NO!

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

At least at the Vet they have the decency to paint the old baseball diamond on top of the parking lot. No word on the rumor that they didn't even have to remove the turf.

[Guest Wildbomb 4:20]

I swear, the only positive this has is that I'll need to find the exact spot where Boone's homer landed and leave a good ole flaming turd behind.

 

Not that I'm bitter or anything.

 

They're the last of a dying breed of stadiums steeped in tradition, the worship houses of all those that truly love the game, and their one by one being replaced by photogenic stadiums with "quirks" that were designed for nostalgia, not just part of the game plan. That thing in PETCO pisses me the hell off. It'd be like a stadium putting a huge wall in left and a triangle in right-center, and a short right porch, and calling it reminiscent and harkening back to a golden age of the game. Instead, it would piss on the memory of Fenway, at least in my mind.

 

Here's to the hopeful keeping of Yankee Stadium...cause I will never go to the new one.

 

--Ryan

[Guest Anglesault]

I challenge anyone to go to a game at wrigley then a game at the jake in cleveland and tell me which stadium is better suited for baseball in 2004.

 

I gladly would if I had the resources. I don't have the new stadium down here to compare Fenway to.

I've been to Fenway, Yankee, and Oriole Park (Oh, and ::shudders:: The Vet)

 

Yes, Oriole Park is nice and pretty and it's quirky and all that jazz.

 

It is NOT Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park. If I had to pick between Yankee Stadium and Camden or Fenway and Camden, it's the old piece of shit every time.

[Dr. Tom 0]

As long as the place is structurally sound, I don't see why they need to build a new stadium. It's not like the Yankees need the revenue, or they want a new stadium to draw more fans, or they're in a small market. Yankee Stadium underwent major renovations in the 70s, so I can't imagine it's any worse off then any other park that's about 30 years old.

 

Wrigley Field, on the other hand, might be falling apart. But leave Yankee Stadium alone. It's not going to stand forever, but they should leave it up as long as possible.

[treble 0]

I think all old sports stadiums should be made into supermarkets.

 

But yeah, this is retarded. What's the point? To make more money? Is that even possible?

[Guest Anglesault]

To make more money? Is that even possible?

Do I really have to answer that?

[Precious Roy 0]

I refuse to believe this

[The Czech Republic 0]

A parking lot with a soccer field. A PARKING LOT WITH A SOCCER FIELD. So now that land will have had championships won by Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Reggie Jackson, Roger Clemens...and now a bunch of little soccer-playing pre-teens, upon it.

 

This new park will not happen. Yankees fans will protest, the State will not fund it, the Stadium, ideally, goes nowhere.

 

And here I thought losing Busch Memorial Stadium would be the biggest loss for baseball in the near future. It's cool that they took a cookie-cutter stadium (Veterans, Riverfront, Three Rivers, Atlanta-Fulton) and by tearing out the Astroturf in favor of grass and many other changes, they managed to create a very unique and interesting stadium. (But fuck the Cardinals for beating my Cubs.) But losing Yankee Stadium is entirely worse.

 

I guess I have faith, though. Wrigley Field will be repaired and keep on ticking for many years. Fenway Park will be slightly improved year after year and go nowhere. In Los Angeles, they won't care enough to replace Dodger Stadium. And Yankee Stadium, despite Steinbrenner's apparent wishes, will continue to exist.

[Guest Staravenger]

Well THIS is the first news I read in the morning, and to say it's horrible news is a gross under statement. There is no way people will allow this, especially in New York. It's like ripping down the Coliseums in Rome.

[Art Sandusky 0]

Disgusting. Not even if they built the stadium exactly the same would it be the true Yankee Stadium.

 

Looks like I'll have to go to a game before it gets torn down.

 

(has flashbacks of the beloved Fulton County Stadium going down)

[The Man in Blak 0]

It's probably seen more baseball history than any other stadium out there, but lets be honest: it can't stay up forever.

 

That being said, it's not like the Yankees need to move to increase their revenue and Yankee Stadium did have renovations recently...so I'd say this one is going to get vetoed somehow. Keep it up as long as possible.

 

And here I thought losing Busch Memorial Stadium would be the biggest loss for baseball in the near future. It's cool that they took a cookie-cutter stadium (Veterans, Riverfront, Three Rivers, Atlanta-Fulton) and by tearing out the Astroturf in favor of grass and many other changes, they managed to create a very unique and interesting stadium.

 

I'm not sure I'd call Busch Stadium unique - there's hardly anything distinctive about the stadium itself - but it's certainly not an offensive place to watch a ballgame and I'm not sure that the St. Louis baseball fanbase is really the kind of people that are going to go to a baseball stadium to ride a ferris wheel or eat gourmet sushi. The idea stinks, personally.

[the max 0]

I've been to Fenway, Yankee, and Oriole Park (Oh, and ::shudders:: The Vet)

 

Yes, Oriole Park is nice and pretty and it's quirky and all that jazz.

 

It is NOT Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park. If I had to pick between Yankee Stadium and Camden or Fenway and Camden, it's the old piece of shit every time.

And the newest stadium that I have access to? The Trop in Tampa. The Trop is essentially an airport with a baseball field. Such great atmosphere.

 

What makes a park great to me is the atmosphere. I could care less about goddamn pools, ferris wheels, et al. The main attraction is right on the field. Newer parks may look great and it feels wonderful to be in one, but there's nothing there. When I walked into Fenway for the first time and saw the field, it was amazing. THAT'S the feeling people get when they enter a good park. Not "I hope I remembered my swimming shorts."

 

I'd rather see the Yankees in the Stadium than go to Pittsburgh to see that park and see a losing home team. Why? Just being there is half the fun. The other half is seeing good baseball played on the field.

 

That and I want to see a Red Sox @ Yankees in Yankee Stadium before I die. I've seen it at Fenway (granted, it was 1995, when the Sox weren't any good).

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

That and I want to see a Red Sox @ Yankees in Yankee Stadium before I die. I've seen it at Fenway (granted, it was 1995, when the Sox weren't any good).

 

That's funny. I could have sworn they won the division.

[the max 0]

That and I want to see a Red Sox @ Yankees in Yankee Stadium before I die. I've seen it at Fenway (granted, it was 1995, when the Sox weren't any good).

 

That's funny. I could have sworn they won the division.

Eh, it's all kind of fuzzy around that point.

 

EDIT: I meant 1996 anyway.

[nl5xsk1 0]

To compare seeing a game at Wrigley or Fenway to a game at "the Jake" is a joke. (the fact that the stadium has a nickname is laughable to me, but that's a whole different conversation.) The only thing that new stadiums offer are amenities, and other than shorter beer lines and bathroom lines, I don't really care for amenities. I'd rather be in a smaller seat, with less leg room, knowing that I'm watching a game in the same place that people watched Ruth, and Williams, and Yaz, and Kaline. (Or, if I'm at Wrigley, Aaron, and Mays, and Musial, and Banks.) While Yankee Stadium has been refurbished more than some of the others, it's still one of the elite older stadiums that has seen more history than 20 new stadiums COMBINED.

 

But, I guess when Tigers Stadium & Comiskey went down, it was inevitable that others would follow.

 

Having seen games of 3/4 major sports in both old and new stadiums/arenas, give me the old over the new 7 days a week.

[Gert T 0]

At least at the Vet they have the decency to paint the old baseball diamond on top of the parking lot. No word on the rumor that they didn't even have to remove the turf.

That's awesome.

 

I have a question since I have never been to Yankee Stadium. When YS was renovated in the 1970's, are the sight lines good, no obstructed seats, etc.?

 

Because really if the seats are in good view, it just comes down to how many luxury boxes they can get in I guess.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I'm not sure about sightlines, but they did remove obstructive columns.

[2GOLD 0]

Isn't Wrigley the only one of the older ones that hasn't been renovated yet?

If the Cubs lose Wrigley, they lose their fans. Hell, when the team sucked the fans still came to see Wrigley field. The fans wouldn't flock to "TAMPON PRESENTS CUBBIE PARK" or whatever the hell would sponsor it.

 

The new fields are a novelty, that's all they are. When the Red Sox, Yankees, and Cubs stunk the place the fans were still coming to the ballpark. Because there is still that small group of fans who will go to a field for the tradition. To know they are sitting in a seat and looking at a field that once upon a time had Ruth roaming the outfield. A field where Fisk launched one of the more dramatic home runs ever. A field where you can see the baseball season changing just by what is covering an outfield wall.

 

When MLB loses Wrigley, Fenway and Yankee Stadium then the game's tradition is dead and buried. Replaced by a giant billboard sign that will not bring the fans to the old ball game.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Well classic stadiums don't necessarily equal attendance. Boston didn't always sell out their games, and in the early 90s drew less than 30,000 per game. The Mets usually outdraw the Yankees when the Mets are winning and the Yankees aren't (late 80s and early 70s).

 

There are external factors, but the number one influence on attendance is wins and losses.

[2GOLD 0]

I'm a Cubs and O's fan.

This winning stuff is still foreign to me.

[nl5xsk1 0]

Well classic stadiums don't necessarily equal attendance. Boston didn't always sell out their games, and in the early 90s drew less than 30,000 per game.

In a stadium with a capacity of less than 33,000. That's still roughly 90% capacity. Tell me that there aren't a dozen teams that wouldn't kill for 90% capacity on a semi-regular basis.

[Art Sandusky 0]

EDIT: nl5jgu28843 got it for me.

[Hektik 0]

I can't believe there are people on this thread that consider Dodger Stadium a classic stadium.

 

The Yankees have already tore down and rebuilt the inside of Yankee Stadium, so it's not like the whole stadium is "sacred." If people care so much about keeping it, why don't they try to preserve it. That way the Yankees can have their new stadium and the original Stadium stays as a landmark.

[Art Sandusky 0]

Dodger Stadium is a classic for a couple of reasons: It's one of the older stadiums around now, and it's one of the few that still has its original name rather than a corporate one.

[Hektik 0]

1962 (the year Dodger Stadium opened) isn't exactly that old when compared to Fenway/Wrigley/Yankee. The Angels now play at Angels Stadium, they don't have a corporate name, but It still doesn't make it classic.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

1962 (the year Dodger Stadium opened) isn't exactly that old when compared to Fenway/Wrigley/Yankee. The Angels now play at Angels Stadium, they don't have a corporate name, but It still doesn't make it classic.

Thought it was Edison Field or something like that?

[Hektik 0]

They got rid of the corporate sponsor.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

The new owner of the Angels changed it back to Angel Stadium but he wants them to be known as the "Los Angeles" Angels which is an insult to people in Los Angeles.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

The new owner of the Angels changed it back to Angel Stadium but he wants them to be known as the "Los Angeles" Angels which is an insult to people in Los Angeles.

Why would it be an insult to the Los Angeles fans? If anything it should be an insult to Anaheim.

[Hektik 0]

Well, they were known as the Los Angeles Angels before the Dodgers moved out west. The Angels like to be known as a big market team when they really just leech off the big LA media market. I mean who really knows of Anaheim anyway. I live in San Diego and didn't know Disneyland was in Anaheim until I got older. I didn't even know what an Anaheim was.