March 02, 2006
NYC plans to completely raze Yankee Stadium
There's actually nothing new about the above headline - this has been the New York City Parks Department's plan since November, when the proposed "Heritage Field," which would have retained a few thousand seats from the House That Ruth Built, was eliminated to make way for rejiggered ballfields. (The ballfields, in turn, are necessary to replace the existing public parks that would be wiped out for the Yankees' new stadium.) But given the surprised looks I get whenever I mention that the Yanks' $1.2 billion stadium plan includes demolishing the existing 83-year-old stadium, I thought maybe people could use the reminder.
And maybe the Empire State Development Corporation needs the reminder, too. At its hearing today on the Yankees project, the state agency handed out a General Project Plan that included a schematic of the now-abandoned Heritage Field design, albeit with a couple of extra ballfields hastily sketched in about where the left- and right-field bleachers now stand. The ESDC also, for some reason, handed out copies of the city's Notice of Completion of its Draft Environmental Impact Statement, dated last September, even though the final EIS has been done for weeks now. This gave attendees the chance to read such city assertions as that a renovated or rebuilt structure on the current stadium site is unacceptable because it "would not meet several key project objectives," first of which is that "the House that Ruth Built, the 1923 stadium, would be entirely obliterated." Yeah, we wouldn't want that to - heyyyy, waitaminnit...
As for the hearing itself, there were plenty of familiar faces on hand: Construction workers wanted jobs ("My kids have asthma, but I've still got to feed them"), residents wanted to keep their parks ("You're going to dig up the track where I walk - I can't afford a health spa"), and the four ESDC staffers on the dais looked like they wanted to go home and take a nap. The most interesting new twist came when Carlos Alicea of For a Better Bronx began his comments in Spanish, then said to the confused faces before him: "See, this is the problem here," noting that while 61% of the South Bronx is Spanish-speaking, no translators had been provided for the hearing, and the EIS is still not available in Spanish. "This is a travesty," said Alicea, "and you should be ashamed." (Let the record show that the ESDC did not look ashamed.)
The real showdown comes next Thursday, when the city council holds its single solitary public hearing on the project before it votes. (I'm hearing March 22 or April 5 as possible council vote dates.) If you're interested in having a say and can't make it in person, I'm sure the office of councilmember Dan Garodnick, who's chairing, can explain how to submit written testimony.
—Neil deMause
You killed Yankee Stadium? You Bastards!
Posted by Bertell Ollman on March 3, 2006 03:31 AM
"My kids have asthma but I still have to feed them?" Are you kidding me?!! Build them a school! I recently visited a high school in the Bronx that was at 194% capacity!
Your kid, and every other kid in the South Bronx, has asthma. The South Bronx has the highest asthma rate of any congressional district in the country. Sure, cut down all their trees and build a stadium with MORE parking and no Metro North station.
How about we leave the stadium where it is. And use union labor to build a school and a Metro North station?
Posted by Samantha Tee on March 3, 2006 10:37 AM
I'm glad Neil brought this subject up today. I certainly don't agree with the idea of tearing down history.
I'm campaigning on this, as well:
http://www.maurybrown.com/?p=56
There is a discussion on Baseball Think Factory, as well.
Posted by Maury Brown on March 3, 2006 11:56 AM
Get your frickin facts straight. Yankee Stadium was over 65% knocked down after the 1973 season. The current stadium looks NOTHING like the stadium Ruth, Mantle, & Ford played in, and anyone who attended games in the original stadium knows that. In fact the playing field was lowered over 7 feet upon its reconstruction. The entire upper level was ripped off and rebuilt. So to say they are removing a part of history is ridiculous, your 33 years to late to save history. As for the trees I?m sure a few will be replanted was part of the 200+ million the city will be putting back into the area. If all you people are so concerned with the two parks then why have they been strewn with trash for the last 30+ years?
Give it up you lost, the stadium is going to be built.
Posted by TH on March 3, 2006 03:10 PM
Actually, the steel skeleton of most of the stadium, upper deck included, is still identical to what was there pre-1970s, and the shape of the seating bowl is almost identical. (A few extra rows were added to the back of the upper deck, and a few were trimmed from the back of the mezzanine.) Anyway, plenty of other historic buildings have been renovated and still get to be called historic - will Fenway Park be any less historic this year because the pillars holding up the roof will be made of 21st-century steel?
I like that "65%" figure, though. Adds verisimilitude.
"I like that "65%" figure, though. Adds verisimilitude."
To an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative?
Posted by Dwight Brown on March 3, 2006 03:32 PM
Actually I'm really liking comment #1 . I think that's the second comment from Bertell on this blog that wasn't about soccer. On the 1st one I was going to give it the ol' "who are you and what have you done with Bertell".
And as for the others who want YS torn down I'm curious as to how many "people on the street" believe that the renovation effectively made a new ballpark. My take is that over 90% of the people feel that that still THTRB -the house that...
Posted by Ken on March 3, 2006 04:49 PM
�Yankee Stadium is something else, a law unto itself. It has earned the right to look any way it pleases and I wouldn�t change a seat of it�.It is particularly dreamworthy because not so long ago the World Series used to turn up there as regularly as Wimbleton. I once sneaked out to centerfield myself as a youth to see how things looked from Mickey Mantle�s point of view and felt the same tingle some people get from Civil War battlefields�
- Wilfrid Sheed in �Baseball and Lesser Sports�
Maybe the mystique is not in the building itself but in the magical GPS location.
Posted by Isby on March 4, 2006 01:54 AM
People from out of town say there are three things in New York they want to see the Statue of Liberty, Radio City and Yankee Stadium. I guess you could say the stadium is hollowed ground.
by Bill Waite, an employee at the stadium for over fifty years quoted in "Yankee Stadium: 75 Years of Drama Glamor and Glory" by Ray Robinson & Christopher Jennison
People from out of town say there are three things in New York they want to see the Statue of Liberty, Radio City and Yankee Stadium. I guess you could say the stadium is hollowed ground.
by Bill Waite, an employee at the stadium for over fifty years quoted in "Yankee Stadium: 75 Years of Drama Glamor and Glory" by Ray Robinson & Christopher Jennison
Make the current stadium a yankee museuem and have the world series played in the old stadium
the rest of the games can be played in the new one
also put the world series trophies in the museum
Posted by nick on March 4, 2006 02:45 PM
It's a nice thought, but if you keep both the old stadium and the new one, where do you put the public parkland?
Posted by Neil on March 4, 2006 08:31 PM
In Tigers Stadium ?
Posted by Bertell Ollman on March 8, 2006 05:18 PM
thanks neil for your reporting. one fact cannot be changed: the yankees and the city have done virtually nothing to consult the community over this project. and now they are paying for it. whatever people think of it, the fact remains that the community was left out of this conversation. that is the community's primary complaint. those from the outside who say it should be built should understand that the yankees' condescension toward the people of the community (not just now but for the last several decades) is one of the main reasons people in the community are so angry and so against the plan. please - you who live elsewhere consider how you would feel if a corporation simply came in and dictated to you its plans for your community. how would you feel? what would you do?
Posted by joe lamport on March 9, 2006 11:52 PM
Hi, Joe! I actually have a piece on this very subject due out in next week's Village Voice, the editing gods willing. Check http://www.villagevoice.com starting Tuesday around noon.
Posted by Neil on March 10, 2006 12:06 AM
While I am against the Yanks moving anyhere,even across the street,I am really against tearing down the old Stadium.This is not Ebbets Field or the Polo Grounds,two hopelessly outdated parks with less than half the baseball history that the Babes House has.It is a baseball treasure,one that will be sorely missed if it is razed.At the very least,the outer wall should remain and the interior changed to hold shops,restaurants and of course,a Yankees/Stadium museum.
Posted by john guilfoyle on March 10, 2006 08:56 PM
Shea Stadium has history as well. After all, the Beatles once had a few concerts there. You may not like Shea. You may not like the Mets. However, you can't deny those facts. ;)
Posted by Transic on March 11, 2006 04:44 AM
I can't believe the disregard NYC is showing for its history. Who cares if the stadium is over 80 years old and has housed countless historic events? When the city rubber stamped Steinbrenner's proposal yesterday, it sent a poor message to anyone interested in historic preservation.
Posted by Tim on April 6, 2006 01:22 PM
Yankees are the best. So they need the best.
Posted by Deacean Mandic on May 15, 2007 10:50 AM
TO ME THE NEW STADIUM WILL ALWAYS BE A PRETENDER, THE OLD STADIUM IS LOOKED ON AS A BASEBALL SHRINE, VISITING BALL CLUBS DURING WORLD SERIES GAMES, VISIT MONUMENT PARK, AS THEY WERE LITTLE KIDS. THE HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT, AND THE PLACE I TOOK MY FAMILY, WILL ALWAYS BE THE REAL STADIUM. I WILL ALWAYS CALL THE PRETENDER "THE HOUSE THAT RUTHLESS BUILT" BLOOMBERG,STEINBRENNER, PATAKI, AND GIULIANI, ARE ALL GUILTY OF THE TEARING DOWN THE GREATEST SPORTS ARENA IN THE USA, IF NOT THE ENTIRE WORLD. AND GIULIANI HAS THE NERVE TO CALL HIMSELF A TRUE YANKEE FAN..NOT IN THIS LIFE TIME PAL!!!
Posted by FRANCIS HINTZ on January 28, 2008 01:21 AM
TO ME THE NEW STADIUM WILL ALWAYS BE A PRETENDER, THE OLD STADIUM IS LOOKED ON AS A BASEBALL SHRINE, VISITING BALL CLUBS DURING WORLD SERIES GAMES, VISIT MONUMENT PARK, AS THEY WERE LITTLE KIDS. THE HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT, AND THE PLACE I TOOK MY FAMILY, WILL ALWAYS BE THE REAL STADIUM. I WILL ALWAYS CALL THE PRETENDER "THE HOUSE THAT RUTHLESS BUILT" BLOOMBERG,STEINBRENNER, PATAKI, AND GIULIANI, ARE ALL GUILTY OF THE TEARING DOWN THE GREATEST SPORTS ARENA IN THE USA, IF NOT THE ENTIRE WORLD. AND GIULIANI HAS THE NERVE TO CALL HIMSELF A TRUE YANKEE FAN..NOT IN THIS LIFE TIME PAL!!!
Posted by FRANCIS HINTZ on January 28, 2008 01:21 AM
TO ME THE NEW STADIUM WILL ALWAYS BE A PRETENDER, THE OLD STADIUM IS LOOKED ON AS A BASEBALL SHRINE, VISITING BALL CLUBS DURING WORLD SERIES GAMES, VISIT MONUMENT PARK, AS THEY WERE LITTLE KIDS. THE HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT, AND THE PLACE I TOOK MY FAMILY, WILL ALWAYS BE THE REAL STADIUM. I WILL ALWAYS CALL THE PRETENDER "THE HOUSE THAT RUTHLESS BUILT" BLOOMBERG,STEINBRENNER, PATAKI, AND GIULIANI, ARE ALL GUILTY OF THE TEARING DOWN THE GREATEST SPORTS ARENA IN THE USA, IF NOT THE ENTIRE WORLD. AND GIULIANI HAS THE NERVE TO CALL HIMSELF A TRUE YANKEE FAN..NOT IN THIS LIFE TIME PAL!!!
Posted by FRANCIS HINTZ on January 28, 2008 01:22 AM
TO ME THE NEW STADIUM WILL ALWAYS BE A PRETENDER, THE OLD STADIUM IS LOOKED ON AS A BASEBALL SHRINE, VISITING BALL CLUBS DURING WORLD SERIES GAMES, VISIT MONUMENT PARK, AS THEY WERE LITTLE KIDS. THE HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT, AND THE PLACE I TOOK MY FAMILY, WILL ALWAYS BE THE REAL STADIUM. I WILL ALWAYS CALL THE PRETENDER "THE HOUSE THAT RUTHLESS BUILT" BLOOMBERG,STEINBRENNER, PATAKI, AND GIULIANI, ARE ALL GUILTY OF THE TEARING DOWN THE GREATEST SPORTS ARENA IN THE USA, IF NOT THE ENTIRE WORLD. AND GIULIANI HAS THE NERVE TO CALL HIMSELF A TRUE YANKEE FAN..NOT IN THIS LIFE TIME PAL!!!
Posted by FRANCIS HINTZ on January 28, 2008 01:22 AM
I am very disgusted with the fact that they are going to tear down the greatest stadium. how can they even thing of doing this. it should be saved and preserved into a museum. it has been renovated and stuff but its still the same field where the greatest sluggers of all time have played. we all should protest. im living in alaska and i would pay big bucks to go to new york and raise hell!
Posted by Milo on July 15, 2008 04:50 AM
I live in California (go Dodgers) and have always hated the Yankess but TO DEMOLISH a historic stadium with with all the history? Ruth, Dimaggio? O MY GOD!!!! it will be like tearing down the Washington monument or tearing up the constitution!!!! It will be a very, very sad day when the wrecking ball comes. Is there any organization in the works to try and save Yankee stadium.
Posted by Steve W. on July 28, 2008 11:59 PM
I live in California (go Dodgers) and have always hated the Yankess but TO DEMOLISH a historic stadium with with all the history? Ruth, Dimaggio? O MY GOD!!!! it will be like tearing down the Washington monument or tearing up the constitution!!!! It will be a very, very sad day when the wrecking ball comes. Is there any organization in the works to try and save Yankee stadium.
Posted by Steve W. on July 29, 2008 12:00 AM
It's a little late for that - if you tried to save Yankee Stadium now, there'd be nowhere for the parks to go to replace the ones torn up for the new stadium. It'd maybe be possible to save a small sliver of Yankee Stadium, but to my knowledge there's no one actively organizing for that.
Posted by Neil on July 29, 2008 08:15 AM
Its all about money and making room for luxury boxes and fancy restaurants that the common folks can't afford to be in. The last thing on the minds of the Business goons sitting in the luxury boxes will be a Yankees game. It makes a fancy backdrop for a meeting..
We're tearing down tradition so Steinbrenner can fill his pockets with even more cash.
Shame on you George. May the Ghosts of Ruth, Gehrig, and the rest of Murders row haunt you in your sleep
Posted by Eddie on September 22, 2008 02:51 PM