near essential for every fan not outside of a 4 hr radius to see. Not as convenient as AC but still workable. Time to start requesting that Friday off and looking for hotels.com deals in the $130-190 range throughout brooklyn/Manhattan. Best would be one with parking and subway access to Barclay's. I do not want to stay in downtown brooklyn. Any ideas to get the ball rolling?

[ltrain38]

Anyone know how long it takes to get to the Barclay's Center from Manhattan? I'd like to stay at home at least one of the nights just to save money, and commute from New Haven down to the game (depending on how many days we play). Is that feasible or is it best just to stay in New York?

[luhoopsfan]

I'm not booking anything until we're actually scheduled to play in Brooklyn which is still up in the air. I would like to see the new building and hang out with Jay Z and Beyonce, but there's still a pretty good shot that we don't even get a game there. Even if we do make it, I might not be willing/able to go to a game up there if I want to make a road trip for a different tourney.

[giveansk1]

It is about 20-25 minutes on the train from Penn Station to Barclays center by subway. It is real easy and there are a few bars near by including a German Beer hall type place.

[Shout out to my Cousin Bern]

3 or D trains will take you right to the Barclay's (short walk) from midtown in about 25-30 minutes from Penn Station. From Grand Central you can take the 5 or 4 - also about 25-30 minutes.

ltrain38, you could easily do New Haven if you take the train into Grand Central.

[vasalos]

Hoopsfan is right. I'm waiting until the seeds to come out to buy tickets. I hopeing for a #3 seed so I can see the night game live. Anything during the afternoon and I'll hope they make it to Saturday to see them live.

[Deleted]

Feb 11, 2013 13:48:55 GMT -5 luhoopsfan said:

I'm not booking anything until we're actually scheduled to play in Brooklyn which is still up in the air. I would like to see the new building and hang out with Jay Z and Beyonce, but there's still a pretty good shot that we don't even get a game there. Even if we do make it, I might not be willing/able to go to a game up there if I want to make a road trip for a different tourney.

All 4 rounds are in Brooklyn. There is no play-in round anymore. Four straight days of basketball, as it should be! Noon to 9pm on Thurs, Noon to 9pm on Friday (this is the day we must ask off from work, either to recover from Thurs night, or to make a daytrip to the 2nd round)

Google maps says the trip from downtown Manhattan to Brooklyn can be done in just under a 30 minute cab or subway ride (but must allow more time for traffic and walking). The subway is $2.25 each way.

[luhoopsfan]

I didn['t realize all 4 rounds were in Brooklyn. Certainly changes a few things, nonetheless, I'm not sure I can swing both Brooklyn and an NCAA trip back to back weeks and as nice as it would be to see the fellas in that fancy new arena, I'd rather see them on a bigger stage.

[jetstorm]

Take the LIRR from Nassau county and its a 25 min. trip!! Is the ticket office offering a package? When I was at the GW game they announced a discount ticket package that came along with pregame party's before all GW games!

[coqui900]

I'll be making a weekend Brooklyn game most likely. My brother thankfully lives two subway stops away.

If you need to get a room for the night but don't feel like paying for a second mortgage, find a spot in Jersey City. You can take the PATH pretty much directly to Penn Station. It's not exactly at Penn Station but it's all connected underground. There are also other cheaper places in Jersey to stay and you can either take NJ Transit to Barclays or a bus to Port Authority. The C line goes right from Port Authority to Barclays.

Also, any lag time spent at Penn Station will make you really appreciate 30th Street Station. Penn Station is a CESSPOOL. 30th Street Station's not exactly heaven itself but they it's architecturally stunning AND has Bridgewater's Pub which is secretly pretty good.

Also, you can always take the Bolt or Megabus for a cheap ride up. Or you can also roll the dice and take the Chinatown bus!

[luhoopsfan]

for me it's not so much about the $$ as the time off of work and leaving my wife alone with my kids on multiple occasions. If by some miracle they make it to Saturday's semi-final I might be able to swing it with the wife, but taking the time off for the A10 tourney isn't exactly an option. I'm already off for the Thursday/Friday of the NCAA tourney and have been off roughly the last decade for that weekend - for me, extra time off really needs to be worth it b/c I just get buried at work when I'm not there.

[luhoopsfan]

I just realized the line above about how money wasn't the issue sounds a little pretentious. I don't mean that money isn't an issue, just that it's not the primary deciding factor, the game could be free and I likely wouldn't be able to make a weekday game.

[Deleted]

I have 5 vacation days I carried over from 2012 which need to be used by March 31st or I lose them. I hope to use all of them following the La Salle basketball team to Brooklyn and hopefully a NCAA tournament site (or two or three) within driving distance or a short, reasonably-priced plane ride.

As far as Brooklyn goes, I'll come back and forth each day for as long as they're alive. Hopefully I get to make 3 trips (or 4 if they don't get a bye). All together, the short drive to Trenton, then NJT to Penn Station and the subway to Barclay's will take me less than 2.5 hours. Round trip will cost around $35 per day.

[Deleted]

The main Chinatown bus in Philly has been closed down by the feds. It is an option if you live in DC or Boston, maybe. Megabus is ok but their buses are routinely an hour late or more, so the train is far more reliable and frankly, megabus only ever really saves you money vs. the regional rail train if you book 2 months in advance and grab a $5 seat, but the bus is full price well before tournament seeds even come out.

But I do think the regional rail train is best option for us now, because unlike the bus, you won't get stuck in traffic, and you don't need a reservation, which is helpful when you don't know what time you'll be playing and what time you'll ever get back to Manhattan, should the game be delayed in its start time or due to extra periods.

[Deleted]

Feb 12, 2013 17:40:00 GMT -5 luhoopsfan said:

I just realized the line above about how money wasn't the issue sounds a little pretentious. I don't mean that money isn't an issue, just that it's not the primary deciding factor, the game could be free and I likely wouldn't be able to make a weekday game.

I understand that hoops. I just mean, skipping the Brooklyn tourney because of holding out for the NCAA game would be something we might later regret. we have absolutely no control over the NCAA decision, who knows if we get locked out or sent packing to another region. As the costs would quickly add up in the NCAA, in both time and money, I am not sure leaving Brooklyn off the table would have much bearing on whether I can get time off work the following week. each situation is different, I realize. And if you put in your time at work during Brooklyn, I guess you might have no qualms about missing time for the NCAA.

I just hoped this isn't like the case of where Lehigh fans last year telling each other they will make the trip if they beat Duke, their minds so made up. though they think this, they probably didn't even look at hotels/flights for fear of jinxing it, and then blamed that lack of planning for not being able to go anyway.

[lasallerules1978]

Feb 13, 2013 0:32:47 GMT -5 hykos1045 said:

Feb 12, 2013 17:40:00 GMT -5 luhoopsfan said:

I just realized the line above about how money wasn't the issue sounds a little pretentious. I don't mean that money isn't an issue, just that it's not the primary deciding factor, the game could be free and I likely wouldn't be able to make a weekday game.

I understand that hoops. I just mean, skipping the Brooklyn tourney because of holding out for the NCAA game would be something we might later regret. we have absolutely no control over the NCAA decision, who knows if we get locked out or sent packing to another region. As the costs would quickly add up in the NCAA, in both time and money, I am not sure leaving Brooklyn off the table would have much bearing on whether I can get time off work the following week. each situation is different, I realize. And if you put in your time at work during Brooklyn, I guess you might have no qualms about missing time for the NCAA.

I just hoped this isn't like the case of where Lehigh fans last year telling each other they will make the trip if they beat Duke, their minds so made up. though they think this, they probably didn't even look at hotels/flights for fear of jinxing it, and then blamed that lack of planning for not being able to go anyway.

Not sure if you are married or have young kids, but this is what I like to call hedging. You tell your wife how missing the a 10 tourney is killing you, but it's great to be with her and the kids...... Lay the guilt, but in the end you still can watch on tv and avoid all the NYC headaches. Brooklyn is awful, I'm sure the arena is nice, but nothing else good is goin on around there. And if they do make the dance you have enough credit with the wife to go. That's a win win.

[MisterD]

Seriously, all those gross bars and restaurants and stuff. No wonder people avoid living there.

[lasallerules1978]

Feb 13, 2013 8:35:31 GMT -5 MisterD said:

Seriously, all those gross bars and restaurants and stuff. No wonder people avoid living there.

Have you ever been to that part of Brooklyn, douchebag?

[coqui900]

That part of Brooklyn was a dead zone. I have no idea what's there post-arena but that area suuuuucked for a long time. It's great if you need to go to TJ Max or what have you.

The cool parts of Brooklyn (depending on your thoughts of cool) are a subway stop or two away. Hipster watching in Williamsburg is a great pasttime. Park Slope and Carroll Gardens and Greenpoint vary but are generally pretty interesting.

I commuted to NYC from Philly for work for 2.5 years. Doing that commute really cemented in stone for me that Philly's the best city in the Northeast Corridor and it's not even close.

[MisterD]

Feb 13, 2013 7:31:54 GMT -5 lasallerules1978 said:

Brooklyn is awful

Feb 13, 2013 8:35:31 GMT -5 MisterD said:

Seriously, all those gross bars and restaurants and stuff. No wonder people avoid living there.

Feb 13, 2013 9:16:14 GMT -5 lasallerules1978 said:

Have you ever been to that part of Brooklyn, douchebag?

[MisterD]

(And, c'mon, we're all best friends here. Can do without the name calling in response to an obviously sarcastic comment, can't we?)