Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Yankees break ground on new $1 billion stadium
AP via Yahoo! ^ | August 16, 2006 | KAREN MATTHEWS

Posted on 08/16/2006 9:07:53 AM PDT by Ready4Freddy

NEW YORK (AP) -- New York Yankees officials and a score of politicians gathered Wednesday across the street from The House That Ruth Built to break ground for a new billion-dollar Yankee Stadium project.

Under a bright sun and in front of a huge rendering of the new stadium, Gov. George Pataki said fans "will be entering an icon" when they come to Yankees games starting in 2009.

Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, superfan Billy Crystal and others watched the ceremony from a small grandstand.

Yankees president Randy Levine called the project "the continuation of a great legacy." Mayor Michael Bloomberg said it would "symbolize the resurgence of the South Bronx."

The ceremony came a day after a state Supreme Court judge denied opponents a temporary restraining order that would have blocked construction. He found there was no legal bar to cutting down trees to permit a project that benefits the city and the community.

The 53,000-seat, open-air ballpark will replace one of the most famous sports arenas in the world, home to the Yankees since 1923, when it was christened with a Babe Ruth home run on opening day.

The existing stadium, though renovated in the 1970s, is the third-oldest ballpark in the major leagues, trailing only Boston's Fenway Park (1912) and Chicago's Wrigley Field (1914).

The city and state are contributing more than $200 million to the project, including infrastructure improvements. The Yankees will pay the rest, financed through both taxable and tax-exempt bonds.

Until a dozen years ago, team owner George Steinbrenner had denigrated the neighborhood as dangerous and threatened to move the team to Manhattan or northern New Jersey. But the Yankees expect to draw more than 4 million fans to the stadium this year, making it the eighth consecutive season topping 3 million.

The new stadium will have fewer seats than the current capacity of 57,478, but more luxury boxes.

Construction of the new stadium will involve paving over large portions of nearby Macombs Dam Park and Mullaly Park, and cutting down about 400 mature oak trees. The Yankees are to offset the loss of the parks by building new parkland including three ballfields at the site of the current Yankee Stadium.

Bloomberg and most of the city's elected officials are solidly behind the new stadium. Backers say the project will create an estimated 3,600 construction jobs and 900 permanent jobs.

But the plan met with opposition from some South Bronx neighbors and from parks advocates.

Geoffrey Croft, president of New York City Parks Advocates, said the stadium foes would appeal Tuesday's ruling and file a federal lawsuit.

"The Yankees were never required to consider practical alternatives to the taking of park land," Croft said.

On the Net: New York Yankees: http://www.yankees.mlb.com


TOPICS: Sports
KEYWORDS: baseball; mlb; yankees; yankeestadium
...and then there were 2.... Fenway & Wrigley...
1 posted on 08/16/2006 9:07:55 AM PDT by Ready4Freddy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Ready4Freddy
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said it would "symbolize the resurgence of the South Bronx."

A resurgence in symbol only; the Bronx died in the mid-60s.

2 posted on 08/16/2006 9:10:13 AM PDT by Mr. Mojo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ready4Freddy
I didn't know that Yankee Stadium was being replaced.Wasn't it fully rehabbed not too long ago?

My Dad took me to a Red Sox game at the Stadium about 40 years ago.I couldn't understand why everyone around me was giving me dirty looks when I rooted for the Sox ;-)

3 posted on 08/16/2006 9:13:08 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ready4Freddy
I started going around to all the older ballparks a few years ago, just to be able to see them before they disappear forever. Was able to catch the last home stands at Tiger Stadium & Candlestick Park, and had already seen a few games at the old Comiskey. After the remaining teens / 20's parks existing a few years ago, the 'Stick was the next-oldest park, having been built in '58 or '59, I believe.

Hate to see these old ballparks disappear!

4 posted on 08/16/2006 9:13:34 AM PDT by Ready4Freddy (Hey, look man, I didn't mean to shoot the son of a b!tch. The gun went off. I don't know why.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ready4Freddy

This is assinine. Keep the old stadium.


5 posted on 08/16/2006 9:14:53 AM PDT by pissant
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ready4Freddy

Correction - 1958 was groundbreaking for Candlestick, it opened in 1960.


6 posted on 08/16/2006 9:16:51 AM PDT by Ready4Freddy (Hey, look man, I didn't mean to shoot the son of a b!tch. The gun went off. I don't know why.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Ready4Freddy
...and then there were 2.... Fenway & Wrigley...

Wrigley's still in relatively good shape; it'll be the last one standing.

What's amazing is that Dodger Stadium will be the third oldest ballpark in MLB after Ruth's House is gone. Still the nicest park in the nation, imo.

7 posted on 08/16/2006 9:20:31 AM PDT by Mr. Mojo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Gay State Conservative
It was rehabbed around 1972-1975, about thirty years ago. And Yankee Stadium isn't being replaced. Call it George's Gorge, or McCoombs Dam Park, but Babe didn't play right there, Mickey didn't patrol center, Gehrig wasn't on first, Scooter was never at short there. Whitey didn't pitch 32+ shutout World Series innings there, Yogi didn't win 10 series there, Crocetti didn't get 17 rings there, and three perfect games [one in the Series] weren't pitched there.

As of 2009, Yankee Stadium will be gone. I won't set foot in the new ball park.
8 posted on 08/16/2006 9:22:02 AM PDT by PzLdr ("The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am" - Darth Vader)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Gay State Conservative
It was just a matter of time, GSC, I figured that Yankee Stadium would be next after Tiger and Candlestick.

Your reception for cheering for the Sox doesn't surprise me, lol! I was subjected to a small amount of derision in 1962-1963, when my Dad took us to games at the old Colt Stadium in Houston. Got to see the Milwaukee Braves w/ Warren Spahn, and the Cardinals w/ Stan Musial. I still have the Braves & Cardinals pennants I bought at those games. People did make a few comments, but I figured I'd always be able to get a Colt 45's pennant. I was wrong! ;>(

9 posted on 08/16/2006 9:24:09 AM PDT by Ready4Freddy (Hey, look man, I didn't mean to shoot the son of a b!tch. The gun went off. I don't know why.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: PzLdr

Tell us how you really feel, PzLdr! I ache at the thought of Yankee Stadium's demise.


10 posted on 08/16/2006 9:29:28 AM PDT by Ready4Freddy (Hey, look man, I didn't mean to shoot the son of a b!tch. The gun went off. I don't know why.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Ready4Freddy
Speaking of Stan Musial...my Dad took me to the '61 All Star game (at Fenway).A Red Sox rookie phenom (Don Schwal) was pitching to Musial who had gotten the count to 3-2 and then fouled off about 10 pitches.My Dad leaned over to me and said "you watch,Musial is just toying with this kid" and then,on the next pitch,Schwall struck out Musial.

Fenway went wild! It's one of my fondest memories of my Dad.

11 posted on 08/16/2006 9:30:52 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Mr. Mojo
Yup, Dodger Stadium will be #3, sad to say. It's certainly considered one of the best, if not the best, ballpark in MLB. The remaining 'relic' from the Dodgers' & Giants' late 50's move to the West Coast, sounding the death knell of the Pacific Coast League, which many thought was almost the equal of MLB.

What's amazing is that Dodger Stadium will be the third oldest ballpark in MLB after Ruth's House is gone. Still the nicest park in the nation, imo.

12 posted on 08/16/2006 9:33:35 AM PDT by Ready4Freddy (Hey, look man, I didn't mean to shoot the son of a b!tch. The gun went off. I don't know why.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Ready4Freddy
"superfan Billy Crystal and others watched the ceremony from a small grandstand"

From that day on it was known as The House Superfan Billy Crystal Built.
13 posted on 08/16/2006 9:49:39 AM PDT by Dixie Yooper (Ephesians 6:11)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ready4Freddy; pissant
Safeco (up here in Seattle) is quality ballpark, but there's a big problem -- fans are packed in like sardines. The seats are only about a foot and half wide and very uncomfortable. Last game I attended some wide-bodied woman sitting next to me kept spilling my beer with her rolls of fat.

Dodger Stadium seats, otoh, are wide and padded. ....a pleasure. And a fan can listen to the best in the business call the game: Vin Scully.

14 posted on 08/16/2006 10:28:39 AM PDT by Mr. Mojo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Ready4Freddy
"I started going around to all the older ballparks a few years ago ..."

I did that as well. I'm glad I went to Wrigley; it's still a gem. Old Comiskey was a dump, in a bad area. I went to an afternoon game at Candlestick, which had zero charm in my view and was in a surprisingly sketchy neighborhood. I also enjoyed County Stadium in Milwaukee and, of the 60's/70's era stadiums, the old San Diego park. The Kingdome was the worst venue for baseball I visited; I cheered its demolition. Among the newer ballparks, I liked Camden Yards and Turner Field - although Turner Field is also in a bad area with no convenient public transportation.
15 posted on 08/16/2006 11:48:49 AM PDT by riverdawg
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Mr. Mojo
the Bronx died in the mid-60s.

In the late 60s and early 70s I drove ambulances around the area from northern Westchester down to north Jersey and across from the Connecticut shore to the Poconos, mostly in Westchester and down into the Bronx.  At the time a big section of the Bronx was known as "Fort Apache."  The name fit.

I was covering for a friend on an ambulance based out of Yonkers and we took a call for a pick up at a brownstone in the Bronx.  We got to the address, parked the rig (a modular on a truck chassis) in front of the building and started to get our stuff out of the back.  There was this loud crash and we looked around to see the cab of the truck crushed under a huge cast iron sink.  The call was a fake and some folks had hauled this thing that weighed several hundred pounds up on the roof and, when we got there, they'd thrown it off.  I don't know if they intended to let  us get out of the cab before they threw it or not.

That's the only ambulance company I ever rode for that kept a shotgun under the drivers seat of the rig.

I moved away from there in the late 70s, but was back in the area (central New Jersey) for three years in the late 80s.  I never went into the Bronx for any reason while we were there that time, but I was under the impression that it had "gentrified" and come back some.  Is that not the case?

The things I miss from NY are the restaurants, particularly the good Italian ones, the little markets scattered around, including the easy access to all sorts of great ethnic stuff, the festivals, particularly San Genero, and just the general access to more variety of everything.  Memphis has NY knocked for barbecue, the ease of getting around (if you have a car) and as a much safer place to raise my kids.

It's a mixed bag.

16 posted on 08/16/2006 12:08:34 PM PDT by Phsstpok (Often wrong, but never in doubt)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: All

'nuther article w/ more info here - http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1685032/posts


17 posted on 08/17/2006 4:53:27 AM PDT by Ready4Freddy (Hey, look man, I didn't mean to shoot the son of a b!tch. The gun went off. I don't know why.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: riverdawg
Isn't it, tho? I first made it there in 1992, and remember well the feeling I got when we arrived at the corner of Clark & Addison! And it just got better, walking into the stands and seeing the field for the first time... lol, we actually had SRO tickets (Cubbies first homestand against the Cardinals in early July), and stood in the aisle until some seats opened up later in the game.

The ivy on the wall, the folks sitting on the roofs across Grace(??) Street beyond left field, and the brick wall behind the plate - I couldn't BELIEVE how close it was to home plate!

I felt like I was 8 years old again, I was that excited to be at Wrigley Field.

I did that as well. I'm glad I went to Wrigley; it's still a gem.

18 posted on 08/17/2006 7:30:26 AM PDT by Ready4Freddy (Hey, look man, I didn't mean to shoot the son of a b!tch. The gun went off. I don't know why.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: Gay State Conservative

How are those Sox doing this weekend in "Fenway Pak" against the Yankees? Wonder how much you're enjoying that series.

Sorry, couldn't resist.


19 posted on 08/21/2006 1:15:08 AM PDT by Deo et Patria
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson