[image title="3450455600_cdf1b1d1f6" size="full" id="2704" align="right" ]I had a blast yesterday. I was lucky enough over the weekend to score some very nice tickets for the first game at the new stadium. It did not disappoint.
However amazing you have tried to imagine the new stadium, its better. It has the look and feel of old Yankee Stadium on the field, but off the field its just as amazing. The concourses are broad, open to sunlight, and well-planned. Once you got a feel for it, walking around is easy and convenient. The main level concourse has plenty of space to lean up against a pillar and watch the game from a very nice view.
Concessions were a mess. Lines were absurdly long and slow moving. Some concession stands weren’t open. Others ran out of change very quickly, or were still trying to figure out how to make their full menu. That said, this is normal. I remember the first game at the New Jersey Devil’s new Prudential Center, and they had similar problems. Within a few weeks, things were normal. The food that I did manage to buy – Moe’s Chips and Queso from the nacho stand and a foot long hot dog from one of the classic stands – was pretty good.
I am still in awe of the new big screen. I did not think that such clear resolution at that size was possible. It will give the Yankee Stadium people so many options over the years to do cool things visually. For now, they are using mostly just the old stadium’s between-inning bits, but I think that will change. They just have so much more to work with. The player stats screen is also updated, and now offers both on base percentage and slugging, which is a huge improvement.
For some reason, we’ve heard a lot of complaining about the Yankees hiding their retired numbers and monument park. I don’t think that you could walk around the stadium for five minutes and not be eminently aware of the Yankee’s sense of history. The great Yankees of the past adorn every wall, restaurant and banner. You can clearly see the retired numbers from the upper deck, and you can peer into monument park as well. While its not as prominently placed as it used to be, I’d prefer more bleacher seats to an expanded monument park any day.
I’ve heard some bloggers complaining that the crowd was subdued last night. Half of the crowd was wandering around exploring the stadium, and the other half was waiting in line for food. I know that some people think that fans who pay $300 dollars or more for tickets can’t be energetic at games, but I saw none of that tonight. Everyone was exciting to be there, and the appropriate players got their Bronx cheers. And really, the Yankees didn’t give the crowd much to cheer about.
You can access a slide show of the game here. Unfortunately, word press won’t let me upload pictures of this size directly into the post.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
3 Responses to The First Game
Leave a Reply
TIQ IQ
Great photos, EJ. Some pretty spectacular shots, there.
Awesomeness. I cannot wait to go. In regard to the crowd noise, day games are always more subdued- Ive been at silent day playoff games. Add in the people exploring and the low scoring game, and you get quiet.
EJ I was there as well, and had previously gone to the open workout two weeks ago, and I think we both share the same exact opinion on the ballpark. It’s beautiful, and I wouldn’t worry about about the lack of crowd noise, as it can be attributed to:
a) People exploring, as they should very well do.
b) The game was pretty boring. CC was behind a lot of hitters and the offense was quiet. But there was the great we want Swisher chant after the Marte fiasco, lots of cheering when there were 2 strike counts and plenty of boos after the top of the 7th.
Also news flash for people….rich people can cheer just as loudly as poor people!!!
Oh and the retired numbers are now displayed above the left field bleachers. So people can stop whining about that.