The New Yankee Stadium
A small blurb appeared in the paper a couple of days
ago that said the New York Yankees were seeking to build a new stadium near the present Yankee Stadium
for about 750 Million dollars.
Click below for more on this story!The article didn’t say if the money was to come from private or public funds.
It doesn’t matter. Yankee stadium is baseball history.
To rip that park down would be destroying baseball history itself. I know the park is old. It opened in 1923,
but it is the house that Ruth built. It is HALLOWED ground. All the Yankee legends played there. The Yanks
have won so many pennants there. This is the ball park where
Ruth,Gehrig,DiMaggio,Gomez,Ruffing,Heinrich,Keller
Berra,Rizzuto,Crosetti,Lazzeri,Meusel,Ford,Raschi,
Mantle,Skowron,Clemens,Wells, Pettitte,Munson,
Reggie Jackson and so many other great players
that wore the Yankee pinstripes played baseball.
The last time I was in Yankee stadium was about 4 years ago. I attended a wedding in the big apple
and one of the guys in the group got us 4 tickets
about 6 or 8 rows directly in back of home plate.
I took my daughter and we went with my two buddies up to Yankee Stadium. One of the guys was
originally from New York and grew up as a Giant fan.
The 4th person was this fellow’s brother-in-law and was making his 1st trip to NYC. We took the subway
up to 161st street and went down to the stadium.
The atmosphere was pure baseball. Street vendors selling hot dogs and souvenirs. Bars and restaurants
and clothing stores all selling Yankee merchandise.
We entered the stadium and had dinner there. It was part of the package and then saw a terrific game.
David Wells pitching for the BlueJays against Andy
Pettitte for the Yanks. My buddy was thrilled to be
sitting in this famous ballpark that he had heard about all his life. It drips with baseball history.
The experience was wonderful. Some of the fans
sitting behind us found out that we were from San Francisco and they gave it to us but in a good
natured fun way. The fans in New York are so knowledgeable about the game.
So it saddens me and I’m sure it saddens thousand of
other people that Yankee Stadium might no longer
exist. This is not Candletick Park or Three Rivers
or The Vet or Riverfront or Cleveland Municipal.
This is Yankee Stadium. Brooklyn fans still lament
the loss of Ebbets Field. Wrigley Field is showing age but the folks in Chicago want to preserve the old park. Folks up in Boston cannot even contemplate the thought of losing Fenway Park. I know that Mr. Steinbrenner pays the bills and it is his team. To lose the stadium
is just unthinkable.As I mentioned earlier, it is hallowed ground and just think if the curse of the Bambino would now be on the Yankees for the
destruction of the stadium.
Jerry Feitelberg
0 comments
Jerry:
The Polo Grounds was just across the river, at the 155th St train stop, right up against a ridge ( like at Candlestick) known as Coogan’s Bluff — the Polo Grounds had a tradition of allowing the fans to actually walk on the field to exit the stadium, right under the big clubhouse in center field — and there were also open baseball fields in the area of the two stadiums where youth games were held.
Most New Yorkers also have deep memories of football games and boxing matches held at these venues. The very famous Baltimore Colts/ NY Giants NFL Championship OT game was at the Stadium — also the Army-Notre Dame game was tradtiionally played there.
Ebbets Field was different, it was actually in a neighborhood, and very small, like Fenway or Connie Mack in Phila. — all of these parks had at least some seating very close to the playing field.
It is a little hard to understand the Yankees case for needing a new park, there was a major structural upgrade in the ’70s — they are drawing over 3.5 M, and it is not an easy place to get that many people into — still gifted architects can achieve whatever nostalgia and atmosphere is needed.
As for the money? — yeah it seems astronomical, but remember the size of the economy there, all things are relative to that.
You must log in to post a comment.