When it comes to the benchmark of professional sports in North America, there is no doubt that the Yankees in New York, this team's number of championships (27 times) ranks first in the four major leagues in North America, there have been many American household names in history, as long as it is an MLB fan, you will definitely be able to have an impression of the star players produced by the Yankees, and it is also the famous brand of New York, the largest city in the United States and even the world.
Closely associated with this team is naturally their home stadium, Yankee Stadium.
Source: Yankee Stadium Twitter
Pitch overview
Home team: New York Yankees
Located in: Bronx, New York
Owner: New York City Economic Development Corporation
Regular visitor capacity: 46,537
Maximum admission: 50,960
Course surface: natural turf
Stadium structure: no roof
Course Dimensions: Left outfield 318 ft (97 m) / Left outfield 399 ft (122 m) / Centre 408 ft (124 m) / Right midfield 385 ft (117 m) / Right outfield 314 ft (96 m)
Construction History: Construction began on August 19, 2006 and opened on April 2, 2009
Construction cost: $2.3 billion
The Yankees traveled to many stadiums early in their history, and for a time they shared Polo Ground with the New York Giants, a national league team in the same city. As the Yankees grew stronger, the relationship between the two teams intensified, especially after recruiting Ruth in 1920, when the Yankees attracted 1.3 million fans in a single season, even surpassing the "landlord" giant.
Under such circumstances, it was not appropriate to send people under the roof, the Yankees needed a stadium of their own, and the team chose to build the original Yankee Stadium not far north of the Polo Stadium, which was officially opened in 1923. Due to the Yankees' large supporters, the number of seats on this stadium far exceeded that of the average baseball field, exceeding 80,000 at most, and maintaining a capacity of about 60,000 to 70,000 for a long time.
In the first year of entering the stadium, the Yankees won the first world championship in the history of the team, and then won 25 more in the 84 years since, and together with the original Yankee Stadium, the Yankees have become the embodiment of American sports, and the "NY" symbol has become popular all over the world. The Yankees' brilliance has earned the stadium a number of resounding nicknames, such as "The House That Ruth Built", "The Cathedral of Baseball", "Bronx Zoo" and so on.
Past Yankee Stadium Image source: MLB official website
Over time, however, the Yankees inevitably faced a problem that any professional team would encounter: the aging of the court. The stadium overhaul in the 1970s gave them a "tenant" feel, and for two years they borrowed the newly built Shea Stadium in the New York Met, and the Yankees management began to seek a new home.
In New York, where land is scarce, it is difficult to find a suitable plot of land and get enough public financial support, and in order to obtain the most favorable conditions possible, the Yankee management has strategized to let different places bid on each other (the New York Metropolitan Circle spans multiple administrative areas, and everywhere hopes that the Yankees can settle in), so the location of the new stadium has been delayed, and it took nearly thirty years to toss.
The location of Yankee Stadium
But for Yankees fans, the final solution, which is very different from what was conceived at the beginning, is undoubtedly the best. The second-generation Yankee Stadium is next door to the original, and the original site of the old stadium after the demolition has been converted into a baseball park, and the community form is integrated with the new stadium. It has not changed its address, but has also established an organic blood connection between the old stadium that carries countless historical moments and the new stadium.
The second-generation stadium is architecturally in line with the original generation, the limestone façade is similar to the external style of the first generation, and the columnar decorations at the top of the upper grandstand inside the stadium completely reproduce the interior of the first generation.
On the promenade outside the stadium, countless flags painted with famous Yankees in the past are lined up one after another, and the position is so vast that even visitors who do not know the Yankees are enough to be unaware.
Image source: MLB official website
Near Gate Six is a Yankee Museum with exhibits related to major moments in team history, including hundreds of signature balls from active and former Yankees players, replicas of the team's dressing room, and statues of don Larsen and Yogi Berra, the only playoff full game in history.
The Memorial Park, originally located in the left outer field of the original Yankee Stadium, was moved to the outer field of the new stadium, and the commemorative plaques displayed here are the original objects carried from the old stadium. At the suggestion of MLB rescue king Mariano Rivera, the home team's cowshed was set up on the edge of the memorial park, pushing the door in, so that the team's rescue pitchers could look at the Yankees' glory anytime and anywhere, and maybe get some extra buff.
In order to better serve the fans, the second-generation Yankee Stadium can be described as an extremely luxurious thing in the viewing experience, with a huge screen length of 31 meters and a viewing range of 550 square meters, which was the third largest in the world when it was built, and now it can also rank fifth.
In addition, the stadium is equipped with 1100 high-definition televisions. Some friends may ask, what TV do you watch when you are on the pitch? A three-hour ball game, there are often situations that need to get up and leave the table, such as queuing up to buy food (often the responsibility of fathers), if you can see the game screen anytime and anywhere, you don't have to worry about missing important moments!
If that doesn't satisfy you, there are countless upscale boxes to choose from in various locations on the pitch, enjoying good wine and good food while enjoying a Yankees baseball game.
There are also some special areas in the stadium, such as the "trial court", the team specially set up a court decoration style of three rows of seats, whenever a specific player stands on the strike zone, here to take the lead in holding a "promotion ceremony", as if "judging" the opposing pitcher.
Image source: Yankees Twitter
Speaking of which, I have to talk about the characteristics of the second-generation Yankee Stadium. Nominally, the five distance marker points of the new and old stadiums are the same, but the arc of the right outer wall of the second generation is sharper than that of the original generation, and the actual distance is shortened by about 2 meters.
When it first opened in 2009, the new stadium produced an astonishing number of home runs, playing 87 in the first 23 games, and by the time of the 73rd home game, the second-generation stadium had set a new Yankees home single-season home run record (216). Some studies believe that the culprit is the height and configuration of the right field retaining wall, and about 20% of home runs will not fly out of the wall in the original stadium.
Of course, this kind of research may overlook another factor, and that is the strength of the Yankees' line. The 2009 Bronx bombers were so powerful that several main batters contributed more than 20 outputs, earning the 27th title in franchise history in its first season.
However, although the second-generation Yankee Stadium achieved the same opening as the first generation, it did not have good luck after that, not to mention winning the championship for 12 consecutive seasons, and even the World Series was not touched. The metaphysics of the new and old courses is really difficult to say!
Finally, I offer two Yankee Stadium viewing tips for my friends: first, arrive at least two hours in advance so that you can calmly visit the historical furnishings of this century-old giant; second, bring enough money - this is the most expensive course with the average price of mlB, and then find that you are shy, don't blame the street office for not reminding you!
As a former "Empire of Evil", do you feel that Yankees Stadium has the luxury you imagined?