Yankee Stadium......What if?

[TJH1923]

Reading all the passionate comments and opinions regarding the building of a new Yankee Stadium and the eventual demise of the existing stadium in several threads made me realize that we were unable voice any opinions regarding the renovation of Yankee Stadium from 1973-1976.

So follow along with this hypothetical scenario and post your comments and opinions as you see fit.

For argument sake, let’s say the city backed out of their original commitment to renovate the stadium and only provided enough funds to keep it operational and the Yankees dropped their threats to move. The original version of the stadium remained for the next 20 to 30 years with sprucing up from time to time to keep it functional. We know this would have been possible. Just look at Fenway Park and Wrigley Field as examples.

1998 comes along (25 years) and building a new ball park or renovating the original stadium comes up yet again. The Yankees decide they are going to renovate the stadium instead of building a new stadium. They decide on the same exact renovation plans that were drawn up in the early 70’s. Remember that this a building commonly referred to as a cathedral. Dramatic changes will be made. The façade will be removed from the roof. No more light towers. No flag pole or monuments in center field among other changes.

Consider Fenway Park and Wrigley Field comments and opinions discussed in other threads when a similar topic of building a new ballpark versus renovations with more stands is explored.

How would you feel about a renovation? The posts should be interesting.

[PeteU]

By 1998, the "retro" craze was in full bloom. So I don't think the same changes which were made in 1976 would be viewed favorably by people in 1998. Fans would probably wanted to preserve more of the signature pieces of the park.

I tend to take a middle ground when it comes to Yankee Stadium's renovation. In the long run, a lot of the renovations didn't necessarily enhance the ballpark architectually. But, on the other hand, they didn't destroy the historical legacy of the ballpark either, as some claim.

[Yankeefan90]

I also don't think that the same renovation design would have been chosen. A more retro design would have been picked, one that would have kept every aspect of the ballpark the same except for maybe the obstructed view poles, and more luxury boxes.

But hypothetically if the Yankees designed the renovation like it is today in 1998 then I would not be in favor of it. I would think it was a sad design and very sterile. I really think that the 70's renovation was giving Yankee Stadium a cookie-cutter face lift. But that's just my opinion.

[mrow1927]

I think at that time Yankee Stadium would have been classified as historical monument and would not have been changed. Maybe minor changes and basic upkeep would have kept it alive and last longer. I think the Yankees would stay there especially since they were beginning a new dynasty and the fans were coming in like crazy. I think they would have left it alone.

I feel if they renovated it in the 90s, it would have been a tragedy and met with more backlash than it did in the 70s.

[Mike Wagner]

In July I went to Yankee Stadium for the first time since 1981. It's been a long time. This was my wife's first trip ever to the Stadium. The same baseball atmosphere is there. We moved around a bit, and I can tell you we felt MUCH closer to the game after moving near the 3b lower stand, as compared to the seats way up in left field near the foul pole.

I told her how the Stadium was before the renovation, and she has since seen photos of the ballpark before and after the renovation. She was awed at the mammoth size of Yankee Stadium. It still is a beautiful park.

But, I'll ALWAYS love the old Yankee Stadium before the renovation the most. The facade is , I suppose, what does it for me. Also, the fences were back so much more then. And, the monuments in CF added to the mystique and greatness of the ballpark.

Some things seem improved with a remodeling and some don't. I suppose I'd rather have Yankee Stadium remodeled than bulldozed. Once it's gone, it's gone. At least George Steinbrenner isn't fleeing NY the way the Giants and Dodgers did. He does deserve a lot of credit for keeping the Yankees in the Bronx and giving us so many winning teams over the years.

All we can hope is the new Yankee Stadium will be very much like the original Stadium, and that we'll still feel at home. I NEVER felt at home when the Yankees played at Shea in 1974-75. But, I'm grateful the Yankees and Mets worked out a deal for the Yankees to play there.

I do wish the Yankees would act on some of the reasonable input from the fans with regard to the new Yankee Stadium. Once it's built, it's built. Good or bad, right or wrong. Let's hope it's right and good. Disneyland was the original of all the Disney parks, but I can tell you from experience that Disneyworld is far superior. Walt Disney learned. George Steinbrenner is a smart manand a winner. He loves the Yankees. My wish is he'll make sure the new Yankee Stadium is going to be built to the satisfaction of the fans. Either way, he'll keep hearing about it. So, I truly hope the results will be positive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Mike Wagner

[The Monument]

Sorry Mike, but Steinbrenner is no longer a factor. He's down in Tampa drooling on himself and wetting his pants, and I hope he never sees this new Stadium that he forced on us. Harsh words, but I don't care. All the talk of moving to Jersey, Manhattan, etc has made me bitter towards him beyond what I felt when he was hiring/firing managers every year and making the Yanks a laughingstock.
Back in the 70's the fans were just happy to have the Yanks stay in NY, so there was not a major outcry about ruining the Stadium. Plenty of people were dissatisfied with the renovated Stadium, but what could we do? We had no say then, and even less now. You know my feelings on all this. John G

[Mike Wagner]

Dear John,
You DO make valid points. I can't argue. I was just so grateful the Yankees stayed in the Bronx. No, Steinbrenner is not perfect. Neither are we. After so much drought with regard to the Yankees declining years after 1964 thru the mid 1970s, it felt great to be on top again.

I still wish Yankee Stadium was left virtually the way it was before the renovation of 1973-75. I'm no engineer, but I would think it would have been possible.

Since it will no longer exist in 2009, I really hope the new Yankee Stadium will be very much like the original in feel and looks. I know, by looking at artists renderings there are certainly differences. But, if its done right with respect to the views of the fans, it will be easier to swallow, as we all know its a done deal.
-Mike

[Astros]

How soon after the 2008 season will they begin to take down the stadium? Has any timetable been released? I'm just imagining Opening Day '09 and the new Yankee Stadium lit up while the current stadium sits dark next door. It would also be awkward for many at first to be walking past the old stadium and into the new.

[nymdan]

How soon after the 2008 season will they begin to take down the stadium? Has any timetable been released? I'm just imagining Opening Day '09 and the new Yankee Stadium lit up while the current stadium sits dark next door. It would also be awkward for many at first to be walking past the old stadium and into the new.

I guess it all depends on the development plan... but I see that as a definite possiblity. They're not on a strict timetable like they are with Citi, where they have to knock down Shea to make that a parking lot.

[MattD1972]

How soon after the 2008 season will they begin to take down the stadium? Has any timetable been released? I'm just imagining Opening Day '09 and the new Yankee Stadium lit up while the current stadium sits dark next door. It would also be awkward for many at first to be walking past the old stadium and into the new.

I really, really hope (and this comes from a dyed-in-the-wool Yankee Hater) that you aren't forced to watch the old Stadium torn down as you go into the new Stadium. The White Sox tore open every fan's heart in the spring of 1991 by the shoddy scheduling of demolition. Open it on selected days in 2009 as a museum, then do the nasty deed in the winter, IMHO.

[TJH1923]

I guess deep down I'm still pissed about the renovation of the stadium in the
'70's. Probably the removal of the facade irritates me the most and I very much look forward to it being returned to its proper location hanging from the roof in the new stadium. Hopefully the rest will of the new stadium will become an acceptable replacement down the road......just give it a chance once the finished product completed.

[SBBL]

How soon after the 2008 season will they begin to take down the stadium? Has any timetable been released? I'm just imagining Opening Day '09 and the new Yankee Stadium lit up while the current stadium sits dark next door. It would also be awkward for many at first to be walking past the old stadium and into the new.

It will be a long slow process. Don't expect to see a tape of the implosion on the nightly news. Demolision by controlled explosion is illegal in NY. The building will be thoroughly check for asbestos, which they will find, even if it's a minute amount. With the enviromental laws as strict as they are in NY, the piece by piece disassembling af the Stadium is going to take a while. Did you see the news reports recently about the Deusche Bank building at ground zero ? They only started the demolition this year, and it's slow going.

[Lafferty Daniel]

It will be a long slow process. Don't expect to see a tape of the implosion on the nightly news. Demolision by controlled explosion is illegal in NY. The building will be thoroughly check for asbestos, which they will find, even if it's a minute amount. With the enviromental laws as strict as they are in NY, the piece by piece disassembling af the Stadium is going to take a while. Did you see the news reports recently about the Deusche Bank building at ground zero ? They only started the demolition this year, and it's slow going.

That's interesting. I guess if it's a very slow process it will allow the Yankees to auction off more stadium memorabilia.

[SBBL]

That's interesting. I guess if it's a very slow process it will allow the Yankees to auction off more stadium memorabilia.

I think the Stadium will have an ugly feel to it the last month or so next season. The Stadium security forces will be increased 10 fold and positioned at every turn, nook and cranny to keep fans from removing anything.

[Yankeefan90]

I think the Stadium will have an ugly feel to it the last month or so next season. The Stadium security forces will be increased 10 fold and positioned at every turn, nook and cranny to keep fans from removing anything.

I think it will be more than just security that's gonna give the stadium an ugly feeling. I have a feeling that by Sept. they'll start to dismantle the things they don't need to make it move along quicker, so the stadium is gonna look very wierd the last few weeks. Shea Stadium is gonna have the same feeling because they have to get rid of Shea quite quickly, more so than Yankee Stadium.

[Sean O]

I think it will be more than just security that's gonna give the stadium an ugly feeling. I have a feeling that by Sept. they'll start to dismantle the things they don't need to make it move along quicker, so the stadium is gonna look very wierd the last few weeks. Shea Stadium is gonna have the same feeling because they have to get rid of Shea quite quickly, more so than Yankee Stadium.

Would it shock anyone if they start selling off pieces of the stadium to fans while it's still open? It's the climax of soulless corporatism, selling off that which still lives.

Attend a game, leave with the seat!

[David Atkatz]

The Stadium does not belong to the Yankees. it belongs to the City. And it's the City that's paying for it's demolition. When pieces of the Stadium are sold--and they certainly will be--it's the City that will be doing the selling. Even so, the demolition will cost more than will be recouped in memorabilia sales.

Just another example of the City getting the **** end of the stick.

But the Yankees won't give a damn about what gets stolen the last month or so of the season. It doesn't belong to them, and it's not their loss. So you can bet they won't be paying extra for more security.

[Gary Dunaier]

Don't expect to see a tape of the implosion on the nightly news. Demolision by controlled explosion is illegal in NY.
Given that there are apartment buildings just a block away, I wonder how they would have handled an implosion if it was allowed.

Then again, they imploded Veterans Stadium and there was a block of houses nearby (Geary Street between Broad and 13th)... not as close as the apartments on Gerard Avenue but close enough, so perhaps they might have been able to pull it off.

[jimmyjimjimz]

Would it shock anyone if they start selling off pieces of the stadium to fans while it's still open? It's the climax of soulless corporatism, selling off that which still lives.

Attend a game, leave with the seat!

That would be good to do, but....................................

1. The seats are bolted down
2. Most of the seats are attatched to each other

It would really be something good to do the last game, but because of those 2 reasons, and possibly more, (people might get mugged walking out of the stadium with their seat), I don't think it's gonna happen.

[Astros]

That would be good to do, but....................................

1. The seats are bolted down
2. Most of the seats are attatched to each other

It would really be something good to do the last game, but because of those 2 reasons, and possibly more, (people might get mugged walking out of the stadium with their seat), I don't think it's gonna happen.

This brings up a good point because almost all the seats will share the same arm rests which will limit the number of full seats that can be sold versus seat back and bottoms.

[cadam]

Getting back to the original question, here are my thought:

1. God, I only wish such for such a scenario where the stadium today looked like it did when Ruth, Gerhig, Joe D and Mantle were there.

2. As others had observed, b/c of the retro fit craze of the past 15 years, the plans from 1973 would be quickly abandoned.

3. The mezzanine level would probably be converted into two levels of luxury boxes which would come right up to the support beams (which would still be in place). That would make for a lot of space for a wider concourse and concession area as well on the mezzanine level.

4. A lot of soccer stadiums in Europe have very long overhangs w/o the use of support beams to hold them up. I would venture to say they would redo the roof w/ the facade using the same designs. This would allow them to remove the poles in the upper deck while keeping the signature facade. As a sidenote, I still wish they would look into this for the new stadium. The old facade came very far out and practically hung over the field. The new design has a much shorter overhang.

5. Even if the 70's changes had not happened, I doubt the dimensions would have stayed the same. throughout the 80's death valley kept shrinking from 430 feet to 417 feet to 411 feet to 399 feet.

[SparkyL]

4. A lot of soccer stadiums in Europe have very long overhangs w/o the use of support beams to hold them up. I would venture to say they would redo the roof w/ the facade using the same designs. This would allow them to remove the poles in the upper deck while keeping the signature facade. As a sidenote, I still wish they would look into this for the new stadium. The old facade came very far out and practically hung over the field. The new design has a much shorter overhang.

I think that the poles (in our out) are the major factor in the overall affect of a renovation. It was the removal of the poles that necessitated the removal of the roof, and by extention, the frieze.

Looking at blueprints of the renovation I really wonder if anything different could have been to hold up a larger roof, plus lights and the frieze.