Press Release

PHILLY LIKE A LOCAL: ALL ABOUT THE ACTION
In Philly, The Action Is On The Fields, In The Parks And On The Streets

PHILADELPHIA, December 1, 2006

Are You Ready For Some Sports?
Philly fans are legendarily hardcore, and if you’ve seen our teams you’ll know why. Every game—no matter how way out—has its spectators here. Take, for instance, the Ultimate Frisbee peeps who gather for the mud-rolling action at Fairmount Park’s Edgeley Field, or the crowds at Philly Roller Girls, a roller derby league pitting tattooed punk rock and Goth chicks against one another. Part parade, part party and part sports event, the Philadelphia International Dragon Boat Festival is a new but seriously popular phenom: Each year amateur rowing teams line up for colorful, spirited races on the Schuylkill. The teams often raise donations for cancer research and local children’s hospitals.

Lincoln Financial Field

Photo by R. Kennedy for GPTMC

Of course, the usual sports thrive here, too. Year round, racing enthusiasts gather every Saturday through Tuesday at Philadelphia Park, the former stomping ground of equine celeb Smarty Jones. Part of a larger casino complex, Harrah’s Chester Casino & Racetrack is the region’s newest destination for horse racing. There’s live Rocky-esque action at the historic Legendary Blue Horizon in North Philly, with both professional and amateur boxers duking it out. We’ve got bikers, too. Every June, the Philadelphia International Championship bike race rolls through town, with hundreds of cyclists looping from Center City to the notorious Manayunk “wall.”

And we’ve got the big-time teams at the Wachovia Center Complex, where the Sixers and Flyers face off against their respective rivals in the winter and spring. Besides basketball and hockey, the Wachovia Center hosts men’s soccer (the Kixx), indoor lacrosse (Wings), arena football (Philadelphia Soul) and AHL hockey (Phantoms). Or, you can catch a game at one of the two spiffy new stadiums—the Phillies’ Citizens Bank Park and the Eagles’ Lincoln Financial Field—which both have comfy seats, high-tech video screens, delicious eats and fab views of the city skyline.

Hot On The Trail
If you like to kick it natural style, Philadelphia’s got you covered with lots of scenic trails and lush parks. The city’s new Boundless Philadelphia™ campaign and Web site makes it easier than ever to plan a fresh-air outing here. At the top of your outdoorsy list will be Fairmount Park, the largest municipal park system in the world, with everything from equestrian and mountain bike trails to disc golfer fields in Sedgley Woods. An eight-mile paved River Drives Recreation Path runs along Kelly Drive and the Schuylkill River, past Boathouse Row, across the Falls River Bridge and back up West River Drive, creating the ultimate route for bikers, joggers and the bladers who meet on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

You can trek the rugged turf of the Pennypack and Wissahickon trail systems, or hike the Schuylkill River Park, which is the urban section of the 11.5-mile Schuylkill River Trail that connects Center City to Valley Forge National Historical Park. At Valley Forge, there’s an additional 18 miles of trails for biking, hiking and horseback riding. For more fluid adventures, raft the roiling foam at Tohickon Creek or hook up a daylong jaunt with the Delaware River Fly Fishing Service.

When it’s snowy, you can still break a sweat skiing and snowboarding at Spring Mountain in Montgomery County. Philly’s answer to Rockefeller Center is the Blue Cross RiverRink, an outdoor ice skating rink with live music, movies and other entertainment from November to late February. Skaters of the shredding sort should check out FDR Skate Park, a concrete paradise of vert ramps, pools and pockets.

Fun and Games
If the competition gets too intense, you can take it down a notch with a round or two of mini-golf at Franklin Square’s newly renovated park, or bowl a frame while sipping a cosmo at a lux bowling lounge like Lucky Strike Lanes, North Bowl and Strikes Bowling Lounge. Catch a live dance performance over dinner at restaurants like Amada, Cuba Libre and Brasil’s, or hone your own moves at Society Hill Dance Academy’s $10 drop-in lessons.

Not-So-Typical Tours
When you’ve seen all the big-time tourist attractions, it’s time to go off-road with a tour highlighting the city’s less-traveled spots. Philadelphia Neighborhood Tours are regular expeditions into residential ’hoods like South Philly, Chinatown and University City. Scope out the architecture scene with Landmarks Tours, a series of weekend strolls from May through December. Bring your iPod and listen to one of several SoundAboutPhilly tours, giving an insider’s view of the city with downloadable “sound-seeing” audio tours. You can play booze historian and explore Old City’s famed watering holes during Once Upon a Nation’s Tippler’s Tour, or watch beer-making in action at Yards Brewing Company, which is free and open to the public on Saturdays. Feet tired yet? Cover even more ground with an IGlide tour, a high-tech cruise around town on Segway electric personal transport device.

Are You Ready For Some Sports?:

• Ultimate Frisbee, Edgeley Field, Diamond Street & Reservoir Drive, (215) 683-0205, www.fairmountpark.org/UltimateFrisbee.asp
• Philly Roller Girls, Millennium Skate World, 1900 Carman Street, Camden, NJ, (267) 441-7363, http://www.phillyrollergirls.com/
• Philadelphia International Dragon Boat Festival, Kelly Drive, Fairmount Park, (610) 642-2333, http://www.philadragonboatfestival.com/
• Philadelphia Park Racetrack, 3001 Street Road, Bensalem, (215) 639-9000, http://www.philadelphiapark.com/
• Harrah’s Chester Casino & Racetrack, 35 E. 5th Street, Chester, (484) 490-1777
• The Legendary Blue Horizon, 1314 N. Broad Street, (215) 763-0500, http://www.legendarybluehorizon.com/
• Philadelphia International Championship, (610) 676-0390, http://www.procyclingtour.com/
• Wachovia Center Complex, 3601 S. Broad Street, (215) 336-3600, http://www.wachoviacenter.com/
• Citizens Bank Park, 1 Citizens Bank Park Way, (215) 463-1000, http://www.citizensbankpark.com/
• Lincoln Financial Field, 1 Lincoln Financial Field Way, (215) 463-5500, http://www.lincolnfinancialfield.com/

Hot On The Trail:

• Boundless Philadelphia™, www.gophila.com/outdoors
• Fairmount Park, (215) 683-0200, www.fairmountpark.org
• Sedgley Woods, 33rd & Oxford Streets, Fairmount Park, www.sedgleywoods.org
• River Drives Recreation Path, runs along Kelly Drive & the Schuylkill River Boathouse Row, along Kelly Drive, www.boathouserow.org
• Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th Street & the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, (215) 763-8100, www.philamuseum.org
• Schuylkill River Park/Schuylkill River Trail, www.montcopa.org/parks/schuylkillrivertrail.htm
• Valley Forge National Historical Park, Route 23 & N. Gulph Road, Valley Forge,
  (610) 783-1077, www.nps.gov/vafo
• Tohickon Creek, 6011 State Park Road, Pipersville, (610) 982-5560, www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/ralphstover.aspx
• Delaware River Fly Fishing Service, (215) 343-1720, www.flyfishingguideservice.com
• Spring Mountain, 757 Spring Mount Road, Spring Mount, (610) 287-7900, www.springmountain-fun.com
• Blue Cross RiverRink, Penn’s Landing, Columbus Boulevard & Market Street,
  (215) 925-RINK, www.riverrink.com
• FDR Skate Park, Pattison Avenue & S. Broad Street, (215) 683-0200, www.fairmountpark.org/skatepark.asp

Fun And Games:

• Franklin Square, 6th & Race Streets, (215) 629-4026, www.onceuponanation.com
• Lucky Strike Lanes, 1336 Chestnut Street, (215) 545-2471, www.bowlluckystrike.com
• North Bowl, 909 N. 2nd Street, (215) 238-BOWL, www.northbowlphilly.com
• Strikes Bowling Lounge, 4040 Locust Street, (215) 387-2695, www.strikesbowlinglounge.com
• Amada, 217-19 Chestnut Street, (215) 625-2450, www.amadarestaurant.com
• Cuba Libre, 10 S. 2nd Street, (215) 627-0666, www.cubalibrerestaurant.com
• Brasil’s, 112 Chestnut Street, (215) 413-1700
• Society Hill Dance Academy, 409 S. 2nd Street, (215) 574-3574, www.societyhilldance.com

Not-So-Typical Tours:

• Philadelphia Neighborhood Tours, (215) 389-TOUR, www.gophila.com
• Landmarks Tours, (215) 925-2251, www.philalandmarks.org
• SoundAboutPhilly, www.soundaboutphilly.com
• Tippler’s Tour, Once Upon a Nation, departs from 3rd & Chestnut Streets, (215) 629-4026, www.onceuponanation.org
• Yards Brewing Company, 2439 Amber Street, (215) 634-2600, www.yardsbrewing.com
• IGlide, Eakins Oval, (877) GLI-DE81, www.iglidetours.com
  

Note to Editors: For photos of Greater Philadelphia, visit our Photo Gallery. On the pressroom, you can also subscribe to RSS feeds to receive updates on topics that are specifically of interest to you: What’s New, Dining, Events, Seasonal Travel, Hotel Packages and Tourism Research.

CONTACT:

Caroline Bean, GPTMC
(215) 599-7433, caroline@gptmc.com

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