The House that Steinbrenner Built

The one thing about being a Yankee fan is that there is never a lack of drama.  There’s always stories in the tabloids about some off-field antics.  Some years, it’s better to follow them than to follow the team.  I lived through the 80s.  And during the lean times, George Steinbrenner wanted to get out of the Bronx in the worst way.  He threatened to move the team to Jersey.  NEW FUCKING JERSEY???  I figured I’d have to pick some other team to follow than to root for a team that played in Jersey. 

Then came the 90s, they win a few World Series, and now that they’re the hot team in town, they wanted to leave the Bronx.  This time for midtown Manhattan…the cursed West Side Yards.  I call it a cursed site, since they’ve been talking about building anything and everything on that site, and nothing has been built.  Back in the 70s, Sears wanted to build their tower there rather than Chicago.  The Jets were promised it a few years ago, but were cock-blocked by Cablevision, which will try to build a new Madision Square Garden on the site.  We’ll see…

Bottom line, the Yanks have been talking about leaving the Bronx for over 20 years now by my count.  Then they said they would build a new stadium across the street.  Again, I said I’d believe it when I see it.  Boy, did I see it. 

I was able to get tickets to the first exhibition game at the new Yankee Stadium against the Cubs on April 3.  I’m still walking on air.  The place has by and far exceeded all fan’s expectations.  It is a combination of the old (pre-70s-renovation) Yankee Stadium, and a brand new futuristic ballpark.  I think the Yanks started to get the itch when they built their Legends Field spring training facility in Tampa.  They brought back the frieze along the top of the stadium there, and being flush with cash coming off a few World Series and record-breaking attendance, they couldn’t have picked a better time to do so.

The subway is the only way to get to Yankee Stadium, as driving and parking there is an absolute nightmare.  We took the 4 train, which is my preferred subway to get there.  It pops above ground just before the old Stadium, and the small gap in the old stadium gave you a glimpse inside.  The field is gone, and it’s just dirt in there.  Weird.

But right across the street where McComb’s Dam Park used to sit, now stands a new Stadium so big, so new, so over-the-top amazing, you almost feel bad that you turn your back, literally, to enter the new Stadium.  You get the feeling how people felt back in 1923 when the showed up to the old Stadium and found a brand new imposing venue, the first to be worthy of the designation “Stadium.” 

When Derek Jeter gave his speech after the last game at the old Stadium, he said we should bring the old memories across the street, where we’ll have new memories.  While the game itself wasn’t all that memorable, walking into the new Stadium sure was.  Not only is everying shiny and new, it seems that architects finally combined the retro concept and the modern concept.  From the friese along the roof to the Monument Park in centerfield, there is no doubt you’re in Yankee Stadium.  And with a nod to all the history and the pictures and banners in the Great Hall and the concourses, there is a modern feel to the venue, as the place is dripping with technology, be it HD televisions (all 1100+ of them), or the ribbon boars, or the largest true HD jumbotron in the world. 

When you enter the Stadium, you quickly find yourself in the Great Hall, the outer ground-level mezzanine.  The lights and banners and animation and inside jumbotron are so overwhelming, you feel like you’re a kid again, in a giddy haze wandering about, not paying attention, walking into other people’s pictures.

Great Hall

Reggie Jackson talks to Lou Pinella prior to the game.

Can you tell the difference between the old and new Stadiums?

Here’s the bottom line.  While it’s a completely new place, sitting at my seat, I got this eerie familiar feeling that I’ve been here before, even though it was the every first game played there.  It’s no doubt Yankee Stadium.  But even though it’s a brand new place, it has a very familiar feel about it.  And while I was glad to be able to drag my infant daughter to the old Stadium, I can’t wait to bring her to the new one.  And like Jeter said, create new memories…