Experiencing a Concert at MetLife Stadium: A First-Timer’s Adventure
Experiencing a Concert at MetLife Stadium: A First-Timer's Adventure
Last year we were incredibly lucky to be travelling to New York City when Blackpink announced their encore tour. We extended our stay in the Big Apple for a couple of days to make it work.
However, having never been to NYC before, we didn’t know anything about attending a concert at MetLife Stadium. If you’ve ended up on this page, you are most likely in the same boat! So here's our guide and our experience of attending a concert or event at MetLife Stadium for the first time.
Table of Contents
Where is MetLife Stadium?
First things first – MetLife Stadium is actually in New Jersey, not New York. But it is super close to NYC and it’s very easy to get there.
How to get there?
See the MetLife Stadium website for different transport options. For this blog we are focussing on public transport. The Meadowlands Train Service runs for large events at MetLife Stadium. You can see what events this line will run for here.
Blackpink started at 8:30pm. We went to New York Penn Station around 6:00pm and arrived at the stadium just before 7:00pm. We bought our tickets from a person (rather than a machine) to make sure we were buying the right thing. You can also download the NJ Transit App to buy them, but we didn’t want to rely on public Wi-Fi. The return ticket from Penn Station to MetLife Stadium cost $11 each. When we had our tickets, we boarded the next train headed to Secaucus Junction.
After ten minutes we arrived at Secaucus Junction. At this stop you transfer train lines. There were plenty of people and signs directing you to the trains going to MetLife Stadium. Plus, lots of people will be heading in the same direction. That train takes another ten minutes and stops right outside of the stadium.
Does it take long to enter the stadium?
Not at all! We arrived early on purpose as we had no idea how long it would take. There were plenty of staff working, and the lines for security moved quickly. Make sure you read their bag policy as we saw someone turned away because their bag was too big.
Tip: add your tickets to your phone’s digital wallet (e.g. Apple Pay). It makes it easy to access and you don’t need to rely on Wi-Fi.
What are the facilities like inside MetLife Stadium?
The facilities were great. The longest wait was for merch as there weren’t as many merch stores, but there were lots of food and drink options, and they all had a low wait time. The bathrooms were clean, and again, there were plenty of them, so we didn’t need to queue in long lines.
Tip: International customers must have a PASSPORT to purchase alcohol if they look under 40 (no that isn’t a typo – 40!).
Where to sit?
We sat pretty high up – the tickets were more reasonably priced, and the views were epic! The VIP area down the front was selling for $1,200 each – no way were we paying that! There are some really handy websites (e.g. Seat Geek) with views from seats, so check one out before buying your tickets. See our view below, these seats were: Sec 315, Row 1, Seats 25 and 26
What was the atmosphere like?
INCREDIBLE – the BLINKS (Blackpink fans) were loud! This was our first time to a concert at a stadium of this capacity. Blackpink performed amazingly; there were absolutely no regrets extending our trip to see them. We are sure any other concert or event would have the same kind of buzz and energy levels at MetLife Stadium.
How to get home?
This part is very easy: 1) leave the stadium 2) get on a train waiting to take you back to Secaucus Junction. You catch the same train back exactly from where you disembarked. This was well organised, we didn’t wait long, but it was a bit busier than on the way to the stadium. Then we caught the same train back to Penn Station.
We had booked accommodation which was a five-minute walk to Penn Station (Renaissance New York Midtown Hotel). This was a really nice hotel and so convenient to Penn Station and we felt safe walking back there at night.
Would we attend another concert or event at MetLife Stadium?
Absolutely! It was such a fun experience, everyone was on a good vibe, and the ease of getting there plus the efficiency at the stadium made it even more enjoyable.
Enjoy attending your concert or event at MetLife Stadium for the first time!
- Categories:
- USA