New York Yankees Break Ground on New $1 Billion Stadium

Celebration and ceremony surrounded the site of the new home of the New York Yankees today. Just across the street from "The House That Ruth Built", the New York Yankees current stadium, team owner George Steinbrenner, New York Gov. George Pataki, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others broke ground on a brand new, state-of-the-art, $1 billion Yankee Stadium.

As a backdrop for the groundbreaking ceremony, a large rendering of the future home of the New York Yankees adorned the setting. Along with the political heavyweights like Pataki and Bloomberg, the New York Yankees had support from the likes of Billy Crystal, Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, and up to 60 other people on stage.

The plan for the new stadium has not been without controversy. Opponents of the 51,000-seat stadium were kept at bay by police officers, as they protested the demolition of two popular Bronx parks, along with the $400 million in public subsidies required for the new Yankee Stadium. Today's ceremony also follows yesterday's ruling by New York State judge Herman Cahn ruled against a lawsuit brought by environmentalists and neighborhood groups trying to gain a temporary restraining order. Macombs Dam Park and John Mullaly Park will largely be lost to the new development.

The new Yankee Stadium, scheduled to be complete by 2009 in order to host the New York Yankees season, will actually hold fewer people than the current Yankee Stadium. The new stadium will feature 53,000 seats and 60 luxury boxes, while the current Yankee Stadium holds a capacity of 57,478, though with fewer luxury boxes. The new stadium will comprise 500,000 more square feet than the old stadium. While parts of the new stadium might be sponsored, the name of the building will remain Yankee Stadium, and will not reflect a corporate name. The new Yankee Stadium will keep the same field dimensions as the old Yankee Stadium. Monument Park will also relocate to the new stadium.

The project is estimated to bring in 3,600 new construction jobs to the Bronx while the stadium is constructed. Once construction is complete, it's believed 900 permanent jobs will be created. The site of the new stadium, directly across from the current Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, is now a favorite of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who, up until a decade ago, disliked the area. Now, attendance has broken 4 million for the past 7 years, and is on pace to do so again.

A ground-breaking ceremony would not be complete without speeches. Owner George Steinbrenner kept his remarks brief, due to his age and the heat. In fact, he kept them to about thirty seconds. Steinbrenner said "It's a pleasure to give it to you people, that's what we are doing, this is for you people."

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg heralded the stadium and what it means to the borough of the Bronx. Bloomberg was quoted by MLB.com as saying "Four score and three years ago, George Steinbrenner's forefathers moved the Yankees across the Harlem River from the Polo Grounds to their new home in the Bronx. "And the rest is history -- the most fabled history in the long saga of the summer game. Today, we're opening a whole new chapter, an exciting chapter in that history. This new Yankee Stadium will honor this franchise's brilliant past while creating a new home field worthy of the greatest team in professional sports."

Stephen Swindal, George Steinbrenner's son-in-law, and successor to Steinbrenner, spoke at the ceremony. Swindal, also general partner for the New York Yankees, said "Let us rejoice today and celebrate as we have a new chapter in Yankee history, firmly anchored by the past in tradition, yet dreaming of future championships and rich memories for generations that lie ahead."

New York governor George Pataki made his own speech, claiming "This is a great day for New York as well as for the Yankees. In the first game played in Yankee Stadium, the Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox. So many years later, the Yankees are three games ahead of the Boston Red Sox. And while we are going to have a new Yankee Stadium, some things will never change, and that is the Yankees will always beat the Boston Red Sox -- with occasional exceptions."

Major League Baseball Commissioner Bug Selig gave his blessing to the new project, as well. "This is truly an historic occasion, and I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to be here today. How many of you have the distinct memory of attending your first game with a parent ... and experiencing the breathtaking expanse of green? The ballpark itself is central to that experience; the ballpark is a cathedral, a place for comfort. ... Yankee Stadium is one of the most revered, the most famous arena in the country, if not the world. I look forward to the day when I [can] walk into the new Yankee Stadium with my granddaughters, knowing that they're experiencing a moment that they, too, will never forget."

Yankee Stadium, which opened on April 18, 1923, is the third oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball. Only the Boston Red Sox (Fenway Park, 1912) and the Chicago Cubs (Wrigley Field, 1914) are older than the current Yankee Stadium. The opening of the new Yankee Stadium in 2009 will coincide with the New York Mets opening their new stadium, as the Mets look to move out of Shea Stadium. Shea Stadium hosted the New York Yankees during the 1974-1975 season while Yankee Stadium was renovated. The new stadiums were to coincide with an Olympic Games in New York in 2012, though New York lost the bid to London.

[Additional Sources: MLB.com]