$1 billion Yankee Stadium

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acdcrules04

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New $1 billion Yankee Stadium is on deck

By KAREN MATTHEWS, Associated Press Writer
August 16, 2006

NEW YORK (AP) -- No tears were shed Wednesday for the historic stadium where Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio played out their storied careers.

Politicians and baseball officials who gathered to break ground on a new Yankee Stadium shared memories of the old ballpark but said the new one would be even better.

"Yankee Stadium is an iconic stadium, a place where Ruth and (Lou) Gehrig played, where popes and presidents have spoken," Gov. George Pataki said. "But so, too, will the new Yankee Stadium be an iconic stadium."

Pataki joined team owner George Steinbrenner, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others for the groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the new stadium, just north of the existing 1923 ballpark.

The billion-dollar Bronx stadium is set to open in 2009.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said he remembered going to Yankee Stadium as a teenager.

"I can still feel the joy and excitement as I stared in wonder at the field, perfect in every way," he said. "And there in center field stood the hero of my boyhood, the great Joe DiMaggio. ... Yankee Stadium is an American monument that has endured for 84 years. Today we are breaking ground on a new Yankee Stadium, a new monument and new memories for the coming generations of fans."

Steinbrenner, who complained of the heat, was brief.

"It's a pleasure to give this to you people," he said. "Enjoy the new stadium. I hope it's wonderful."

The Yankees displayed a congratulatory message from President Bush on the center-field scoreboard during the second inning of Wednesday night's game against Baltimore. There were some boos from the crowd.

Before the game, Yankees manager Joe Torre talked about the old ballpark, and the one being built.

"This is a special place. There's no question. But all the renderings I've seen of that new ballpark, it's going to be exciting," he said. "The guys who are going to play in these next couple years and go over there, I'm sure it's going to be a big change for them."

Yankees legend Yogi Berra, superfan Billy Crystal and 81-year-old stadium fixture Freddy Schuman, who patrols the stands with homemade signs, attended the 90-minute ceremony but did not speak.

Schuman, who banged on his trademark frying pan during applause, said later he approved of the new ballpark.

"I feel about the old stadium, but this is progress," he said.

The groundbreaking 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 local community.

A few dozen demonstrators carried signs and chanted, "Save our parks," during Wednesday's ceremony, but police kept them far enough away that they could not be heard by the participants.

In Mullaly Park, most of which will be lost to the new ballpark, tennis instructor Sam Fumi said he hoped the politicians would keep their promise to move the tennis courts to a new park nearby.

"We will relocate somewhere, but right now we don't know," he said. "It's sad."

Manuel Perez, a lifelong neighborhood resident who was playing with his two children in the park, said the area's resurgence had meant only higher rents and other costs of living and a new stadium was unlikely to help.

"It's not going to do anything for my community," he said. "Whether we say yes or whether we say no, they're going to do it anyway."

The 53,000-seat open-air ballpark will replace one of the most famous sports arenas in the world, christened with a Ruth home run on Opening Day. Designers plan to restore several elements of the original stadium, including the frieze that hung from the roof, that were lost in a 1970s remodeling.

Yankee Stadium is the third-oldest ballpark in the major leagues, trailing 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 taxable and tax-exempt bonds.

Until a dozen years ago, 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, 57,478, but more luxury boxes. Chief operating officer Lonn Trost said the ballpark would continue to be called Yankee Stadium rather than be named for the highest corporate bidder, though parts of the park would be sponsored.

Construction of the new stadium will involve paving over large portions of 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 ball fields at the site of the current Yankee Stadium, which will be dismantled.

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 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 parkland," he said.
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Article

Does anyone but me find this absolutly appalling? There are millions of people starving, living in shacks, and dieing of diesease that could have been prevented and the good people are willing to put forth $200 million just to have a new stadium with more luxury boxes. This pisses me off.

Discuss.
 
I could see if they actually needed a new stadium, but they don't.. like, for example if Yankee Stadium was too small. But this new one is smaller according to this article. Just for more luxuries? No, it's a waste of money.
 
FireHawk said:
Don't let is suprise you that is just how this ****ed up world works.
Click to expand...

Well I know that the world is mess up, believe me, I know. But shouldn't people try to better it instead of makeing it worse? That my biggest problem with people today, they say the world sucks and it's horrible but yet they do nothing about it.
 
Yeah I used to have the dream that man kind could share...but I lost my faith long ago...

you'd think that at least the people who can easily spend tons of money on useless **** would at least give sums to charity...but no
and if they do it's only for the good publicity of it...
 
I remember something like this happened in my hometown, where they built a brand new baseball stadium and football stadium costing billions of dollars, and now the city is in debt and facing more problems than before. higher provaty rate... but they could have used that money for better
 
Yanks fan too, but I don't really approve of the new stadium. The "old" one is pretty modern and new-looking compared to other baseball stadiums like the one in Boston. I believe that's a hundred-something years old.

It's not that I think "there are charities and **** it could go to" or that "we need to save our Earth," but it's just... what the hells wrong with the one we have now?
 
The Yankees' current stadium is fine. Nothing is wrong with it. There's no reason $1 Billion should be wasted on a new stadium >_<
 
That has to be the best and most expensive stadium in the world if they spent this much money on it...but I think the old one is pretty nice..
 
I really like the history of the old stadium,but if the money's used to recreate the pre-renovation Yankee Stadium,i'll be fine with it
 
It's a good investment. It helps the economy opens new jobs. Works with charities, brings tourists. It truthfully is worth it. I know its alot of money but after 1 season they make back alot of the money spent.

You have to think of it from an economic non biased side

Houston Astro Bitch.
 
It's not really going to open new jobs, considering that probably most of the employees working now are going to be transferred to the new stadium. Or if they're laid off and replaced with new workers, unemployment stays the same and it doesn't help the economy, now does it?

A new stadium isn't going to bring new tourists. If anything, it'll repel tourism. People will want to come to New York to visit the old stadium that Babe Ruth played in and where history lives, not the new stadium where the only fun-fact is the amount of money put into it.

Maybe an Olympic stadium is worth it, but a new Yankee stadium replacing a perfectly good one?
 
Let a guy who actually lives closer to the Yankees' stadium, and has been in it comment. ;)

The older stadium was fine, it was historic and had a great nostalgic presense to it.

Buffalo, New York is where I'm from... Erie County.. and Erie County is in so much debt, that we can bearly afford to pay our teachers to teach the kids. The county budget is out of wack, and its taking so long to fix o_O

Our mayor and the wonderful Governor mentioned in the article (I met him before unfortunatly) called out to Albany (capital of NY) for funds to help fix the budget, and they refused. Then they build this stadium!?

Now thats complete and total bullshit!!
 

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