Well, if you thought parking at a stadium was already expensive enough, get ready for an even costlier option: a ferry ride.
The ferry, run by Seastreak, will run from Stamford Harbor to the World’s Fair Marina and will let passengers off about a 10-minute walk from Citi Field. It will only run for 24 home games, all on weekends and holidays.
You can click here to check out the schedule.
It will leave Stamford three hours before each game, and will take about 75 minutes to make the trip. On board, passengers will be able to purchase alcohol and snacks, which means it’s a good bet that this becomes a pretty interesting booze cruise. The return ferry will depart 45 minutes after the game ends.
But the really shocking part is the price: $80-85 per person, round-trip. Which means that for at least some fans, they’ll pay more for the ferry than they will for their game ticket.
And, if our math checks out, a family of four would spend $340 on round-trip transit to the game.
Welcome to New York !
Travel to Mets games will be complicated this year
The ferry may be a response to the other transportation issues that will affect Citi Field this summer. As part of the entertainment district project that started this offseason, several parking lots are no longer available, reducing the number of cars that can park there.
In response, New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority is offering $5 discounts on Long Island Railroad service to the ballpark. The train, which runs from Penn Station in Manhattan and from points east of Citi Field on Long Island, normally costs $14.50 on weekdays and $10.50 on weekends. With the discounts applied, those fares will fall to $9.50 and $5.50, respectively.
For fans coming from Manhattan – especially visiting fans – the weekend discount from Penn Station makes the train more competitive with subway service, which costs about $3 each way. The LIRR train is also faster, because it makes far fewer stops between the two points. On the other hand, it also has a limited schedule, whereas the subway runs every 5-15 minutes. You’ll need to be sure to check the timetable so you don’t miss a train and end up waiting 45-60 minutes for the next one.
For more information on getting to Citi Field, check out the Local Transit chapter of our Insiders Guide to the ballpark.
