The New Yankee Workshop across the street from "The House That Ruth Built"
I've been a New York Yankees fan since I was a kid and tonight (thanks to my awesome girlfriend) I had the opportunity to see my first game at the 'new and improved' Yankee Stadium. The Yanks hosted the Phillies in a three-game series of 'Interleague' play and we were able to make it up to the Bronx for the Friday night game.
Although it can be a little expensive to see a game there (more on this in a minute), the new stadium is gorgeous. We sat at field level on the right side corner —close enough to see the bald spot in the turf from Swisher pacing back and forth. As with many 'big time' sporting events, the prices at the concession stand are also outrageous. However, the accommodations were plush. (No joke. Huge padded seats. Very comfortable! "Big Stein can't be floppin' and twitchin'!")
Approximately 51,000 fans can be seated, with a standing room capacity of 52,325 (reduced by more than 4,000 seats in comparison to the old stadium). The new stadium's seating is spaced outward in a bowl, unlike the stacked tier design at the old stadium. The new design places most fans farther back but lower to the field.
Many design elements of the ballpark are inspired by the original Yankee Stadium. For instance, the roof of the new facility features a replica of the frieze that was a trademark of the original ballpark. The wall beyond the bleachers is cut out to reveal the subway trains as they pass by (like they were in the original facility). A manually-operated auxiliary scoreboard is built into the left and right field fences, in the same locations they existed before the renovation in the mid 1970's.
Between the exterior perimeter wall and interior of the stadium is the "Great Hall"—a large concourse that runs between Gates 4 and 6. With seven-story ceilings, the Great Hall is absolutely enormous and is lined with 20 banners of past and present Yankees superstars.
The newly relocated Monument Park, which features the Yankees' retired numbers, as well as monuments and plaques dedicated to distinguished Yankees, has been moved from its location beyond the left field fences (in the original stadium) to its new location beyond the center field fence. The choice of location has drawn criticism from fans as the many of the monuments are now situated underneath the sports bar and not 'in the open' as in the previous stadium. The new location of the monuments is meant to mirror their original placement in center field at the pre-renovation Yankee Stadium, albeit when they were on the playing field.
Although Yankee Stadium has been praised for its amenities and its usage of "classic" design elements, the new stadium has been widely criticized for being a place that is 'not fan friendly.' Seats within the first eight rows in the lower bowl (called the "Legends Suite") rank among the highest priced tickets in professional sports. These seats have been regularly vacant despite most other seats in the ballpark selling out. This has created an "embarrassing" image in TV broadcasts because the seats behind home plate seem almost completely empty. Consequently, a surplus of tickets for Legends Suite have emerged in the secondary market, and with supply exceeding demand, resale prices have dropped a bit.
The exorbitant prices have even become fodder for comedians. During the 2009 season, David Letterman took a jab at the ticket prices on his show. His dig went something like:
"Paul McCartney is here tonight... Paul's going to be in town this week doing two shows this weekend out at Citi Field, home of the Mets. The reason he's doing the two shows at Citi Field, is that he hopes to raise enough money to buy a couple of tickets to go see the Yankees."
All kidding aside, the new stadium is truly a 'Cathedral of Baseball' which holds regular services for devout fans. If you're one of the faithful and you have the means, I suggest checking it out.
The Face of Liberty
Liberty from the ground
