Yankee Stadium 2.0

The weather held off last night so I was able to visit the new Yankee Stadium after all, and I must admit I was a little disappointed. Never mind the fact that my Cubbies lost, the real losers are the generations of Yankees fans that will grow to question why they didn't get more for the $1,600,000,000.00 the good tax payers of New York put up for the thing.

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First things first - how can you justify building a stadium with seats like the one pictured above? Seeing 2/3 of a baseball diamond is about the most frustrating thing I can imagine. And if you think there must be a good reason for that big wall to be blocking that view - it depends on whether you consider the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar to be a good reason.

On the plus side, the stadium is much more walkable than the old one. And you can pretty much alwasy see the game while you are on the move - either directly, or on the television screens scattered throughout. The food options are better, and there is generally more public space. My friend and I walked from our bleacher seats all the way around - and even stood behind the $$$ seats behind home plate for a couple of innings. So the whole stadium is accessible to everyone.

Food and beer prices were predictably despicable. $10 beer. $7 hot dog. I didn't price the drinks at the Tommy Bahama Bar, but I would guess $15 for a plastic cup of well gin + tonic.

There were also some oddities - like the Lobels Butcher viewing window - behind which a butcher was preparing various cuts of meat. You can't buy the meat. And you can't talk to the butcher (thick glass). But right there between the men's room and the Southern BBQ concession was a guy cutting animals up in a glass case. There also appeared to be enough wheelchair seating for an entire Special Olympics envoy - which I don't mind - but I only saw about 5 people in wheelchairs - otherwise all of this prime seating space around the park was empty save the security people pacing back and forth within.

The biggest dissappointment for me, however, was that the place just looks unfinished. It is all exposed beams, bland concrete and cinder block walls. No brick. No warmth. Just industrial materials. After a few years of people spitting their gum on the floor and pigeons crapping in the ceiling, this place is going to look outright dumpy.

But there is always the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar.