Saying Goodbye to the Old Yankees Stadium

The current Yankee Stadium is not having a facelift or a makeover but has a new site just across the road. It will be bigger, better, and stuffed with all the modern amenities you can find in modern ballparks the likes of U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. It will be a great place to watch big event games. Non-ticket holders can shop for Yankees memorabilia, and snack in one of the many cafes, including Hard Rock Café.

The crowd that watched the last game, Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles, witnessed the last game played in the historical stadium. The sold out crowd cheered baseball greats, Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson, and Whitey Ford, imprinting the scene in their minds before curtain call.

This was “The House That Ruth Built” in 1923. 85 years later, it is now going to retire. An old guard giving way to the new stadium adjacent to it. The new Yankees Stadium will not fail to please baseball funs with its added modern features to compensate for the loss of The House That Ruth Built.

Project Location

The countdown to the much-awaited opening of the new Yankee Stadium in April 16, 2009 is just a few months away. The perimeters are already walled up, the front façade in place and seats waiting to be filled. The stadium is located a little north of the current stadium along 161st and 164th streets, and between River and Jerome Avenues.

New Features

The new Yankees Stadium, a Major League Professional Baseball Park will occupy 22 acres of Macombs Dam Park and John Mullaly Park. As a concession to its notable heritage, it will have the pre-renovation look of the original stadium and feature a replica of the famous copper frieze.

The modern Stadium designed by Kansas City’s HOK Sport will retain the same field dimensions of the current stadium but will have the following new features:

• Two structures
• Upward bowl seating arrangements
• Cup holders in the lower bowl seats
• More legroom
• Wider seats
• More restrooms
• Wider video scoreboard
• 60 luxury boxes
• Split upper deck design
• Added parking spaces
• New Monument Park

The Cost of the New Stadium

The much talked about $1.3 billion Yankees stadium is the second costliest stadium after London’s Wimbley Stadium. The Yankees is financing $1.1 billion of the total cost. New York City is forking out $220 million, and $75 for parking facilities and stadium related projects on and near the project site.

Seating Capacity

When the original Yankee Stadium was built, it was ambitiously designed to seat 58,000 fans. The new ballpark will seat 51,000 spectators and have standing room space for 2,000 more. The number does not include the seating capacity of the 60 luxury boxes.

Ticket Prices

Ticket prices at the new stadium will be lower. Bleacher tickets will be down by $2, grandstand seats are $20 to $25, loge level seats or Terrace level are $40-$75, and main seats $45 to $100.

Transportation

Since the new Yankees Stadium is along the same transport route, there are no major changes. The same bus lines and New York City subway will be added with the Metro-North Railroad being constructed presently to serve commuters from Manhattan and New York suburbs in the north.