Big Apple bonanza: NYC sports draw nearly half a million fans in three-day span
Fans crowd the Billy Jean King Tennis Center on Monday at the U.S. Open in Queens. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp
What a time it is to be a sports fan in New York City.
Over a three-day span this week, nearly half a million fans attended sporting events in the Big Apple as the Yankees, Mets and Liberty were all home at the same time as the U.S. Open.
From Monday to Wednesday, when all three professional teams hosted games and the tennis tournament’s first week was underway, a total of 473,585 fans paid to watch the games or matches.
The U.S. Open led the way with a total of 224,814 in attendance (an average of 74,938) for the three days, according to figures provided to Newsday by the United States Tennis Association.
The Mets, who swept a three-game series from their division rival Philadelphia Phillies, outdrew the Yankees, who swept a three-game series against the non-rival Washington Nationals.
The Mets drew a total of 125,790 (an average of 41,930). The Yankees’ attendance for the three games was 107,971 (an average of 35,990).
The WNBA’s Liberty had a crowd of 15,011 on Monday for a two-point victory over the Connecticut Sun at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The New York teams went 7-0 during the span.
“It says something about New York,” Robert Boland, a sports law professor at Seton Hall who also concentrates on gaming, hospitality and entertainment, told Newsday in a telephone interview. “It is a unique time in New York to have the Open, to have the Mets in a pennant race, to have the Yankees in a pennant race, and to have the Liberty drawing at the level they are drawing at. We’re one of the great sports cities in the world even if we don’t know it sometimes.
“The U.S. Open is a unique event and draws an incredible range of tourists and locals. I think that New York can handle the diversity of events pretty easily. It actually makes use of an existing hotel and restaurant infrastructure that probably could always hum at that level.”
The Open, and the Mets’ and Liberty’s homestands, continued on Thursday. The Yankees left town to play the White Sox in Chicago.
It is not unusual for the Mets to play at Citi Field across from the National Tennis Center in Queens during at least part of the U.S. Open’s schedule (former Mets manager Buck Showalter grumbled about the increased traffic in both years of his tenure with the team).
But it is rare for the Mets and Yankees to be home on the same day. That has only happened five times this season.
New York has certainly showed it can handle the volume.
“From cheering on the Mets and Yankees, to supporting the Liberty and welcoming international tennis stars at the U.S. Open, New York City is once again the global stage for sports and excellence,” mayor Eric Adams said in a statement provided to Newsday. “These events do more than entertain — they boost our local economy — bringing millions of fans from across the city and around the world to dine at our local restaurants and shop at our small businesses. We’re proud to host these world-class competitions proving once again that this is the best city on the globe. There are only two types of professional athletes: those who play in New York, and those who wish they could!”
The cross-pollination of the sporting events continued on Thursday night as tennis legend Novak Djokovic visited Citi Field before the Mets-Marlins game and mingled with players such as Francisco Lindor (a big tennis fan). Djokovic threw out the first pitch at a Yankee game on Aug. 21 and spent time with Aaron Judge.
Thank you to tennis legend Novak Djokovic for throwing out tonight's ceremonial first pitch! 🎾x⚾@DjokerNole | #RepBX pic.twitter.com/zPryVAk3MQ
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 21, 2025
New York’s hometown players know this is a unique time with all the athletes and fans from around the world in town.
“I think it’s hard to avoid,” Mets pitcher David Peterson, who debuted with the club in 2020, told Newsday. “I think sports in this city are a vital part. You see it in good times, you see it in bad times. After 9/11, these two teams in New York playing, I think there’s a huge piece of the heartbeat of the city that revolves around sports and events and all the different cultures. You have a sport like baseball, where there’s a lot of different cultures represented. You have a sport like tennis, where those players come from all around the world. I think it’s great to be able to draw fans to the awesome events and venues that we have here in New York.”
Anthony Rieber covers sports media and business and professional sports (you know, games and trades and things). He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since Jan. 1, 2026.
