Sports

HOCKEY

AHL pro hockey team Utica Comets, affiliated with NHL’s New Jersey Devils, and Utica University Pioneers play on home ice at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium to thousands of cheering hockey fans each season.

PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL CLUB

You mean soccer? Yes! Utica City Football Club, a Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) team, hosts the best of 17 professional indoor soccer teams for matches on its home turf at Adirondack Bank Center.

RACE FOR THE FINISH LINE

Utica-Rome Speedway is a fast ½ mile red clay dirt track featuring a spring to fall weekly division lineup of Modifieds, Crate 602 Sportsman, Limited Sportsman, Pro Stocks & Four Cylinders plus special race nights like Monster Trucks and Freestyle Motocross. Central New York BMX is a sanctioned USA BMX track delivering exhilarating motocross events for family fun weekends!

PLAY BALL

The boys of summer, Utica Blue Sox and Adirondack Trail Blazers, take to the field as part of the Perfect Game Collegiate League. Hone your skills at the Utica Blue Sox Academy and make the quick trip down scenic Rt 28 to visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame and historic Doubleday Field in nearby Coopertown.

A DAY AT THE TRACK

From April to November Vernon Downs Casino Hotel is home to some of harness racing’s premier stakes events including the Empire Breeders Classic plus NY Sire Stakes races. Combine that with casino gaming, daily simulcasts, good food and a hotel for a great getaway with a sure bet.

TEE OFF

28 golf courses located within 28 minutes offer up rounds for all skill levels and a variety of experiences reasonably priced and easy to book. Utica’s Valley View Golf Course is a Robert Trent Jones, Sr. designed course in the heart of an Olmsted designed park system. Turning Stone Resort Casino boasts five spectacular courses, three of which are PGA ranked 18hole championship courses, recognized in Golf Digest’s list of America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses.

TAKE AIM

Vernon National Shooting Preserve is located on 500 acres of rolling hills offering an open range, stocked pheasant hunting; automated sporting clays course; a skeet field; fully lit trap field; rifle range and covered pistol range.

RUNS, WALKS & RIDES

Boilermaker Road Race is undoubtedly Central New York’s crown jewel 15K endurance racing event. 19,000 runners, massive crowds, live music, and a post race party like you’ve never seen before, make it a memorable race like no other. Follow the path of history, run the Erie Canal Half Marathon or cycle the Tour the Towpath ride along the Erie Canal. Thousands of cyclists enjoy the challenge of the 100mile Ride for Missing Children and the 400-mile Cycle the Erie Bike Tour each year.

FIGHT NIGHT

The International Boxing Hall of Fame draws thousands of boxing fans from around the globe to nearby Canastota to experience the world’s showplace of boxing for the annual induction weekend festivities in June, while Turning Stone Resort Casino hosts professional boxing bouts throughout the year.

THROW THE FAIRWAYS

Bomber Disc Golf Course, an 18-hole course, meanders through Griffiss International Sculpture Garden and Nature Trail in Rome NY. Bring your own discs or rent discs for play at Jervis Public Library and Copper City Brewing. Park at the Griffiss Sculpture Garden Ellsworth Trailhead. Open dawn to dusk.