Our Vision For The Mysterious Grandstand Party Deck

While most new stadiums undergo some cosmetic tweaks between their first and second seasons, there has been surprisingly little talk about potential improvements to the "new" Yankee Stadium.

Back in December, River Ave. Blues caught a minor note in a the Sports Business Journal about a Grandstand level "Party Deck," which garnered a bit of buzz, but there hasn't been any news since. This vague description of a party deck was especially appealing after experiencing Yankee Stadium in 2009.

We contacted multiple sources at Yankee Stadium, and they were unable to provide any additional information about the party deck. The only improvements we could get out of them was that they were "adjusting some of the handrails in the grandstand and some of the bars/mesh in the stair areas on the terrace level to cut down on obstructions." Even without any further information, we'll still speculate.

As we mentioned at various points during the season, the new venue is extremely conducive to milling around and catching the game from different vantage points, meeting people and having a good time. Unfortunately, the only area where fans can gather in large groups with easy access to food and drink along with a view of the field is the center field "bleacher cafe area." While this could have been a great feature of the new Yankee Stadium, it is usually frustrating. Many of the fans with obstructed view bleacher seats don't en

joy seeing half of the field, so the bleacher cafe area becomes packed with fans as soon as the stadium starts to fill up.

When we first heard about the Grandstand "party deck," w

e immediately thought of the upper deck wheelchair seating behind home plate (below section

420). Yankee Stadium is extremely handicapped accessible with wheelchair seats spread throughout the structure. Because of this, the "nosebleed" wheelchair seats are often empty. The vie

w from this wheelchair section is a great bird's eye view of the field, but there are better options on lower levels.

In addition to the great view, this area is very close to the currently exclusive "Jim Beam Suite Lounge." It's no secret that the Jim Beam Suites haven't been well-received by their owners. Most feel they aren't getting the promised value out of the $150 seats and that the "exclusive" dining suite is a glorified food court. Our proposal would be to

replace the brick oven pizza with some classic ballpark fare,

serve plenty of beer and open the former Jim Beam Suite Lounge to the public.

At the end of the day, our party deck idea probably won't pan out. Owners of Jim Beam seats are in the midst of multi-year plans and the Yankees aren't going to water down the product and give them an excuse to break their contracts. Further, the Yankees will probably want to sell standing room tickets for these "party deck" seats, so the general public will likely be shut out.

Does anyone out there have any crazy ideas for the grandstand party deck? Anyone have some insider information? Feel free to let us know in the comments, and we'll be sure to post an update if we hear more.

Read the full post, after the jump

How Fast New Becomes Old... Yankee Stadium

What's the first thing that comes to your mind when someone says Yankee Stadium? Is it off-blue seats, the blacked out section in centerfield, the steep overhanging upper deck and an impossible to match 26 world championships?

Probably not.

Perhaps it was the calendar's progression into January, but sometime in the past week we realized that "Yankee Stadium" is now completely associated with the oversized HD video board in centerfield, the pristine navy blue seats, standing room views from behind home plate, copious unimpressive food options and thankfully, championship No. 27.

As great as the Yankees' 2009 season was, the awareness that the vivid memories of the "original" Yankee Stadium will only continue their advance into the depths of our subconscious is a bit disturbing.

The "House That Ruth Built" is still standing, reminding us of those memories, but the only people entering that sacred ground are construction workers slowly tearing down what took years to build.

It is unbelievable how many enduring and special moments we were exposed to during the inaugural season of the "new" Yankee Stadium in 2009. Let's face it - we're spoiled. But still, thinking back to the great season that ended nearly three months ago it all seems so surreal.

This blog is still named "New" Stadium Insider and the structure is still less than a year old. However, when we walk through Babe Ruth Plaza and enter through Gate 6 on April 13 we'll be walking into the only Yankee Stadium that will exist during the rest of our lifetime. The novelty and gimmick is gone. The structure sitting on the former site of Macombs Dam park is here to stay and will continue to be the home to life-altering memories for a new generation of Yankees fans for years to come.

Read the full post, after the jump

Probable Starters For Stadium Openers Vs. Cubs and updated information about Bob Sheppard

Enough talk about obstructed seats, ticket pre-sales and urinals. Let's talk baseball!

We're a mere 8 days away from the opening of the BRAND NEW Yankee Stadium, with two exhibition games on tap against the lovable losers, the Cubs. Ok, they're actually pretty damn good nowadays. Could this be a World Series preview?

For those of you headed to the stadium to see its first live action next weekend, here's what you can expect as far as probable starters go:

Friday, April 3: Ted Lilly @ Chien Ming Wang
Saturday, April 4: Rich Harden @ AJ Burnett (Andy Pettitte slated to appear as well)

Meaningless as the game may be, that Saturday match-up has me salivating. Those two fire-ballers are sure to make a few guys look silly. Let's hope Burnett doesn't get too "geeked"(Thanks Michael Kay) for this meaningless game.

My question for all who plan on attending is this: What are you most excited about experiencing in the New Stadium? Me? I'm just hoping we can put the "YMCA tradition" behind us. Actually, I'm hoping we can put it in a time machine, and send it back to the 70's where that annoying song belongs. Please Yankees. No one likes it anymore.

UPDATE (3/26 11:00 AM): Via River Ave. Blues there is word that Bob Sheppard will be making his triumphant return as PA announcer for the April 3 exhibition game against the Cubs. We have always criticized El Capitan, Derek Jeter for insisting on a recording of Sheppard's voice for his at bats while Sheppard was out sick. That being said, a Yankee game just isn't the same without Bob Sheppard's impeccable pronunciations. No offense to Jim Hall, who did an admirable job and will likely be the permanent replacement once Sheppard is forced into retirement due to turning 130 years old.

UPDATE (3/26 4:22 PM): Via Newsday is word from Sheppard's family that he won't be able to make it back, even for the April 16th home opener. We are aware that Bryan Hoch was merely responding to a "mailbag" question, but that was some pretty shoddy reporting.
Read the full post, after the jump

New Yankee Stadium: More Legroom, Less Protection from Cold Weather

Some great pictures have been making the rounds on the interwebs as of late. Here at Stadium Insider, we are always looking for photos that give some indications of what the new stadium experience will be like.

One of the most anticipated and practical improvements to the fan experience at the new stadium is the increased legroom in front of the seats. Below is a great photograph illustrating just how much legroom there will be (at least in the Grandstand):



Pretty impressive. From the perspective of that photo, it looks to be at least double the legroom in the old Yankee Stadium, if not more. Ass cramps SHOULD be a thing of the past!

As you can see in the next two photos, the new stadium has a very open feel, especially in the Upper Deck.


My apologies to the innocent bystander in this photo



While this open feel reminds me a lot of Citizens Bank Park in Philly - a great park to see ballgame at, it doesn't come without some negative side-effects. In the colder months of April and October, the Upper Deck (Grandstand) will offer no shelter from the cold. The chilly wind will be able to whip through those slats at the top and through the open concourses below with ease. Ask anyone who went to the World Series games in Philadelphia last year and they will tell you about the dark side of an open concourse stadium.

The exhibition games against the Cubs are now just one month away, and the new stadium anticipation is growing each day. From the looks of things, everything is on track and everyone should be in for a greatly improved stadium experience - weather permitting.

These photos were lifted from The Voice of The Yankee Universe, who lifted them from topkidnum1, Clarissa Rivera & Hardcore Shutterbug. I assume these were taken from either flickr.com or one of the various message boards out there constantly churning out New Yankee Stadium photos. If anyone wants to claim ownership of these photos, I will gladly credit you properly.

Talk about it in the Stadium Insider Forums! Read the full post, after the jump

Irrational Nostalgia already lives in the new Stadium!

C'mon people - you didn't think the late 90's Yankee nostalgia would die with the old Stadium, did you?

Today, there was a symbolic "dirt moving" ceremony from the old Yankee Stadium to the new Stadium. In a shocking development, stars from the 1998 Yankees were there to move the dirt.

No, this is not a bad joke, it is actually the only news coming out of Yankee Stadium these days.

Check out the quality journalism by Yankees.com writer Anthony DiComo. Riveting stuff, I know.

Talk about it in the NYYSI Forums! Read the full post, after the jump

YES Network and the DirecTV Blimp give an aerial tour of the new Yankee Stadium

Some pretty awesome shots provided by the blimp on the YES broadcast today. Check it out:



The most notable thing from this video is HOW few tier reserved rows there are. Looks like season ticket holders like myself are really going to get screwed when the relocation package comes out.

I can't believe that the new Stadium is taking shape so quickly. Decent food, modern bathrooms, $15 beers. I can't wait!

Talk about it in the NYYSI Forums! Read the full post, after the jump

Found on the interwebs: New Yankee Stadium 2009 Seating Chart

Take it with a grain of salt, but this supposed 2009 New Yankee Stadium seating chart is floating around the web.


(click to enlarge)

Based on the username of the person who posted that on baseball-fever (WBMason), my educated guess is that the Yankees provided the new seating chart to advertisers in the current Yankee Stadium so they can decide if/where they want to advertise in the new stadium.

So, what did we learn from that leaked seating chart?
1) Seating in Yankee stadium just got WAY more confusing (21 different levels of seating?!)
2) Suites are plentiful (horray for rich people filling up the seats!)

Of course, I will scan up ALL of the official season ticket holder new Yankee Stadium documentation as soon as I receive the 2009 Yankee Stadium Relocation Guide. Now at least I know that Tier Reserved MVP section 1 in Yankee Stadium 2008 = Grandstand 420B in the new Yankee Stadium 2009. Fingers are crossed for a fair relocation!

H/T to Greg over at Sliding Into Home for his post which alerted me to this and of course big ups to WBMason over at baseball-fever.com if this is in fact real.

Talk about it in the NYYSI Forums! Read the full post, after the jump

Finally some concrete information on new Yankee Stadium 2009 Pricing in the "cheap" seats

The AP is reporting on the new Yankee Stadium 2009 pricing with splashy headlines about how much more expensive things are going to be.

However, buried at the end of the article is this juicy bit of information that has me pretty excited as a season ticket holder in the Tier Reserved MVP section:

As for the regular seats, the Yankees hope to send out a relocation plan in April. Through Thursday, the Yankees had sold 39,141 full-season equivalents.

Trost said there will be about 11,000 non-premium seats at field level and 12,000 at the main level. He said 25,000 seats from the final year of the current ballpark won't be increased for 2009.

"Of the non-premium seats, 88 percent will be less than $100," he said. "It's easy to say that that's not cheap, but on the other 55 percent of the ballpark is going to be $45 or less. That's over 24,000 seats. We recognize everybody can't afford the suites. At the same time, we're trying to allow those suite prices to subsidize the other seating in the stadium. Look, the bleachers are $12, will be $12. The grandstand is $20 and $25, will be $20 and $25."

The "he" in the quotes is Lonnie Trost, COO of the Yankees.

This is clearly good news as it looks like next year will NOT see a price increase for the Tier Reserved, MVP seats.

However, I am in section 1 right now (DIRECTLY behind home plate) and have around 4 years of seniority. The HUGE question remains - where will my seats be located in the new stadium?

As soon as I receive that relocation guide in the mail, I will post the exciting information here.

Talk about it in the NYYSI Forums! Read the full post, after the jump

History in the NEW Yankees Stadium... Predictions pt 1.

In just over a year, our heroes that don the pinstripes will move across the street to their new stadium. The dimensions of the stadium will remain the same, as will the uniforms, the hats, the logos, and almost everything else “Yankees”. The fans will love the new, spacious, accommodating stadium. But what about the memories? Ya know… the “mystique” of Yankees Stadium, the “ghosts”. In other words… The history.
Well I’m here to tell you… within the next 10 years, you will see history. There are gonna be milestones, championships, and many other memorable moments. Here are my predictions for great moments at the new stadium:

Derek Jeter’s 3000th hit
Coming soon to a stadium near you. This gets a bit interesting, and I’ll tell you why. Jeter is 644 hits away from 3,000. His career average of hits per season is 208, which means if he follows that same trend, he’ll fall 20 hits short of 3,000 in the 2010 season. Now I know your saying, dude… Why is that interesting at all? Well, I’ll tell you why. Derek Jeter is a free agent following the 2010 season. Now I know, I know, the Yankees won’t let him finish his career elsewhere… But just some food for thought: Jeter could get his 3,000th hit and finish his career in another uniform. It won’t happen… This is when it will

PREDICTION: Since it would take Jeter averaging some of the best seasons of his career over the next three from a hits standpoint, there is no way he does it before 2010 is finished. But get your tickets ready for May 14, 2011 when Jeter grabs his 3000th his. Everyone celebrates!

Alex Rodriguez’s 3000th hit
This one isn’t gonna come as soon as Jeter’s, but it’s on its way. Look, A-Rod is not gonna average a ton of hits per season. At some point during this contract, his hitting for average will decrease. Probably not before he snags his 3,000th hit, though. Over his 4 years with the Yankees he’s averaged a bit over 178 hits per season. He currently lies just 750 hits from 3,000. I believe he’ll keep the same or a similar pace as he has until at least the point that he nears 3,000. Let’s look into the magic 8 ball.

PREDICTION: June 11, 2012. No further comments necessary. Again, print your tickets. It’s happening.

Chien-Ming Wang’s 100th Win
I can’t say for sure whether or not Wang will be a Yankee a few years down the road. He has 46 wins currently and needs 54 wins to reach 100. He’ll get there, barring injury. But in order to get there during the 2010 campaign, he’ll need to average over 18 wins a season. I know he’s posted 19 in the past 2 seasons, but he isn’t a dominating pitcher, and will have a rough time repeating those numbers.

PREDICTION: He’ll be sitting at 99 when the season closes in 2010. So he’ll grab 100 in his first start of 2011… That’s April for those not paying close attention.

Alex Rodriguez becomes the all-time home run king?
Oh this is what you’ve all been waiting for. You wanna know when, so you can prepare to sit your nerdy ass in left field praying that A Rod hits that damn ball right into your hands so you can meet him, and give him a hug, and give him the baseball. Maybe join him and the stripper? Dammit. That’s what I wanna do. Pretend I never said that.

PREDICTION: Alright. He’s about 240 homers short of the record…. He’s averaged 44 HR per season to this point. Over the last 7 years he’s averaged around 47 homers a year. Way I see it… at worst, over the next 5 seasons he averages over 40 HR’s a season… Which will have him hitting his record breaking HR on July 27, 2013. Happy birthday Alex. He’ll be turning 38 that day. Wanna hear something crazy? That’ll be his tenth season with the Yankees.

See plenty of history! Those 4 milestones will all occur within the first 5 seasons at the new stadium! Histttttory!

Talk about it in the NYYSI Forums! Read the full post, after the jump

Yankees to Season Ticket Holders: Don't expect to sit in the same place in the New Yankee Stadium

The Yankees sent out their first correspondence in regard to season ticket holder seating location in the new stadium when it opens in 2009. As has become the norm for letters from the Yankees, it is quite vague.

To sum up the most "important" parts in a document that otherwise left me more curious than before it was sent:

"During the 2008 Season, you will receive official New Yankee Stadium Relocation Program information, which will contain a Relocation Guide and other related materials. The Relocation Guide will detail our comprehensive Relocation Program as well as your options for securing seat locations at the new Yankee Stadium. It will also contain information detailing the criterias used to establish the Relocation Program. [snip]

Please be aware that the seat location and quantity of games included in all current Ticket License Plans are subject to change when you relocate to the new Yankee Stadium."

Basically, you are guaranteed nothing. I will have around 4 seasons of seniority under my belt by the time the new Stadium rolls around. From the wording of this letter, I shouldn't be too hopeful about my chances to keep this view (from Tier Reserved MVP, section 1):



Talk about it in the NYYSI Forums! Read the full post, after the jump

Some NYY Stadium Insider Exclusive Yankee Stadium Construction Pictures

We don't have impressive inside of the stadium shots as seen on many other blogs, but we have this perfect-for-wallpaper shot below:



Click here to be taken to a page with a few more shots.

The new stadium is REALLY coming along nicely. It is amazing seeing how fast it went from an empty lot of dirt to a stadium!

Talk about it in the NYYSI Forums! Read the full post, after the jump

Newsflash (not so much) Parking Rates to increase at the stadium

In the non-shocking news story of the day (man Yankee news is SLOW right now), parking rates will go up at the stadium this year, next year and probably every year. In other news, rents in NYC continue to rise, Metrocards keep on costing more money and Time Warner Cable just raised their rates.

C'mon guys, everyone knows the best way to get to the stadium:





MASS TRANSIT!

MY question is - why hasn't the rise in ticket prices been a bigger story? In one of the first posts on this blog, I quoted the following piece of a Village Voice article on the new Stadium:

On average, baseball teams have hiked tickets by 41 percent their first year in new homes. A city economic study projected even greater sticker shock in the Bronx, with the average ticket rising to $57, from $28 currently. At that rate of increase, Bleacher Creatures would be paying $24 a pop to chant "Box seats suck!"

So, the average increase in ticket prices in NEW stadiums is 41%, yet the Yankees raised my tickets 47% in the final season of the OLD stadium? HUH?

THAT is a bigger new story people - NOT parking rates going up two dollars.

Be sure to discuss this and everything else in the NYY Stadium Insider Forums Read the full post, after the jump

Traffic delays heading to Yankees Stadium.

Just wanted to note that there apparently are going to be traffic delays due to the contruction of the new stadium, so use mass transportation. I would suggest that anyway since getting into and leaving the stadium on foot is hard enough -- I can only imagine having to use a car. This is a snippet from the New York Times:

"The Yankees are encouraging fans to use mass transportation to this weekend’s series with the Red Sox. The team said that the new ballpark was in a construction phase, which is causing traffic problems."

Have fun. I agree with Ross. Can't feel too optimistic about the team, but the matchups this weekend seem pretty solid for us. Keep cheering Yankees fans, sunny skies are ahead. I don't just mean that in the metaphoric sense... Spring/summer has to come eventually, right? Read the full post, after the jump

Some interesting facts on the NEW Yankee Stadium

The upper deck of the new Yankee Stadium will be about the same height as the old, though with the last few rows trimmed off. (The old park holds 57,545; the new one will seat 53,000, plus 1,000 standing-room.) The new top tier, however, will be set back an extra 30 feet from the field, to keep the high-priced patrons below out of shadow. This less compact design also risks snipping a few decibels off the stadium's signature crowd roar.

On average, baseball teams have hiked tickets by 41 percent their first year in new homes. A city economic study projected even greater sticker shock in the Bronx, with the average ticket rising to $57, from $28 currently. At that rate of increase, Bleacher Creatures would be paying $24 a pop to chant "Box seats suck!"

Several rows of box seats at the new Yankee Stadium will wrap around the front of the new bleachers. Two words: target practice.

Village Voice article on the new Yankee Stadium

I have italicized some interesting points.

I am ALL about the new stadium, but this article made me think about a few things.

I don't so much mind the extra 30 feet from the field that Tier Reserved Section 1 will be from home plate, but why would the people in the seats below WANT to be out of the shade? Sounds like some sort of ploy to get the rich folk in the sun more and make them spend more money on refreshments.

Boy are tickets gonna be expensive. I usually make fun of the people who bring their Blimpie subs into the stadium and eat them periodically throughout the game. However, at this point I won't feel bad at all if I hit up McDonalds before the game and sneak a couple of Dollar Menu McChicken sandwiches into the upper deck. At these estimated price increases, Tier Reserved tickets will be $40 each when the new stadium opens.

The last thing I bolded just makes me laugh. Why is there all of these hard feelings between the "Bleacher Creatures" and the Box Seat folk? C'mon guys, by the 5th inning you will all be bitching about A-Rod, wondering why Bernie isn't on the roster and pining for the great players of the 1990's yankees like Scott Brosius anyway! Read the full post, after the jump

The New Yankee Stadium... 2009

There's a nice rendering of the new Yankee stadium that will open in 2009. A bunch of Yankee bloggers jacked a full-size version of that from my website last month and started posting it all over the internet. It was a 5.7 MB file and I was getting hits from every Yankee message board and blog on the internet. Thanks for stealing my bandwidth, boys. If you see a punch of posts/ blog entries about the new Yankee Stadium and that poster, and see a little blue question mark (representing a dead link) that is because I pulled the file down. Can't people host their own images???

Anyway, about the new Yankee Stadium. A lot of people are envisioning having trouble letting go of the "old" Yankee stadium. I am just looking forward to not having to wait 2 innings for a Yuengling at "Beers of the World" inside the corridor of Tier 1, not having to wait 1 inning to relieve myself in the restroom in Tier 1 and not having to wait in line for 3 innings for a dinner consisting of rubbery chicken fingers and soggy french fries at the food court inside Tier 3.

Trust me people, the "mystique" and "aura" that we all love to dream up will follow us to the new, modern building that we see in the rendering above! Read the full post, after the jump