Sports
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
FIGHT NIGHT
How often does one see fighting, drinking, and dancing going on within church walls? The spring season of “Friday Night Fights,” an amateur boxing series, kicks off this weekend at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle. DJs spin records, and the event’s newest sponsor, Rheingold Beer, offers beverages. Friday, 7:30 p.m. doors open, 8 p.m. first fight, Church of St. Paul the Apostle, Ninth Avenue between 59th and 60th streets, 212-571-1333, $25, reservations required.
STADIUM SCENE
A new Olympic-size stadium – but not that stadium – opens with a ribbon-cutting this weekend. Several thousand high school and college athletes gather at the brand-new Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island for opening day, which coincides with the invitational New York Relays. Olympic gold medalist Justin Gatlin re-enacts Jesse Owens’s historic 100-meter dash during the opening ceremony, which also features appearances by Mayor Bloomberg, donor Carl Icahn, and the New York City Parks Commissioner, Adrian Benepe . Saturday, noon-1 p.m. ceremony, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. track meet, Icahn Stadium, Randall’s Island Park, Great Lawn, East River below the Triborough Bridge, 212-830-7722, free. Please go to www.risf.org for more information and directions. Ferry service is available from Manhattan’s East Side.
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