Sports in New York City

Sports in New York City have a long and distinguished history. The city has several historic sports venues: the original Yankee Stadium, home of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 2008, before the team moved into their new stadium in 2009, Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1913 until 1957, was torn down in 1960, and the Polo Grounds in northern Harlem was the home of the New York Giants of Major League Baseball from 1911 to 1957 (and the first home of the New York Mets) before being demolished in 1964. The Mets, who previously played at Shea Stadium, moved into the newly constructed Citi Field in 2009. Also the current Madison Square Garden, atop Pennsylvania Station in Midtown Manhattan, is actually the fourth separate building to use that name; the first two were near Madison Square, hence the name, and the third was at 50th Street and Eighth Avenue. New York City was also the host of parts of the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, and the 1998 Goodwill Games. In 2005, New York City bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, but lost to London. Upon the USOC reaching a new revenue-sharing agreement with the IOC in May 2012, New York has been mentioned as a potential candidate for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

The New York City metropolitan area has ten teams in the five major North American professional sports leagues, each of which also has its headquarters in the city.

Baseball is the city's most closely followed sport. There have been fourteen World Series championship series between New York City teams, in matchups called Subway Series. New York is one of only two cities (Chicago being the other) and one of four metropolitan areas (the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas) to have two baseball teams. The city's two current Major League Baseball teams are the New York Yankees and the New York Mets. The city also was once home to the New York Giants (now the San Francisco Giants) and the Brooklyn Dodgers (now the Los Angeles Dodgers). Both teams moved to California in 1958. There are also two minor league baseball teams in the city, the Staten Island Yankees and Brooklyn Cyclones.

Football is the city's second most followed sport, slightly trailing baseball. The city is represented in the National Football League by the New York Giants and New York Jets. Both teams play in MetLife Stadium in nearby East Rutherford, New Jersey near New York City. In 2014, the stadium will host Super Bowl XLVIII. The teams have an intra-city rivalry, the only one of its kind in the NFL.

Basketball is one of the most widely played recreation sports in the city, and professional basketball is also widely followed. The city's National Basketball Association teams are the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks, and the city's Women's National Basketball Association team is the New York Liberty. The first national basketball championship for major colleges, the National Invitation Tournament, was held in New York in 1938, and its semifinal and final rounds remain in the city. Rucker Park in Harlem is a celebrated court where many professional athletes play in the summer league.

Ice Hockey in New York is also widely popular and closely followed. The New York Rangers represent New York City in the National Hockey League, calling Madison Square Garden home. The New York Islanders, who currently play in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, will also start playing in the city in 2015 when they move to Brooklyn. Although there are fewer NHL fans in New York City than the other major sports, it has been said they are the most passionate and loyal. There are no minor league hockey teams in the NY area, with both the Rangers and Islanders respective AHL teams residing in nearby Connecticut.

In soccer, New York is represented by the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer. The Red Bulls play their home games in a new stadium of their own, also in New Jersey.

As a global city, New York supports many events outside these sports. Queens is host of the U.S. Tennis Open, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments. The New York City Marathon is the world's largest, and the 2004–2006 runnings hold the top three places in the marathons with the largest number of finishers, including 37,866 finishers in 2006. The Millrose Games is an annual track and field meet whose featured event is the Wanamaker Mile. Boxing is also a very prominent part of the city's sporting scene, with events like the Amateur Boxing Golden Gloves being held at Madison Square Garden each year.

Many sports are associated with New York's immigrant communities. Stickball, a street version of baseball, was popularized by youths in working-class Italian, German, and Irish neighborhoods in the 1930s. In recent years, several amateur cricket leagues have emerged with the arrival of immigrants from South Asia and the Caribbean.