Yankee Stadium [I] Demolition

[David Atkatz]

and yes, they couldve done another renovation of the old place but where were we gonna play? citi field? the new home of the mets? i recall hearing that steinbrenner hated playing in shea during the first renovation, how in the world would the organization feel during a second in this new age.

Oh. Steinbrenner hated playing at Shea.

And the organization would be sooo upset if they played a year or two at Citi.

OK.

Let's tear down Yankee Stadium.

[David Atkatz]

Its unfortunate but the old place lost a lot of the history when they renovated it. I mean, honestly, it wasnt the same place. I was not alive to ever see the original but just from photos and from what ive heard from people, it never looked the same. The only thing that was the same from the old park was the structure and thats it. It isnt the same place where Babe and Mickey hit tape measure shots. Or the same place were Roger Maris hit number 61 or where Joe D hit during his 56 game hit streak. It wasnt the same place were the original Iron man played his entire career and gave the most famous speech in sports history.

This is the part I really love.

Some one who never even saw the pre-renovation Stadium lectures us that it's no longer the same place.

Guess what?

It is the same place.

When Lou Gehrig bade us farewell, he was standing within those same walls.

(The walls that will be coming down this summer.)

When Ruth hit his 60th, he was standing within those same walls.

(The walls that will be coming down this summer.)

When Maris hit his 61st, he was standing within those same walls.

(The walls that will be coming down this summer.)

None of this--or anything else of note--occurred north of 161st Street

[IPO]

i totally agree, but ive already moved on and i know some others have as well. the only way to fully convert all those who still havent and still see the old place and say, why cant we go back there? all the yankees have to do is win a world series at the new place as soon as possible. thats it. thats how you knows this place is home.

This is not about winning, it's about a ballpark for the entitled that no winning on a field can ever change. It's an insult to New Yorkers who are forced to pay for it, an insult to Yankee fans with it's seats a mile from the field, the obstructed view steakhouse burying monument park, the stupid moat, the rip off of the neighborhood and the grate Paramus mall inside that is all about the entitled and nothing else with a phony frieze that looks cheap.

It's a corporate building made for corporate fans, the public knows it that's not changing nor will winning make more people pay those prices.

and yes, they couldve done another renovation of the old place but where were we gonna play? citi field? the new home of the mets? i recall hearing that steinbrenner hated playing in shea during the first renovation, how in the world would the organization feel during a second in this new age. im just curious if there ever was a thought to renovate the old place and what they wouldve done. i would love to see those blueprints if there are any.

Both teams could have played at Shea and neither ballpark was necessary, the Mets should have shared YS while Shea was renovated first because it's older.

The Convicted Felon wanted out of that ballpark in the eighties and the criminal would not even pay his rent and Fernando Ferrer never rolled over for King George III who never would have accepted another renovation.

Frankly NYC should have told him he gets nothing, by the mid-90's he lost whatever leverage he had with threats to move because NJ would not give him the time of day.

[Jim Vaz]

I NEVER ever thought I would feel for the Yankees fans, but I must say even me seeing the place go makes me sad.
I'm a Mets fan, I'm a Yankee hater, but Yankee Stadium is still the first place I ever saw a game in.
That 8 year old in 1985 will NEVER forget how green the grass was, how amazed I was by the subway that rolled by every few minutes. Nothing will ever replace that moment.

[GordonGecko]

Some one who never even saw the pre-renovation Stadium lectures us that it's no longer the same place.

Guess what?

It is the same place.

Repeating this doesn't make it true

[Gary Dunaier]

It is the same place.

When Lou Gehrig bade us farewell, he was standing within those same walls.

(The walls that will be coming down this summer.)

When Ruth hit his 60th, he was standing within those same walls.

(The walls that will be coming down this summer.)

When Maris hit his 61st, he was standing within those same walls.

(The walls that will be coming down this summer.)

None of this--or anything else of note--occurred north of 161st Street

And let's not forget the apartments on Gerard Avenue. The ones that overlooked the Stadium. Number one, those were the very same buildings the players saw and were aiming for when they were at the plate, from Ruth on down the line, and number two, if those windows could talk, oy! the tales they could tell.

[yankies4life]

This is the part I really love.

Some one who never even saw the pre-renovation Stadium lectures us that it's no longer the same place.

Guess what?

It is the same place.

When Lou Gehrig bade us farewell, he was standing within those same walls.

(The walls that will be coming down this summer.)

When Ruth hit his 60th, he was standing within those same walls.

(The walls that will be coming down this summer.)

When Maris hit his 61st, he was standing within those same walls.

(The walls that will be coming down this summer.)

None of this--or anything else of note--occurred north of 161st Street

It just reflects and goes back to what Yogi said, how he felt about the place. He said that this place, the way it was then in 2008, he never played there. Im sure thats the way that a lot of the players who played in the prerenovated building feel the same way. It doesnt look the same. The field isnt even the same. The seats are different. Monument park was moved. The stadium changed following the renovation and it lost a lot of the historical pieces of it. Cause when you stood at home plate where Babe stood in 2008, it wasnt the same place.

Dont get me wrong, Ill miss the old place. I had a lot of great memories there and usually im one of the people that find it hard to move on and accept new things, but I do feel the new place is better. Im one of the people who sits in the upper deck and having so much more room is such a relief. Plus, now bleacher fans can roam the entire stadium. And now you can even stand on field level concourse and watch the game there without getting harassed by security. There are more bathrooms and concessions. Sure the pricing is up, but that wouldve happened at the old place too. Maybe im in the small crowd that has adapted to the new place but its our new home. We cant move out. You have to accept it, thats really all you can do. There is no going back no matter was trost or levine says, it isnt the old the ballpark, I hate that thats how they were the selling the place. Its a modern version of the look of the original place.

[Bobby_Ayala]

RYS was the #1 revenue producing stadium in baseball. Fenway #2. There was not an economic need to replace it.

Exactly, Yankees had the highest revenue and the highest attendance at RYS. The Yankees built a new stadium because they could.

unpleasing back of the upper deck, with concrete, spidery-looking columns vertically dissecting it

the back of the upper deck at NYS is nothing to write home about. :twocents:

[David Atkatz]

Repeating this doesn't make it true

Denying it doesn't make it false.

[04golf]

It's just a different time in sports, I guess. Of course the new stadium will have it's share of great moments, but now with free agency, there will be fewer and fewer people that seem like Yankee legends, and instead just feel like the Yankees rented talented players for a few seasons. And by switching stadiums, you lose a lot of that connection between the old guys and the future. Sometimes I fear Jeter, Mo and Po will be the last ones we have for a while.

Jeter will be the last true Yankee IMO. Being a Yankee is different from being a good ball player for the Yankees. Even if some kid comes up and is a superstar doesnt make him a Yankee. Jeter carries himself well, almost like a Dimaggio. A-rod will never be a Yankee as long as he tries to be. One day Jeter will have a monument along with Yogi I would think. With free agency its all about buying talent. Texiera is an example, he will never be a Yankee, he can be a good ballplayer for the Yankees but will never be a Yankee. Im so happy I was able to watch Jeter from when he came up to present, no one carries them selves and is respected like Jeter. You cant buy respect you earn it. He also played most of his career in the real Yankee Stadium, no other Yankee will be able to say they played in the same stadium as the greats.

Yankees just buy players, they should start following bostons lead. Start getting some good talent from their farm teams not picking up players after every offseason because they had a great previous yr and then cant perform on the same level when in NY.

[NYFan1stYankFan2nd]

. A-rod will never be a Yankee as long as he tries to be.

Neither will that fat weasel from the Texas Rangers.

[DaBigMotor]

RYS was the #1 revenue producing stadium in baseball. Fenway #2. There was not an economic need to replace it.

The one place where many baseball fans depart from reality is when it comes to the inevitability of replacing stadiums. All the whining and always blaming the owners aside, these stadiums all eventually HAVE to be replaced. They were neither conceived nor designed to last F-O-R-E-V-E-R, no matter how structurally sound they are at present, nor how many memories we experienced in them.

A renovation to a building as massive as the one YS experienced in the 70s is akin to a nose job. It isn't as simple as just doing it again every time the last one gets old.

Even if YS could endure another major renovation like back then, it still wouldn't be on par with building a structure conceived in and for the 21st Century. That would be like adding a CD player, leather seats, AC and moon roof to a Model T, then saying that it's a brand new Lincoln!

The arrogance of many Yankees fans is confusing...if you have the best team, the best uniforms and the best players in the world, how do memories alone make a stadium built by folks who watched the sun set on the 19th Century the best in the world in the 21st Century? Hell, we ALL had memories in our old stadiums.

[applenut]

The one place where many baseball fans depart from reality is when it comes to the inevitability of replacing stadiums. All the whining and always blaming the owners aside, these stadiums all eventually HAVE to be replaced. They were neither conceived nor designed to last F-O-R-E-V-E-R, no matter how structurally sound they are at present, nor how many memories we experienced in them.

A renovation to a building as massive as the one YS experienced in the 70s is akin to a nose job. It isn't as simple as just doing it again every time the last one gets old.

Even if YS could endure another major renovation like back then, it still wouldn't be on par with building a structure conceived in and for the 21st Century. That would be like adding a CD player, leather seats, AC and moon roof to a Model T, then saying that it's a brand new Lincoln!

The arrogance of many Yankees fans is confusing...if you have the best team, the best uniforms and the best players in the world, how do memories alone make a stadium built by folks who watched the sun set on the 19th Century the best in the world in the 21st Century? Hell, we ALL had memories in our old stadiums.

As an architect, and one who specialized in preservation and restoration, I can honestly and without hesitation say that what you just said is complete ******** and has no basis in truth.

[SparkyL]

Even if YS could endure another major renovation like back then, it still wouldn't be on par with building a structure conceived in and for the 21st Century. That would be like adding a CD player, leather seats, AC and moon roof to a Model T, then saying that it's a brand new Lincoln!

The arrogance of many Yankees fans is confusing...if you have the best team, the best uniforms and the best players in the world, how do memories alone make a stadium built by folks who watched the sun set on the 19th Century the best in the world in the 21st Century? Hell, we ALL had memories in our old stadiums.

Because the place was a LIVING museum. The memories of the past blured with the current events. You could actually feel the history. Each new moment was added to an ever lengthing tapestry. That makes it irreplacable.

[stadiumbuilder]

Hey Applenut, as an architect, can you imagine the concrete and steel Flatiron Building being torn down? What a magnificent piece of work that place is. Unlike much of what they build today, that structure was built to last and its about twice as tall as the old YS, which was also built to last. There are a decent number of 18th century wooden structures here in NJ that are still up, so to say that Yankee Stadium needed to be replaced is wrong. The Yankees chose to replace it to increase revenue. If there had been responsible, well-meaning people working for the state of NY the stadium would have been landmarked, but rules and logic are used selectively and sparingly in northeastern states. YS had everything required to be considered a landmark, but the $ won out. And the renovation argument doesn't work if you take an objective look at all the restoration work done on many old landmarked structures. Some of them are less than 20% original and a few have been completely rebuilt.