sports

Not in Brazil? Where to watch the World Cup

mIA SOCCER ART

Not going to Brazil? You can still catch the World Cup.

Soccer fans unable to see the 2014 FIFA World Cup festivities in person June 12 through July 13 can still get in on the action. Special soccer-themed events and promotions can be found across the country, from Miami to New York to Seattle.

No matter what city you’re in, there’s likely a bar nearby with a TV screen that will be tuned to the latest game. Find fellow fans by consulting the directory of official U.S. Soccer bars or this list put together by ESPN and Pinterest pinners.

With a city already full of passionate soccer fans, Miami is celebrating its status as the “Gateway to Brazil” with exhibition matches and events ranging from admission discounts at the Miami Seaquarium for those wearing the colors of teams advancing toward the finals to poolside viewing parties with giveaways and entertainment at hotels such as the Fontainebleu Miami Beach and the Clevelander South Beach Hotel.

Miami International Airport has a full month of events scheduled throughout the terminals as well.

“We’re World Cup ready,” said William Talbert, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We have billboards welcoming World Cup fans and a special website of event listings that’s already 22 pages long.”

The Paley Center for Media is offering free World Cup screenings and events at both its New York City and Beverly Hills locations, beginning with the opening match (Brazil versus Croatia) on June 12 and ending with the 2014 FIFA World Cup Title Match on July 13.

Chicago will host three free viewing parties for the U.S. Men’s National Team matches in local parks. The USA’s opener against Ghana on June 16 and the U.S.-Portugal match June 22 can be seen at Arvey Field in Grant Park, while the Petrillo Music Shell at Butler Field will show the June 26 U.S.-Germany match. Each event will feature ESPN’s live feed of the matches displayed on a large high-definition screen and a U.S. Soccer Fan Fest area.

Cincinnati’s Fountain Square will also host free outdoor viewing parties for the three US Men’s National Team’s first round matches in the World Cup this summer. On June 16, 22 and 26, the games will be broadcast on the Square’s large outdoor screen, which usually shows Cincinnati Reds baseball games. The parties will also feature live DJs, food, beer from local breweries and activities for all ages.

Plenty of bars and restaurants around the country will be serving up special soccer-themed meals and drinks, such as the caipirinha, Brazil’s national cocktail. In Santa Monica, Shutters on the Beach has put together a “World Cup of Wine” menu with wines from every participating World Cup country. Once a team is knocked out, their wine will be removed from the list. Securing wine from some of the countries has been a challenge, but “I am certain we will be purchasing more Italian and German wines and very likely the Brazilian Chardonnay Lidio Carraro Dadivas,” said hotel general manager Gregory Day.

In Portland, Oregon, home of popular Timbers soccer club, there will be a family-friendly, pop-up World Cup Beer Garden open from 8:30 a.m. till 9 p.m. showing every single World Cup game live, as well as replays and highlights. Soccer fans can enjoy local craft beers, cocktails, coffee, food and free Wi-Fi.

The Seattle Sounders FC is partnering with Nord Alley for free live-viewing parties in Seattle’s Pioneer Square. On July 13, the club will host its own World Cup Final viewing party, with a full day of soccer-related activities capped off by an evening match against the Portland Timbers.

(My round-up of Where to Watch the World Cup first appeared on NBC News Travel).

Miami International Airport ready for the World Cup

mia soccer

The 2012 World Cup kicks off today in Brazil and Miami International Airport – which expects to see 200,000 passengers pass through on their way to and from the games – is kicking off its own month-long soccer-themed celebration.

Look – and listen – for: Brazilian music and dance performances; interactive mini-soccer fields featuring professional soccer players; Nintendo Wii™ Soccer game stations; a soccer-themed art exhibit, World Cup and national team clothing and accessories at MIA shops; a children’s cart with activities and soccer-themed face-painting and, of course, plenty of TVs tuned to the games, including a 90-inch flat screen TV in the upgraded MIA Hotel lobby pre-security at Central Terminal E, 2nd Level.

MIA GATEWAY LOGO

Golfing at airports

golfing

I’m getting ready to fly to Hong Kong, where Sky City Nine Eagles Golf Course is one of the much-celebrated amenities at the Hong Kong International Airport.

If you’ve got a while to hang around before your flight, playing a round of golf is a great diversion. But there’s no need to go all the way to Hong Kong to play golf at an airport.

Several airports in the United States have golf courses on airport property that offer golfers the thrill – and challenge – of trying to concentrate on the game while giant planes roar overhead.

Metropolitan Golf Links is right next door to the Oakland International Airport. And the course at Huntsville International Airport seems quite popular: here’s a photo Cathy Mayer sent out on Instagram of her 14-year-old son, Hayden, playing golf at the airport during a school match.

Golfing HSV

Flight searches may predict the Super Bowl match-up

football

Courtesy Miami University Libraries via Flickr Commons

There are all manner of predictions about which NFL teams will meet at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Feb. 2 for Super Bowl XLVIII and which team will leave the field hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

But online travel agency Expedia suggests that spikes in Super Bowl weekend travel searches offer a good indication of which teams fans believe will actually end up in the championship game.

“For the eight remaining teams in the playoffs, demand for flights into New York is the strongest out of Seattle, followed by San Francisco, Raleigh-Durham and Denver,” said Jeremy Boore, travel analyst for Expedia.com.

Though Super Bowl favorites the Denver Broncos “had a slight hiccup” in week 15 of the season after losing to the San Diego Chargers, searches for flights into New York from that area have grown “at about the same rate as their probability of playing in the big game,” Boore said.

The probabilities, from Massey-Peabody Analytics, are determined by teams’ Massey-Peabody ranking and home-field advantage, as well as by chance.

The Bronco’s favored opponent, the Seattle Seahawks, “had a similar hiccup” in week 16 after losing to the Arizona Cardinals. However, Boore said, they not only remain the odds-on favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl “but have the highest volume of searches for flights into the NYC area for each of the past eight weeks of the season.”

And though the San Francisco 49ers have just a 5 percent probability of making another appearance in the final game, according to Massey-Peabody analysis, on Expedia the team has the second-most searches for flights into NYC over Super Bowl weekend. That correlates with many pundits’ laying odds that the 49ers will win the game.

Of course, any fan planning to be at the Super Bowl in person will soon have to stop searching for fares and actually buy a plane ticket and a game ticket, and find a place to stay.

Travelocity reports that for Jan. 31 to Feb. 3, round-trip airfares below $385 are currently available between New York-New Jersey area airports and most all Super Bowl-hopeful cities.

On Jan. 6, fares could be found from Denver for $266, New Orleans for $216, Charlotte for $299, San Diego for $379, Boston for $199, Seattle for $385, San Francisco for $318 and from Indianapolis for $358.

It’s no surprise that hotel rates for Super Bowl weekend are extremely high in the areas around the stadium, and are up appreciably in New York City compared with the same weekend in 2013 and to other weekends in February 2014.

In New York, “expect to pay an average of $300 per night with restrictions and minimum stay requirements,” said Courtney Scott, Travelocity’s senior editor. “Although cheaper rates may be found by booking a flight and hotel vacation, or by searching hotels across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the New Jersey metro area.”

Hotels closest to the Super Bowl venue are the ones charging the most, “and there have been reports of a hotel in New Jersey charging $1,000 a night,” said John Fox, of hotel advisory firm PKF Consulting.

But people don’t just go to the Super Bowl for the football. Many related events will be held in Manhattan, including a four-day celebration in Times Square.

“Remember, New York City has almost 100,000 hotel rooms,” Fox said. “That’s considerably more than most past host cities. And the city is already geared up to welcome more than 55 million visitors, overall, this year.”

While the Super Bowl may push up nightly hotel tabs in the city to match those during the peak holiday weeks in December, Fox said, “there should be plenty of options of finding a place to stay.”

(My story about getting ready to head to the Super Bowl first appeared on CNBC Road Warrior)

London calling: Experience the 2012 Olympic Games before the crowds

London 2010 Olmpic stadium

(London’s Olympic Stadium – as it will look at completion. Courtesy: London 2012)

Prices for tickets to the 2012 London Olmpics were announced today – and it looks like they’re going to top out at more than $3,000.

But here’s a way to save some dough: go see London now.

As I wrote in my story for msnbc.cm – Experience London ahead of the 2012 Olympics – you can avoid the crowds and get a sneak peek at Olympic venues, the Olympic Park and a wide range of Olympic-inspired arts and cultural events.

The 2012 Olympic Park is being built on 500 acres of a formerly rundown part of London’s east end and will contain the Olympic Stadium, an aquatic center, a Pringle-shaped velodrome for bicycle racing, a handball arena and the Olympic Village, which will house many athletes. The construction site itself is off-limits to the public, but guided walking tours and bus tours currently take visitors through nearby neighborhoods and historic areas and to spots that offer great views of the work in progress.

Wimbledon

Many Olympic events will take place outside the official Olympic Park site, in existing sports venues and open spaces. For example, Hyde Park will be used for the triathlon and for marathon swimming. Lord’s Cricket Ground will host archery competitions, and equestrian events will take place in Greenwich Park. These and many other sites are available to visit and tour before the games as well.

Men’s and women’s soccer finals will be held in the new, 90,000 seat Wembley Stadium, which has a sliding roof and is about six miles from downtown London. (The first Wembley Stadium was also at this site and was the venue for the 1948 Olympic Games and for the 1966 World Soccer Cup.) In addition to attending a regular sport or entertainment event here, visitors can take a 90-minute tour of the stadium that includes the England changing room, the players’ tunnel, and famous sports trophies and artifacts such as the torch that started the 1948 Olympic Games. Shorter, 60-minute tours are also available. See Wembley Stadium for prices and more information.

Wimbledon, the grass-court tennis venue famous for being the site of the Wimbledon tennis tournament since 1877, will host the tennis competitions during the 2012 games. Prior to the games, visitors can attend other tennis tournaments and visit the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, which has a collection of historic tennis attire and artifacts, a film about the science of tennis and an unusual tour led by a ghost-like image of John McEnroe.

For information about the North Greenwich Arena and some of the other venues that will host some of the 26 sports played during 2010 Games, see Visit London or London 2012.

And here’s something else you – and your kids – can take full advantage of in London if you arrive before the crowds: complimentary hotel nanny service.

When the Athenaeum Hotel & Apartments decided to hire a team of nannies, several children were on the interview panel.  Three highly qualified nannies now share the hotel’s Kids Concierge duties.

Kids under 12 get complimentary meals, access to the hotel’s “Toy Shed” and special attention from The Athenaeum’s nannies year-round, but if your family is planning to pop over to London before the end of this month, take a look at the special package the hotel is offering that includes three hours of babysitting service.