The Yankee Stadium is the home of the New York Yankees, located in the northern most borough of New York City, the Bronx. The field was built to replace the previous Yankee Stadium, which was constructed in the early 1920s on the footprint of Macombs Dam Park. It was due time for a change by the time the new Yankee Stadium was built and the new ballpark was opened April 2 of 2009 when the Yankees hosted a community event workout day for their Bronx neighbors and sports fans. The first game was played April 3 against the Chicago Cubs and was a preseason exhibition game in which the Yankees won, 7-4.
Though there are many new and more modern conveniences inside Yankee Stadium, the ballpark borrows many design elements that were present in the previous Yankee Stadium to pay tribute to the team's rich history. The stadium project began in the summer of 2006 but took years to complete because of the many battles of city funding and finance. When the stadium was completed, it cost an estimated $1.5 billion, which makes it the second most expensive stadium in the world after the Wembley Stadium ($1.57) located in London, England.
The new Yankee Stadium was designed very closely after the original Yankee Stadium and the exterior very closely resembles the old 1923 Yankee Stadium. The exterior is made from 11,000 pierces of Indiana limestone alongside granite and pre-cast concrete and features the building's name V-cut and gold-leaf lettered above all the gates. Inside the stadium, the rich history of the team is honored with nearly 1,300 photographs of the Yankees over the years. The seating inside is close to the original layout with grandstand seating extending beyond the foul poles and bleaching seating along the outfield fences. The field level and main level make up the lower bowl and the upper level and grandstand level comprising the upper bowl. At full capacity, the stadium seats near 51,000 fans and with standing room, capacity there can be 52,325 fans. There are over 56 suites throughout the stadium.
The new Yankee Stadium offers many great modern amenities, containing 500,000 more square feet total than the previous stadium. There are over 1,100 high-definition television monitors throughout the ballpark and nearly $10 million worth of Yankees and baseball merchandise housed in the stadium. The Yankees clubhouse offers 30,000 square feet of space, nearly tripling the size of their previous clubhouse. Each locker in the dressing area has a safety deposit box and a touch-screen computer. There is also a weight room, training room, video room, and therapy room with a hydrotherapy pool, indoor batting cages, and a lounge in the clubhouse.
The Yankees Museum is located on the lower level of the stadium at Gate 6 and houses a wide range of Yankees' memorabilia. There is a "Ball Wall" displaying hundreds of balls autographed by both past and present Yankees. There is also a tribute to Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series, with a celebratory home plate on the floor, and statues of Larsen pitching to Yogi Berra.
