Sports Travel: House Warming
Written by playerpress.com, Friday May 15 2009
As you sit there checking on line to see if anyone has bested your bid on a ticket booth, turnstile, or chairs from old Yankee Stadium, perhaps you are planning to see the new house the Bronx Bombers call home. With the sod that was once patrolled by the likes of the Babe, Joltin’ Joe, the M&M boys and Bernie and Paulie now being sold in freeze dried containers it is time to move on. Close the door to the House that Ruth Built and enter the opulence of 21st century stadiums.
The Bambino once commented that “You can’t blow the foam off that.” when referring to a bonus he had received from the penurious duo of Ruppert and Huston. These days a beer and a hot dog are not enough to stock in a ballparks larder. A martini bar is more on line to help you forget that the ghosts that frequented the old cathedral have yet to make their way across the street.
Face it, in the age of new thinking the old ballpark was just that, an old ballpark. Along with finer dining leg room is a requirement today. The new seats offer more leg room; along with teak armrests in some sections. I’ll leave it to you to determine if the new pricing is worth those upgrades.
While the new stadium is heavy on glitz and glamour, there is still a section reserved for the bleacher creatures. Instead of it being numbered section 39, the creatures now inhabit section 203. Alcohol is now permitted in the creatures’ lair, but there have been complaints regarding their new dwelling. That tricky wind that has made the place a launching pad also brings a chilling air to the creatures’ new digs.
While the front row swells got teak armrests, the creatures were shorted lines indicating when your butt is infringing on another fans space. However, the biggest complaint registered by the creatures is that the open walkway that is the rage in new stadiums allows tourists to come over and gate crash the roll call. Add to that the complaint that the sightlines are closer to section 41 than they are to 39 and it is understandable that Vinny Milano lost his voice and couldn’t lead the roll call during the get to know us exhibition series staged with the Cubs.
One positive is that it is still Yankee stadium and not Met Life Field, or some other tug on the corporate purse strings. However, branding does abound. For example, if you wish to revel in past Yankees glory you can do it by attending the Budweiser Hall of Fame Lounge which is located on the H&R Block Suite level and is next to the Audi Yankees Club. I wonder if there are any photos of the old Ballentine sign in the Bud Lounge?
If you are seeking more standard stadium fare you can score it down on the field level food court where there is a Boar’s Head deli, Famous Famiglia pizza and “Asian cuisine” which may be similar to the food sold from carts on the street if you’ve ever worked up enough nerve to eat that stuff. The food court is near section 126 and if the “Asian cuisine” is like the cart stuff try to remember that first aid is located at section 128.
The Yankees have always been about greatness and the Great Hall is another place where you can bask in high end ticketed worship of the Pinstriped Aristocrats. The Great Hall contains a Hard Rock Café; remember the Ramones were huge Yankees fans, a Tommy Bahama Bar, The Home Plate Store and the Great Hall Store. I’m not sure what the difference is between the two stores, but if you care to solve that mystery you can do it while keeping up with the game you are missing being played on the field by watching it on the 24’ by 36’ HD screen mounted in the hall.
If you’re on something other than the libations available from the Bud Lounge, Hard Rock or Tommy Bahama’s, there is a Peter Max Art Gallery located on the field level. Maybe some of the Yellow Submarine Blue Meanies cels are available.
If you decide you don’t want to take a chance on the riff raff that could drift into the drinking establishments listed thus far, then you may wish to enter the exclusive domain of the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar. You must purchase ticket to attend the Mohegan, so no wayward bleacher creatures will be found at this watering hole. The bar is located in center field above Monument Park. You can check out the top of the plaques in air conditioned comfort. If you are worried that the view of the field will suffer, fear not, there are monitors all over the bar area, so you can watch the game the way it was intended to be viewed; inside of a plastic box.
If all of that drinking has you raring to part with your cash like a sailor on leave in a port filled with fabulous babes then head on over to NYY Steak. This fine dining establishment is located by Gate 6. Knowing how much it costs to purchase a hot dog at a ballpark if NYY Steak doesn’t empty your wallet nothing will.
Much has been made of the premium seating at the new Yankee Stadium. Particular mention has been made of the prices, including Steinbrenner sons’ admissions that they may have gone overboard with the cost. Still, while there have been some adjustments made to the asking price the amenities that were in place still exist. With a discount of 25-50% to park your bottom on a chair in the Legends Suite you can partake in the Ketel One Lounge and the Jim Beam Suite located behind the home plate seating. Both offer private restrooms, so you can avoid the hoi polloi who use the public facilities and monitors so you don’t have to sit in all of that wind that everyone from the players to the bleacher creatures must endure.
Yes, the House that Ruth Built has been replaced by the Palace that Consumes Disposable Income. If you have any, why not spend it at the new Yankee Stadium.
Photo Credit: Jeff Zelevansky / Icon SMI
Tags:
Leave a comment
Not So Fast! To publish your comment, you have to login
Not Registered? Register now as it only take 20 seconds!
Click here to browse
1 comment
Please sign in to rate!
It's tough to choose between new or old parks. Being relegated to the Oakland Coliseum, it's easy to beg for a new field. Just across the Bridge, AT&T Park is a spectacle of a ball field and is worth every penny. But I do miss the days of aluminum bleachers and first come, first serve seating. While the Phone Booth has the benches, assigned seating in the bleachers is ludicrous! I think these new state-of-the-art parks put too much focus on the stadium itself and not enough on the game.