Personal Review Of The New Yankee Stadium – Part II

Yesterday, I reviewed the “game watching” experience at the new Yankee Stadium. (In case you’ve stumbled across this somehow and missed “Part I” on this feature, click here to see it.) Today, I’ll share thoughts, photos, etc., on some other stuff about the Yankees new ballpark – that fall outside the field of play.

Let’s start with parking. I opted to try out the pre-paid parking feature that’s new for the Yankees this season – and parked in the lot on River Avenue across from the Stadium. I arrived at the lot exactly at 11 am (for the 1 pm game). When I got there, I told the attendant that I pre-paid and he said “We saved some spots on the roof for you guys. But, if you see a spot anywhere else, you’re free to take it.” Well, there were no other spots, even with it being two hours before the game, so we parked on the roof. Here’s a view of the Stadium from the front of my car after I parked:

So, the lesson here is: Even if you pre-pay, and you want a good spot in the lot on River Avenue, you better get there about three hours before the game. Crazy? Maybe…but true. Also, keep in mind, there were many, many, people not at the ballpark, or near it, at this time.

This is what the stands at the new Stadium looked like just before the first pitch of the game:

As you can see, less than half of the people were in their seats at game time. Actually, the people sitting to my right didn’t show up in their seats until the third inning. So, if no one was there, just about, at the start of the game, and the parking garage was full, two hours before the game, what does that tell you about parking near the new Yankee Stadium when you go to a game? Good luck – right?

But, wait, it gets worse. The Yankees have a new system in the garage. It used to be: Pay as you go in and when you leave, you just drive right out. Granted, even with this system, it would sometimes take you an hour to snake your way out of the garage, with everyone leaving at the same time. How it works now: You have to get a ticket after you park and, on the way out, you have to insert the ticket into a reader and wait for a mechanical arm to raise so that you can leave the building. So, now, instead of just pulling out, each car has to fumble with the ticket reader and wait on the arm to go up, etc. Yeah, that’s going to make things faster on getting out…not.

Anyway, when you hit River Avenue, there are some nice banners of the Yankees players on the Stadium, under the El:

Here’s Jeter’s up close:

The next thing I wanted to check out was Babe Ruth Plaza. Here’s a photo of it taken one hour and forty minutes before game time:

I have a feeling that “Babe Ruth Plaza” is going to become the new “bat”.

O.K., let us move inside the Stadium and check out the “Great Hall.” Here are some pictures that I snapped while I was checking that out:

So, what you have with the “Great Hall” is an enormous vestibule with lots of lights, banners, and a big TV screen at the end. It’s nice. But, while it’s somewhat impressive the first time you see it, due to its size and bustle, it’s not different than the way you feel the first time you walk into Penn Station. And, I’m thinking, after you’ve been there a few times, the “Great Hall” will seem like the waiting area in Penn Station – in the sense that it’s just an annoying place you need to get through in order to arrive where you want to be…in this case, meaning your seats, as opposed to a train.

Next, I would like to show you some pictures of the Yankees Museum (inside the new Stadium). Well, I’d like to show you some – but I don’t have any to share. We went over to the museum about an hour before the game and then again during the sixth inning when the game was out of hand. Both times, the line to get into the museum was extremely long…I would guess that, each time, there were at least two hundred people on line and it looked like an hour’s wait, or more, to get in…so, we passed. And, I have a feeling this is the way it’s going to be, trying to get into the Yankees Museum, for a while…

Moving right along, how was the “concession area” experience at the new Yankee Stadium? Here’s some pictures to tell that story.

The “concession area” right behind my seats, one hour and twenty minutes before the game:

As you can see, there was no one there. Now, here’s another “concession area” – just 35 minutes later, 45 minutes before the game:

A little more crowded, eh? It got worse. I went back to the “concession area” during the 4th inning and it was madness. It was packed with people, everyone walking in a different direction, etc., it was like human pinball. Really, I felt like Chris Chambliss trying to get around the bases after he hit that homerun to win the 1976 pennant. After a few minutes of that, I was truly looking forward to returning my seat. I guess that bigger concourses mean a greater chance for chaotic pedestrian behavior…I never would have guessed that.

Hey, I did promise, yesterday, a story about the “great hunt for a hot pretzel” didn’t I? Here’s the deal.

I believe that hot pretzels, even the half-soggy, half-frozen, ones that they sell at Yankee Stadium, are as big a part of the New York City experience as anything else. As such, I have to get a hot pretzel when I go to Yankee Stadium. Actually, it’s the perfect ballpark snack, as it’s never out of season like ice cream in April or September or hot chocolate in July or August.

At the “old” Stadium, once the Yankees started drawing four million fans a year, getting a pretzel at the game, became a challenge. Usually, the ballpark was sold out of pretzels by the sixth inning. So, if you wanted one, you better get it early.

Yesterday, at the new Yankee Stadium, during the fourth inning, I went looking for a hot pretzel. Hey, this new ballpark has 25 permanent concessions stands and 112 portable locations as well. Plus it has all those fancy food chains like like Johnny Rockets, Brother Jimmy’s BBQ, Moe’s Southwest Grill, and Lobel’s. Finding a hot pretzel in the fourth inning shouldn’t be a problem, right. Guess again! I could not find a pretzel – anywhere (and that’s how I ended up with the $7 bag of popcorn). How sad is that?

Now, if I wanted a drink from Tommy Bahama’s in the Great Hall:

That I could do…or, if I wanted to buy some Peter Max artwork:

That I could do as well, at the new ballpark in the Bronx.

So, in review, when it comes to the new Yankee Stadium experience…

Twisted mojito? Check. Three-hundred dollar wall poster? Check. Hot Pretzel after the game starts? No so fast there, my friend…

Oh, my stars and garters, just how did this all come about?

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