Personal Review Of The New Yankee Stadium – Part I

As mentioned earlier this evening, today I went to see the Yankees host the Cubs in the second game ever played at the new Yankee Stadium. (Yeah, both contests were exhibition games – but, it was still baseball and it was in the new ballpark.) What follows are some thoughts and pictures from the day…

First, the seats. From 2001 through 2008, I had season-tickets in Section 15 of the Loge. With their relocation process, the Yankees put me, this season, in Section 213 of the Main Level. It’s an interesting move. The new seats are still under cover – at least mine are because I’m in the back of the section. However, they are further out towards right field – about half-way between first and the foul pole – whereas my older seats were closer to first base. Still, because of the way the levels in the new Stadium are set up, I’m actually closer to the field in the Main Level than I was in the Loge.

One thing about the seats…I heard more than one person around me commenting on how they thought the seats were narrower in the new Main Level than they were in the old Loge. While I’m not sure myself, I think they may be right. It doesn’t seem like it’s possible – based on what you hear about the new Stadium – but, like I said, a few people were commenting about it, out loud.

Here’s the view from the new seats, taken during batting practice and the game (today)…

We got into the Stadium somewhat early – around 11:30 am – and there were very few people in the seats at that time:

These shots were taken about 90 minutes into the game and pretty much everyone who was going to the game were in their seats by then:

O.K., now I’m just going to jump around and start throwing out some comments and pictures…

First, the Yankees must do something about the volume of their speaker system in the Stadium. It’s just too damn loud. When they’re playing music or when the P.A. is in use, you cannot speak to the person sitting next to you – as they cannot hear you over the noise. Part of the fun of going to a baseball is conversing – and the Yankees have taken that away with the level of their speaker system:

And, the young woman who the Yankees have on the big screen, in center, doing the fan contests…her name is Tara Something-long-I-think…my god…her voice is nails on a blackboard. She has to go – and quickly.

O.K. some more random shots of the playing field and the stuff around it…

This might be my favorite shot of the day – just because I got yelled at taking it. We were walking around the Stadium, before the game, getting different views, etc., when I stopped at a section behind home plate to take this one. Just as I was snapping the pitcure, a security woman told me that I had to leave and that I was not allowed to take pictures there. Now, keep in mind that this was 50 minutes before the first pitch of an exhibition game in a brand-new Stadium. No pitcures? Was she kidding me? Not really…because she chased me away after I snapped this:

Here’s a shot of center taken from the base of the right field foul pole:

Here’s a shot from the lower level of the upper deck:

By the way, with the super winds today, it was terrible in the upper deck before the game. How those people sat up there, during this game today, I have no idea.

Here’s a shot of the big screen, taken from my seats, during the game:

The big screen is super. But, it’s also a problem. Several times, during the game, I caught myself watching the screen instead of the game. It’s soooo darn big. Being a guy, I was drawn to it like flies to a road-apple.

Here’s the big screen after Teixeira hit his first bomb today. I guess they were trying to tell us it was a homerun:

On the whole, taking in a game in the new Stadium, if you’re just watching the field of play, is no different from watching a game at the old Stadium – with the exception being the backdrop on homers. It’s going to take me a while to get used to seeing balls leave the yard with this new backdrop, etc.

Now, looking at the stuff around the field of play, it’s different. I do like the scoreboards on the outfield walls:

I think that’s a nice retro-look. However, this all said, when experiencing this game today, and looking around at the inside of the new Stadium, I found myself thinking “Is this inside really any different than what you would find at Turner Field, Comerica Park, or The Ballpark in Arlington? Is there anything here that’s better than what they have there?” I’m really not sure, to be honest…

At one point, I asked my wife, who was with me at the game, what she thought of the new Stadium, and she offered “It’s a lot of concrete.” And, I could not debate her, too much, on that point. Then again, the old place was a lot of concrete too – albeit painted over about 40 times.

Last photo for today – “Challenger” the non-releasable bald eagle making a landing before the game:

I’ve seen that bird more than a few times at the old Stadium. And, today, when he was released from the outfield, he circled forever before deciding to land. It was so long that it may have been a record. Maybe he was trying to tell us something?

Tomorrow, I’ll share more stories, photos and opinion on parking at the new Stadium, Babe Ruth Plaza, the Great Hall, the Yankees Museum, concession areas and other shops, and the great hunt for a hot pretzel. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed what I’ve been able to present and share today.

Hey, what the heck, one more picture…why not?…to hold you over until “Part II” – ever wonder what a $7 bag of popcorn looks like at the new Yankee Stadium? Well, here’s mine from today:

Update: Click here to see “Part II” of this feature.

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