Empire Classic Thread- Heading To The Big Apple!

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

I have purchased tickets for both Empire Classic games on Sunday November 19 and both games Monday November 20. I used the ticket info Blades posted here in the other thread, and went to the Ticketmaster link and got mobile tickets (mainly because they had a bigger selection of available seats and I chose my aisle seats):

Basketball - No UConn Hoops in the Gavitt Games

According to a source, UConn Basketball will not be in the Gavitt Games this 2023-24 season.

connecticut.forums.rivals.com

Paid around $400 for 4 tickets to the Sunday games and another $200 for the 2 tickets to the Monday games. Midcourt, higher sections. My plan is to take Monday and Tuesday off from work, and book a hotel in that Madison Square neighborhood/Empire State Building Neighborhood. I checked Priceline and there is an amazing number of hotels $150 and under per night within 10 blocks of Madison Square Garden. I will post further hotel information in my next post.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

So as a public service for Husky fans I did some research on Hotels in the Madison Square Garden/Convention area neighborhood of NYC on Priceline. Below are prices per night for a 2 night stay, November 19 and 20, not including fees and taxes:

The New Yorker, 481 8th Avenue (4 star) $138
Moxy By Marriott, 485 7th Avenue (4 star) $143
Springhill Suites, 338 W. 36th Street (4 star) $160
Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott, 325 W. 33rd Street (4 star) $169
Crowne Plaza HY36, 320 W. 36th Street (4.5 star) $156
EVEN Hotel MSG, 321 W. 35th (4 star) $142

I have stayed at the Crowne Plaza and can recommend. It's just a couple of blocks from MSG. I am going to consult my NYC buddies for recommendations on the others. In terms of the reviews on Priceline, the EVEN hotel is 8.8 on the PL reviews which is higher than all the others. I did stay at another EVEN hotel and the rooms are smallish but modern and trendy, appealing to the younger and hip vibe.

There are a number of 3 and 3.5 star properties (like Hampton Inn and Hilton Garden Inn), but they are priced in that same range of $140-$170, so I did not bother posting them.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

Ended up booking the Crowne Plaza on W. 36th Street. It dropped to $130 per night. Total 2 night booking cost was $392.96 with fees and taxes. For a midtown, 4.5 star hotel on Priceline, it is not getting any better than this. FYI I saved almost $50 on the direct booking cost with the hotel, which is around $441, all in.