Ballpark Assessment
| Category Score (0 to 10) | TOTAL (0 to 50) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Atmosphere | Food | Exterior Architecture | Interior Architecture | |
| 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 42 |
The stadium (161 St.) is accessible by the orange B & D lines as well as the green 4 line, and, like many stadiums centered in large urban areas, there are a lot of baseball/sports themed bars and gift stores near the stadium. I was able to walk all the way around the stadium (through parking lots, etc.), and let me tell you, that is one impressive, if not slightly intimidating, stadium. The long, tall pillars on the outside give the stadium a giant-like presence that dwarfs the people walking around underneath. Meanwhile, the gold-plated "YANKEE STADIUM" signs attached to the top of the stadium gives off a sense of power.
The interior of the stadium is just as impressive. There is a store within the stadium that sells memorabilia from the old Yankee Stadium (you can get a seat for a few hundred bucks). There is also a museum commemorating Yankees history. Certain areas on the lower level had very high ceilings and let in natural light from the outside through tall windows that spanned the height of the stadium. Above the upper deck of the stadium were the signature banisters from the old Yankee Stadium that enwrapped the field. While impressive, these banisters seem to be a common resting/sitting locations for pigeons and other birds that would let bodily fluids and gravity ruin the game for those unlucky fans seated right below. The food selections were very good, if not high-priced. The stadium was equipped with a sushi bar (which surprisingly was not all that expensive ... I believe a roll would run you $9).
Also, unlike most stadiums where the outfield is sparsely populated with seats, YANKEE STADIUM has seats that essentially wrap completely around the field (even the batter's eye had places for people to sit and watch behind blacked-out windows). Finally, the stadium faces out towards the Bronx with the Manhattan skyline behind home plate and out of view of all the fans. While I understand the need to make sure that the sun (and wind) do not impact the game too much, I hope the architects & engineers who designed the stadium did consider orienting the stadium to have the Manhattan skyline in the backdrop (similar to the Pittsburgh Pirates stadium).
The interior of the stadium is just as impressive. There is a store within the stadium that sells memorabilia from the old Yankee Stadium (you can get a seat for a few hundred bucks). There is also a museum commemorating Yankees history. Certain areas on the lower level had very high ceilings and let in natural light from the outside through tall windows that spanned the height of the stadium. Above the upper deck of the stadium were the signature banisters from the old Yankee Stadium that enwrapped the field. While impressive, these banisters seem to be a common resting/sitting locations for pigeons and other birds that would let bodily fluids and gravity ruin the game for those unlucky fans seated right below. The food selections were very good, if not high-priced. The stadium was equipped with a sushi bar (which surprisingly was not all that expensive ... I believe a roll would run you $9).
Also, unlike most stadiums where the outfield is sparsely populated with seats, YANKEE STADIUM has seats that essentially wrap completely around the field (even the batter's eye had places for people to sit and watch behind blacked-out windows). Finally, the stadium faces out towards the Bronx with the Manhattan skyline behind home plate and out of view of all the fans. While I understand the need to make sure that the sun (and wind) do not impact the game too much, I hope the architects & engineers who designed the stadium did consider orienting the stadium to have the Manhattan skyline in the backdrop (similar to the Pittsburgh Pirates stadium).
Game Comments (courtesy of MLB.com)
Game Date: June 12, 2010
Attendance: 46,159
Weather: 71 degrees F, cloudy
Length of Game: 2 hours, 33 minutes
Final Score: New York Yankees 9, Houston Astros 3
Final Score: New York Yankees 9, Houston Astros 3
Derek Jeter went deep twice on Saturday afternoon, driving in four runs, while Jorge Posada needed just one swing of the bat to plate a quartet of tallies as the Yankees bullied the Astros on Saturday in Interleague Play.
Stories from the Road
I went to the game with a friend from college who I worked with during my Cornell University Solar Decathlon (CUSD) days. CUSD was an interdisciplinary project team that built a solar house for an international competition in DC once every two years. It was great to catch up on life and chat about those Solar Decathlon days. While she is working for the NYC Department of Transportation as a project manager (specifically, she working on the Times Square redesign project where the roads are blocked off to make large pedestrian walkways), she is looking to make a transition to more design work.
I took MegaBus up to NY and then a train right back to Philly after the game. While I didn't really spend any time in Manhattan as this was just a quick day trip to catch a baseball game, I did end up watching the better part of the second half of the US - England World Cup game, which ended in a 1-1 draw in a packed sports bar right outside of YANKEE STADIUM. I had decided to wear my Greece soccer national team jersey that day and definitely got a few comments from the all-NY crowd at the bar.
I took MegaBus up to NY and then a train right back to Philly after the game. While I didn't really spend any time in Manhattan as this was just a quick day trip to catch a baseball game, I did end up watching the better part of the second half of the US - England World Cup game, which ended in a 1-1 draw in a packed sports bar right outside of YANKEE STADIUM. I had decided to wear my Greece soccer national team jersey that day and definitely got a few comments from the all-NY crowd at the bar.
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