Yankee Stadium

Yankee Stadium II, opened in 2009, was built in order to replace a historic (but deteriorating) old Yankee Stadium. The late General Manager George Steinbrenner even considered the old one dangerous, in order to build a new stadium. The purpose of the new Yankee Stadium was to have more suites for wealthier people. This can take away from the fact that most baseball fans are just regular, middle-class people.

The most surprising part about the new Yankee Stadium is that is costed 1.5 billion dollars, the most money spent on any stadium, behind only Wembley Stadium in London. This is coupled with the fact that most people don't even consider it one of the top stadiums in the league. When the New York Times rated their best stadiums, Yankee Stadium was rated number 21 out of 31. That's ridiculous for how much money was spent on the ballpark. Here's another crazy fact: The top 5 stadiums combined to only 1,740,700,000! That means the cost five of the best rated ballparks barely surpassed the low-rated Yankee Stadium.


One thing I admire that the Yankees did when building their new stadium, was making it so that the Yankees had a home-field advantage. The stadium quickly became known as a launching pad, or a bandbox because of how many homeruns were hit out. ESPN reporters Peter Gammons, went as far as saying "one of the biggest jokes in baseball." His colleague Buster Olney claimed the stadium as practically being "on steroids" and compared it to playing wiffleball as a child.


The distance to right field is tremendously short, only 314 feet down the right field line, with no high fence. Fenway Park's Green Monster is 310 feet from home plate. The difference is, the walls at Yankee Stadium aren't 37 feet tall. The Yankees were well aware of the criticism, and in the offseason before 2009, the Yankees went out and bought Mark Texiera, a decent power hitter, and also got Curtis Granderson the following year. Granderson was hitting an average of 20 homeruns a year before he came to the Bronx, and was more well-known for his speed, glove, and athletic ability. The following year in Yankee Stadium he hit 41 homeruns in 2011. Mark Texiera has also increased his number of homeruns since joining the Yankees.

The front entrance is limestone, and was made to look like the original Yankee Stadium when it first opened. They brought the arches from the old stadium, and added luxury suites. The seats are more angeled to the field then the old stadium as well. They also added a larger scoreboard in Center Field. Food and beverages are espensive, and Yankee Stadium has been nicknamed "Home of the 10 dollar beer" by fans. The best way to get to the game is by rail, or "The 4 train," so you can beat the New York City traffic. If you want to see memorabilia, like balls, bats, and jerseys used by greats like Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, and Babe Ruth, check out the Yankee Museuem.

Though, the stadium only seems good when comparing it to the old Yankee Stadium. When you compare it to the other stadiums around the majors, it just doesn't match up, especially for the price tag. If you are a die-hard Yankee fan, than going to a game is worth it. But if you are just going for fun, well, just remember to have your wallet handy and hope you have money well spent.

Statistics from: Baseball Reference, ESPN, Wikipedia: Yankee Stadium

Next Weeks Edition of Ballpark Guide: Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX