Yankee Stadium [I] Renovation (1974 - 1975)

[Mike Wagner]

Dear cringey,

Thank you. Enjoy the book. With all the baseball stadiums you've been to, you sound like a stadium expert!

-Mike

[Paul W]

...In the early 80's the convicted one always wanted to move to New Jersey and started refusing to pay city rent.

The place was closed for two years for changes hardly necessary to even mandate a closing at all in retrospect. What's shocking even today is they gutted the entire upper deck (there was nothing left but deck itself) to build painfully poor corridors that looked bad from day one in 1976.

Even worse there are no comparison interior photos before/after from 1973 to 1976 to see what was done for the money.

george was never going to jersey, it was a bluff that was derailed for a while by the on field product improvement and the corresponding increase in tix sales. he couldn't use that crutch for a while.
it was closed for NEW, even the nyy described it as the "new ys" in '76.
new then was as important as new now - brings in more $'s.
corridors are corridors, just a place to move the crowds through not to be lived in.

like most municipal "projects" any scrutiny is damaging.

[WEB]

Prior to the renovation and prior to the convicted one's purchase nothing was a bluff.

The Giants moved, the Jets moved the Cosmos moved, the Nets moved, a racetrack was built and still operates today with Izod Center.
The lowly Msg teams demanded permanent yearly taxpayer money or they were moving.

Granted after the renovation the convicted one could never play the moving card, prior to that and before Lindsay's taxpayer scheme it was absolutely on the table.

I don't see asking for what improved internally in terms of corridors as scrutiny, it's clear the upper concourse was completely removed with new portals/corridors at a new height. The internal width could not be expanded beyond pods as entrances. The interior bleacher area hardly looked expanded.

Again no before/after internal image documentation. We can see better press box, owners box, little else to merit removing columns and roof. Was anything done at all to internal bleachers beyond painting black wall formerly in play white plus removing scoreboard?

[Paul W]

...Giants moved, the Jets moved the Cosmos moved, the Nets moved, a racetrack was built and still operates today with Izod Center.
The lowly Msg teams demanded permanent yearly taxpayer money or they were moving.

Granted after the renovation the convicted one could never play the moving card, prior to that and before Lindsay's taxpayer scheme it was absolutely on the table.

I don't see asking for what improved internally in terms of corridors as scrutiny, it's clear the upper concourse was completely removed with new portals/corridors at a new height. The internal width could not be expanded beyond pods as entrances. The interior bleacher area hardly looked expanded.

Again no before/after internal image documentation. We can see better press box, owners box, little else to merit removing columns and roof. Was anything done at all to internal bleachers beyond painting black wall formerly in play white plus removing scoreboard?

giants were tennants in a building not well suited for the nfl biz, jets moved 10 years after lindsay gave away the store (rys) to a building better suited for the nfl biz. photo shows the makeshift accomidations for tv in rfwhich cbs wasn't pleasd with and the giants had little cash and influence to make better.

the harness track had nothing to do with the nfl franchises moving there and all it did to the horse biz was put roosevelt out of business by diluting the market and hangs on by it's fingernails now. MSG previous owners and the dolans weren't moving their cash cow from midtown to jersey, the meadowlands was such a great location that both arena tennants have left.

like all mallparks, what is done for the upper reaches that bring in less revenue will always come up short compared to the higher priced areas - access, sq. footage, "amenities". at the time the effort made to document any "improvements" would would be limited to where it brought in the largest return. no different then than now.

the politicians who pushed the reno scheme knew that it would never have been funded without the column removal, after all there was a place cross town less that ten years old w/o those obvious obstructions - part of the sell job for that place.

bleacher infrastructure could not be expanded and those who spent to sit there were of little interest to those who masterminded the scheme, so little was done to "improve" that area.

ball/mallpark biz hasn't changed, the more you spend the more you get...

[WEB]

giants were tennants in a building not well suited for the nfl biz, jets moved 10 years after lindsay gave away the store (rys) to a building better suited for the nfl biz. photo shows the makeshift accomidations for tv in rfwhich cbs wasn't pleasd with and the giants had little cash and influence to make better.

the harness track had nothing to do with the nfl franchises moving there and all it did to the horse biz was put roosevelt out of business by diluting the market and hangs on by it's fingernails now. MSG previous owners and the dolans weren't moving their cash cow from midtown to jersey, the meadowlands was such a great location that both arena tennants have left....

Sorry, however what you claim were bluffs happened or were threatened to happen. The Meadowlands was a three complex facility, once the Giants got in for that era it became the " In Thing " financially and Jersey was willing to spend for a football stadium, an arena followed. The cash cow Msg was going broke and demanding tax exemptions by 1981 or they were out the door.

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/21/ny...he-garden.html
That the city would give tax relief of some duration to the Garden was not in question. It was a different city 20 years ago. Memories of the fiscal crisis of the mid-70's were still raw, and the prospect of losing more sports teams was unacceptable. The teams' threats to leave were taken seriously.

''The big money was in cable,'' recalled Judge Schwartz, Mr. Koch's first corporation counsel. ''It didn't matter if the teams played in Madison Square Garden or across the river or in Nassau. When all was said and done, the consensus was, we had to keep them in the Garden.''

[Paul W]

Sorry, however what you claim were bluffs happened or were threatened to happen. The Meadowlands was a three complex facility, once the Giants got in for that era it became the " In Thing " financially and Jersey was willing to spend for a football stadium, an arena followed. The cash cow Msg was going broke and demanding tax exemptions by 1981 or they were out the door.

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/21/ny...he-garden.html
That the city would give tax relief of some duration to the Garden was not in question. It was a different city 20 years ago. Memories of the fiscal crisis of the mid-70's were still raw, and the prospect of losing more sports teams was unacceptable. The teams' threats to leave were taken seriously.

''The big money was in cable,'' recalled Judge Schwartz, Mr. Koch's first corporation counsel. ''It didn't matter if the teams played in Madison Square Garden or across the river or in Nassau. When all was said and done, the consensus was, we had to keep them in the Garden.''

even steinbrenner knew that the swamp location was not going to work for a biz that had to attract crowds more than 8-10 times a year, the fact that both arena tennants left bears that out.
garden mouthpieces said that they were "going broke", typical misspeak to get what so many other corporations in nyc already got - no different than what big league franchises do nationwide. msg knew that they'd get what they wanted without opening up their books and koch didn't want to be the next bob wagner.

both steinbrenner and msg excersised bluffs and won - taxpayers lost.

[WEB]

even steinbrenner knew that the swamp location was not going to work for a biz that had to attract crowds more than 8-10 times a year, the fact that both arena tennants left bears that out.
garden mouthpieces said that they were "going broke", typical misspeak to get what so many other corporations in nyc already got - no different than what big league franchises do nationwide. msg knew that they'd get what they wanted without opening up their books and koch didn't want to be the next bob wagner.

both steinbrenner and msg excersised bluffs and won - taxpayers lost.

Sorry, not how it happened. The Yankee Stadium renovation plan was announced long before the convicted one's purchase with his puppet partners, his family bragged it was his father's decisions in what was renovated but Mayor Lindsay in 1971 said this had to be done or the team would be gone.

Post convicted felon purchase, post 1976 he had a binding lease, that was a bluff.

Cbs was selling they were not bluffing.

Ever read one word about the Giants bluffing who announced in 1971 they were moving?

Msg? Bleeding red ink to the point the team had to be sold many times. The Knicks were headed to Nassau, NHL board was ready to vote approval to move the Rags to New Jersey.


Document well enough here: http://www.baseball-fever.com/showth...26#post1751326

[The Monument]

Great aerial shot that I've never seen before in a new mag called In The Dugout--Yankees 2013 put out by Lindys Sports. I can't scan it but hopefully somebody here can. It's taken from a helicopter flying over Gate 6. You can see the heli shadow on the Stadium wall. Most of the roof has been removed and there is one small section of frieze left. It's part of the last section in left field, not even the full 'long' section, but about 1/3 of it, connected to the return at the end of the upper deck. Fascinating that unseen pix occasionally show up. The mag itself is very good, a combo of Yanks history and a 2013 preview. The editor is Cecilia Tan, who has posted on BBF in the past.

[Paul W]

Sorry, not how it happened. The Yankee Stadium renovation plan was announced long before the convicted one's purchase with his puppet partners, his family bragged it was his father's decisions in what was renovated but Mayor Lindsay in 1971 said this had to be done or the team would be gone.

Post convicted felon purchase, post 1976 he had a binding lease, that was a bluff.

Cbs was selling they were not bluffing.

Ever read one word about the Giants bluffing who announced in 1971 they were moving?

Msg? Bleeding red ink to the point the team had to be sold many times. The Knicks were headed to Nassau, NHL board was ready to vote approval to move the Rags to New Jersey.


Document well enough here: http://www.baseball-fever.com/showth...26#post1751326

from the linked piece...

"...the question about upgrading Yankee Stadium was not initially broached by Michael Burke, CBS, or other Yankee management, but instead by Mayor John Lindsay..."

"...Burke responded to this on October 2, 1970 with a letter to Deputy Mayor Richard Aurelio stating, “Given the apprehension about personal safety that grips all citizens, it becomes imperative that sports fans be able to drive private cars with relative ease directly to Yankee Stadium and to park within full sight and easy walking distance of it.”

only after lindsay's offer did burke start turning the screws about the reno, knowing how slow whells turn in city gov. a bluff was needed to get the ball rolling.

"...October 5, 1971, Burke informed Lindsay by letter...implied that the Yankees’ commitment to staying in the city was contingent on a serious effort to tackle the Stadium issue...another letter on November 5, 1971 telling the mayor that the Yankees were exploring their options..."

the process started because of lindsay's largess with city finances, nyy/cbs pressure happened as a reaction not the catalyist.

when mentioning steingrabber's move threats/bluffs, it was the late 80's i was alluding to.

as stated before, the giants threat was real - "...were tennants in a building not well suited for the nfl biz..."

msg and their properties weren't going anywhere.

[Mike Wagner]

Dear Friends,

Today I sold my last hardcover copy of "Babe's Place: The Lives of Yankee Stadium." I don't know if I will have any hardcovers in the future. lulu.com has the e-book version for $9.99 for anyone who is interested. Whereas the hardcover book had 30 color photos, the vast majority of photos in the e-book are in color. This is especially true of the 1970s renovation of Yankee Stadium photos.

My sincerest thanks to all for your support.

Mike Wagner
www.babes-place.com

[anskybeerhere]

Hello Mike,

I finally ordered and received your fine masterpiece via lulu.com. I'm looking forward to reading and enjoying it at a leisurely pace. Thanks for setting such an ambitious goal and going for it! All the best to you and the entire Wagner Family.

[anskybeerhere]

Monument,
Thanks for the tip regarding The Dugout-Yankees 2013. We picked up a copy and it also has several interesting historical perspective articles. The article on 1973 by Matthew Silverman was especially well done. I believe he just released a book available on Amazon covering the 1973 baseball season.

[Mike Wagner]

Hello Mike,

I finally ordered and received your fine masterpiece via lulu.com. I'm looking forward to reading and enjoying it at a leisurely pace. Thanks for setting such an ambitious goal and going for it! All the best to you and the entire Wagner Family.

Dear anskybeerhere,

Thank you very much. I know you'll enjoy it. Either when you've gone through much of it, or when you finish it (your choice) please let me know what you think. Happy reading!!!

-Mike