In my quest to visit as many ballparks across the country as I can, I recently made a stop at Yankee Stadium.
The boys in the pinstripes were taking on the Tampa Bay Rays, but that was really beside the point as I was mainly there to check out the venue.
In truth, I hate the Yankees, not the player's personally, but I really hate the payroll. Those Yankees can just buy any player they want while teams like the Kansas Royals can't afford the Yankees bat boy. So, as long as there is no revenue sharing in baseball, I'll continue to dislike the Yankees.
Having said that, it was pretty cool to see future Hall of Famers A-Rod and Derek Jeter bat. I grew up in a National league town so to see these American league players was very cool for me and they did not disappoint. Well, the team lost, but as a true baseball fan I can't deny that I liked seeing these icons.
Now, back to my review of the stadium.
First, I don't know what parking is like, but taking the train was super convenient and I like any park that encourages using public transportation.
The entry plaza is attractive and there is a very large McDonalds right next door to the stadium. (More on this later.)
When you walk into the stadium, it sort of doesn't look like a stadium but a little more like a club with intricate lighting that extends from floor to ceiling. This may not be true during a day game, but it certainly is at a night game.
In most stadiums there are escalators galore to take fans up to their assigned seat level. In Yankee stadium there are huge elevators. The elevator attendant -- yes, there was an elevator attendant -- told me that that was George's idea. Yes, she meant the late George Steinbrenner, owner of the Yankees at the time this stadium was built.
This stadium is still referred to by many as 'The New Yankee Stadium" as the original Yankee Stadium was host to the team from 1923 until 2008. So this venue has only been in operation for three seasons. I wonder how long it will have to be open for it to stop being called 'New'. (If the St. Louis Cardinals are any indication, it takes about five years. Their 'New Busch Stadium' opened in 2006 and in about 2011 people stopped referring to it as 'New'. So give it a few years New Yorkers.)
One of the other things I noticed about Yankee Stadium is the number of team stores. It seems there is one in every nook and cranny of the stadium, including one that's just for the ladies, carrying all female apparel! And every one of these stores seems huge! After doing some research, I learned that there is nearly 12,000 square feet of retail space in the stadium. Wow!
If you're nostalgic at all, Yankee Stadium is rife with memorabilia. The Yankees have such a storied history and as a baseball fan, it's cool to see all of the monuments to the greats of the game. The monument park is really amazing with tributes to Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth, among others.
If you want to go upscale, there is a Hard Rock Cafe and steakhouse in the stadium, but, after the 7tn inning if you leave the ballpark and go into one of these restaurants, there is no re-entry into the ballpark. That seems a little strange to me. If you have a ticket and are 'in' the ballpark, you're in the ballpark and should be allowed back to your seat if you want. Sometimes games get really good after the 7th inning!
But even with the aforementioned pricey eateries, about three innings into the game I keep thinking, "What is that smell?" After my teen years as an employee, I realized that it was the overwhelming smell of McDonalds. The smell did wane after a bit, or I got used to it, but it was there, trust me.
Keeping in the food theme, there is plenty of 'lower end' food to be had at Yankee Stadium, from the requisite hot dogs and nachos to various other cuisine. I was particularly happy to see a Johnny Rockets on the premise. However, I was not happy that JR's was out of hamburgers -- in the fifth inning! How does that happen? I don't think George would be happy about that.
My seat was in the 400 section up above home plate and the view was great. While the stadium is large -- it seats nearly 53,000 -- it still seemed rather intimate to me. The outfield did not feel that far away to me. I've been to some stadiums that just seem huge and everything seems far from your seat. Coors Field and Fenway feel this way, Yankee Stadium does not and I like that very much.
The other thing that I really liked about Yankee Stadium is that other than the sections closest to the field, everything was open. I wandered from section 400 down to almost field level. I felt really close the the players! And the attendants guarding the the field level sections were very friendly, seeming to understand that while they couldn't let fans without tickets into that area, they wanted to help us get as close as we could. In fact, every attendant that I interacted with was really friendly (save for the Johnny Rocket's guy who looked at me like I was crazy when I said, "Really? You're out of burgers in the fifth inning. The TOP of the fifth inning?" He just seemed really annoyed with me.)
During one inning I wandered to mezzanine to look out of the ballpark to see what might lay just outside the stadium. From my vantage point, it wasn't a row of bars or clubs, but several ball fields. Imagine playing little league right next to Yankee Stadium, in the shadow of one of that greatest teams of all time. If that isn't inspiring, I don't know what is. And, while standing in the fortress of this baseball shine with the evidence of money all around, it was a bit touching to see that right next door the game in its purest form was on display, with kids of all ages simply showing their love of the game on this night.
At the end of my Yankee Stadium adventure, as much as it pains me to say it, in light of my feelings about a team with globs and globs of money, I would go back to Yankee Stadium. It seems that the 1.5 billion, yes, BILLION, price tag of the stadium was well worth it.
Now if you could just get a burger past the fifth inning, that would be great.
The boys in the pinstripes were taking on the Tampa Bay Rays, but that was really beside the point as I was mainly there to check out the venue.
In truth, I hate the Yankees, not the player's personally, but I really hate the payroll. Those Yankees can just buy any player they want while teams like the Kansas Royals can't afford the Yankees bat boy. So, as long as there is no revenue sharing in baseball, I'll continue to dislike the Yankees.
Having said that, it was pretty cool to see future Hall of Famers A-Rod and Derek Jeter bat. I grew up in a National league town so to see these American league players was very cool for me and they did not disappoint. Well, the team lost, but as a true baseball fan I can't deny that I liked seeing these icons.
Now, back to my review of the stadium.
First, I don't know what parking is like, but taking the train was super convenient and I like any park that encourages using public transportation.
The entry plaza is attractive and there is a very large McDonalds right next door to the stadium. (More on this later.)
When you walk into the stadium, it sort of doesn't look like a stadium but a little more like a club with intricate lighting that extends from floor to ceiling. This may not be true during a day game, but it certainly is at a night game.
In most stadiums there are escalators galore to take fans up to their assigned seat level. In Yankee stadium there are huge elevators. The elevator attendant -- yes, there was an elevator attendant -- told me that that was George's idea. Yes, she meant the late George Steinbrenner, owner of the Yankees at the time this stadium was built.
This stadium is still referred to by many as 'The New Yankee Stadium" as the original Yankee Stadium was host to the team from 1923 until 2008. So this venue has only been in operation for three seasons. I wonder how long it will have to be open for it to stop being called 'New'. (If the St. Louis Cardinals are any indication, it takes about five years. Their 'New Busch Stadium' opened in 2006 and in about 2011 people stopped referring to it as 'New'. So give it a few years New Yorkers.)
One of the other things I noticed about Yankee Stadium is the number of team stores. It seems there is one in every nook and cranny of the stadium, including one that's just for the ladies, carrying all female apparel! And every one of these stores seems huge! After doing some research, I learned that there is nearly 12,000 square feet of retail space in the stadium. Wow!
If you're nostalgic at all, Yankee Stadium is rife with memorabilia. The Yankees have such a storied history and as a baseball fan, it's cool to see all of the monuments to the greats of the game. The monument park is really amazing with tributes to Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth, among others.
If you want to go upscale, there is a Hard Rock Cafe and steakhouse in the stadium, but, after the 7tn inning if you leave the ballpark and go into one of these restaurants, there is no re-entry into the ballpark. That seems a little strange to me. If you have a ticket and are 'in' the ballpark, you're in the ballpark and should be allowed back to your seat if you want. Sometimes games get really good after the 7th inning!
But even with the aforementioned pricey eateries, about three innings into the game I keep thinking, "What is that smell?" After my teen years as an employee, I realized that it was the overwhelming smell of McDonalds. The smell did wane after a bit, or I got used to it, but it was there, trust me.
Keeping in the food theme, there is plenty of 'lower end' food to be had at Yankee Stadium, from the requisite hot dogs and nachos to various other cuisine. I was particularly happy to see a Johnny Rockets on the premise. However, I was not happy that JR's was out of hamburgers -- in the fifth inning! How does that happen? I don't think George would be happy about that.
My seat was in the 400 section up above home plate and the view was great. While the stadium is large -- it seats nearly 53,000 -- it still seemed rather intimate to me. The outfield did not feel that far away to me. I've been to some stadiums that just seem huge and everything seems far from your seat. Coors Field and Fenway feel this way, Yankee Stadium does not and I like that very much.
The other thing that I really liked about Yankee Stadium is that other than the sections closest to the field, everything was open. I wandered from section 400 down to almost field level. I felt really close the the players! And the attendants guarding the the field level sections were very friendly, seeming to understand that while they couldn't let fans without tickets into that area, they wanted to help us get as close as we could. In fact, every attendant that I interacted with was really friendly (save for the Johnny Rocket's guy who looked at me like I was crazy when I said, "Really? You're out of burgers in the fifth inning. The TOP of the fifth inning?" He just seemed really annoyed with me.)
During one inning I wandered to mezzanine to look out of the ballpark to see what might lay just outside the stadium. From my vantage point, it wasn't a row of bars or clubs, but several ball fields. Imagine playing little league right next to Yankee Stadium, in the shadow of one of that greatest teams of all time. If that isn't inspiring, I don't know what is. And, while standing in the fortress of this baseball shine with the evidence of money all around, it was a bit touching to see that right next door the game in its purest form was on display, with kids of all ages simply showing their love of the game on this night.
At the end of my Yankee Stadium adventure, as much as it pains me to say it, in light of my feelings about a team with globs and globs of money, I would go back to Yankee Stadium. It seems that the 1.5 billion, yes, BILLION, price tag of the stadium was well worth it.
Now if you could just get a burger past the fifth inning, that would be great.
