Here's the second set of photos from our trip to the New Yankee Stadium:

Here's the first set of photos from our trip to the New Yankee Stadium:








We were lucky enough to score (pay $80) some tickets to the Yankees Exhibition Series against the Cubs this weekend; so without further delay, here are some of our favorite shots:

Stadium Comparison	Current	New
Historical Date
Opening Day	1923	2009
Existing Field Dimensions Maintained
Field Dimensions	Left Field 318' Left Center 399' Center 408' Right Center 385' Right Field 314'	Left Field 318' Left Center 399' Center 408' Right Center 385' Right Field 314'
More Comfortable Seating
Total Seating Capacity*	56,886	52,325 (Including Standing Room)
Seat Width	18" to 22"	19" to 24"
Legroom Between Rows	29.5"	33" to 39"
Cup Holders	N/A	Cup holders in all seating in the general seating bowl
Home Plate To Backstop	72' 4"	52' 4"
Private Luxury Suites	19	56
Party Suites**	XXX	410
Stadium Amenities for Convenience
Average Concourse Width	17'	32'
Concession Fixed Points Of Sale Ratio	1 for every 260 Fans (not including portable and in-seat wait service locations)	1 for every 172 Fans (not including portable and in-seat wait service locations)
Restroom Fixtures Ratio	1 for every 89 Fans	1 for every 60 Fans
Family-Style Restrooms	N/A	12
Team Stores (Square Feet)	Approximately 6,800	Total Approximately 11,560 Main Store 5,825 Collectible/Art 1,735 Home Plate Store 2,435 Great Hall Store 1,565
Dining And Lounge Options	Yankee Club Stadium Club Pinstripe Pub Great Moments Room	Legends Club 2 Legends Dugout Lounges Grill Room Yankees Steakhouse Membership Club Main Level Outdoor Suite Lounge Terrace Outdoor Suite Lounge Martini Bar Sports Bar Outdoor Patio Area Outdoor Food Court Indoor Food Court
Main Video Scoreboard	25' by 33' 25MM (Standard Def.) LED	59' high by 101' wide 16 MM True HD LED
Elevators	3	16
* The total seating capacity figures include wheelchair, aisle-transfer and companion seats. ** The Party Suites capacity figure includes wheelchair, aisle-transfer and companion seats.

With Canon Digital Rebels and new lenses in hand, the River Avenue News team will be attending the Saturday exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs.

This news might come as a surprise to some. Namely, my girlfriend. Hopefully she reads this website.

We'll be seated in Section 208 Row 14, similar seats to those where we began last season's summer long Stadium Tour.

Here's a shot of our view:

According to multiple news sources (mostly Peter Abraham), the New York Yankees will be wearing a different kind of patch this season, one that has an artistic depiction of the new stadium emblazoned on their sleeve.

Abraham, on his LoHud blog, jokingly notes (hopefully) if you look close enough at the patch, you might find something hidden;
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It’s a nice patch and if you look closely you can see a team official asking the city of New York for more money.
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I'd like to see some sort of uniform "nod" to the old stadium. Maybe a little D.o.B-D.o.D on the back of the hat.

According to the Associated Press:

NEW YORK -- The price of a bleacher seat for the exhibition openers at the new Yankee Stadium will cost far less than a soda.

The Yankees said Tuesday that bleacher seats for the games against the Chicago Cubs on April 3 and 4 will sell for 25 cents and grandstand tickets will be $1.10. That matches the prices for the opener of the original Yankee Stadium against Boston on April 18, 1923. Field level seats at the 52,325-seat ballpark will cost $45-$50, main level $20-$45 and terrace level $20-$35. Full season-ticket holders will get the seats for free, and those who bought partial season-tickets will be given a presale. The regular-season opener is scheduled for April 16 against Cleveland. Tickets cost up to $2,500 a game during the regular season.

According to an article posted on ESPN.com, the Chicago Cubs are slated to potentially play an exhibition game against the Yankees, in efforts to remove the Wrigley Curse and transfer it over to to the Bronx:

The Cubs and Yankees are talking about playing an exhibition game or games the weekend before most teams open the regular season, on Monday, April 6.

While the Cubs are the Yankees' first choice, the teams are still negotiating.

The official opener of the $1.6 billion ballpark is April 16 against Cleveland.

Special to River Avenue News
By Chris Lima

I’m exhausted. Its been a crazy couple of months between filming weddings, my regular job, trying to launch a new website, and most importantly, trying to stay sane.

I’ve got this date circled on my calendar, so I don’t miss it. It’s the last time I’ll ever be at Yankee Stadium. It’s also the first time since 1993 that I’ve been to the Stadium and the Yankees weren’t on their way to a post season.

I’m a little sad, mostly mixed feelings. The new Yankee Stadium looks unbelievable, but doesn’t have any memories in it, yet.

I get to work, but can barely concentrate on anything. My mind keeps wandering back to some of the games I’ve been at.

David Wells almost threw a second perfect game against the Athletics, and I was sitting in the front row, third base line with my little brother. I even heard Art Howe curse off the ump, as he was being ejected from the game.

I remember the first time I got to take the Day Camp to the Stadium all by myself. The Yanks were playing the Blue Jays in a miserably hot July, and it was 0-0 going into the bottom of the ninth. My rule is never to leave a game early, not even if you’ve got fifty screaming, smelly, drooling kids with you.

Ruben Sierra hit a first pitch walk off home run off Billy Koch in the bottom of the ninth, sending me and five other extremely happy counselors home.

The first game I went to with my college buddies was on a rainy April afternoon. We came ready with a bed sheet that had the phrase “Soriano for MVP” on it. Giambi hit his first home run as a Yankee that day.

I wish I could remember my first Yankee game, but it’s hazy. Was it against the Angels or the Royals? Sad, I can’t remember. I always hear people talk so vividly about their first game, and I wonder how much of that is real, and how much of that is formulated on what they believed their first game was like.

It’s finally lunch time, and my girlfriend is sitting outside my office at a picnic table, waiting to share a bite to eat. I’ve got some orange flavored chicken, courtesy of our cafeteria.
I can’t wait to get a hot dog.

After a 3:00 meeting ends, I’ve got a chance to escape early. I call my co-worker (who happens to be an obnoxious Red Sox Fan) who’s also going to the game, and we jump in my girlfriend’s car. Feels like a bank robbery, the way we bolted out of that office so fast.

There’s a little bit of traffic, but I guess that’s a given at rush hour.

We pull off the second exit for the Stadium, to get a better shot. I pull my Canon Rebel out for the first picture of the night.

I’ll have taken 526 more by night’s end.

We park in the lot my family has parked in about three hundred times before. I’m not sad yet; the parking lot isn’t going anywhere. And it cost me $17, so that takes a little bit of the nostalgia out of the evening.

To continue reading click here.

Special to River Avenue News
By Chris Lima

We leave the parking lot and walk down River Avenue. I try to get a bunch of photos of the River Avenue street signs, after all, that’s the street my blog is named after.

We get to the corner of 161st and River Ave. My co-worker leaves us to go find her husband. We head towards Gate 2, to get our tickets scanned one last time.

Everyone seems nicer today. I’m inside the Stadium for no more than five minutes and I’ve been bumped, pushed, and knocked into by some of the most courteous New Yorkers I’ve ever met.

We poke our heads out the Main section, just to watch batting practice for a while. Oddly, there’s not line to get in Monument Park. There’s no line, because it was closed. Oh well.

We find out seats in left field, Loge Box. Great view. I can’t see the Yankee bullpen that well, but its not that big of a deal now. Farnesworth was traded and Pavano is sitting in the dugout, so I don’t have a target to chuck my batteries at anymore.

This is my last chance to get a famous Yankee Stadium Hot Dog, so I order two. And a pretzel. And a beer. And then eventually two sodas. And a bag of popcorn that could drown a midget.

The stadium announcer comes on over the PA system, asking everyone to remove his or her hats for the National Anthem. Our section is in tears. Not because we’re patriotic, but because there’s a squirrel who made his way onto the field and can’t seem to find a way out.

There’s a rumor floating around that Bob Shepherd won’t make the final game on Sunday.

The Yankees bring out Emillio Navarro to throw out the first pitch. Navarro was selected by the Yanks, in the ceremonial Negro League Draft. Navarro is 102, but you couldn’t tell; he looked and acted like a little kid the moment he stepped onto the field.

The White Sox lead off the first inning, and score a run. Mike Mussina labors through the first, throwing way too many pitches. I swear, if the Yankees lose this game….

Bobby Abreu hits a home run to give the Yanks a 2-1 lead. I missed it because the squirrel is now trying to climb the netting behind home plate.

Mini Don Quixote, with a furry tail.

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Special to River Avenue News
by Chris Lima

The game has a weird feeling around it. Johnny Damon is out of the lineup because his wife gave birth to another child. Brett Gardner is playing center. There’s a new guy at first that I’ve never heard of. He’s a far cry from Don Mattingly and Tino Martinez.

Abreu hit another home run, this time I was camera ready. The Yanks kept pouring on runs and I sat there and watched.

There’s something about Yankee Stadium. People talk about ghosts and auras. For me, there’s a sense of calm, I feel comfortable when I’m there. It’s like going to the movies, once you’re there, all the troubles of everyday life just get put aside for a few hours.

As one ex-Yankee (Javier Vazquez) is getting beat up on the mound, another one begins to warm up in the bullpen (Octavio Dotel). It must be weird for the players, too. It’s one thing to watch a game in the most historic ballpark, but to play in it? To sit on the same bench as Yogi Berra and Casey Stengel, to swing from the same batter’s box as Mickey Mantle, and to cover the same grass patch that Joe DiMaggio once guarded, that’s got to affect a player.

The fifth inning comes around and Emillio Navarro makes another appearance, this time on the Stadium Diamond Vision. He’s pulling the lever that controls the countdown that will eventually sentence Yankee Stadium to its death, living on only in remembrances, films, exaggerated tales, and memoirs that we’ll all pass on some day.

The field crew comes out to rake the field. I watch for one last time, live in person, the crew dance the YMCA.

No tears being shed here.

Melky comes in to play left field. He’s the poster boy for the mess the Yankees find themselves in this season. Melky was just another failed expectation.

Mussina settled down after a rough start, striking out four and giving up the lone run. As he leaves, the fans give him the standing ovation that he’s due, and Moose tips his cap towards the fans.

To continue reading, click here.

Special to River Avenue News
by Chris Lima

My last game in Yankee Stadium ended with the Bombers shaking hands and slapping asses in the infield. They go on to win 9-1, a sad reminder of what could have been.

My girlfriend, who has been a ball of energy throughout the game, asks another fan to take a picture of the two of us, with the field to our backs. After a few takes, she gets the photo she’s looking for, and gets her camera back from the wasted guy in the Mattingly jersey.

We met the day after the Yankees’ historic collapse in the ALCS against the Red Sox, senior year of college. It was karaoke night at the local bar and we were both there. I asked who her favorite Yankee was, and she oddly said Bubba Crosby.

At the time, I was the world’s biggest Bubba fan, and I instantly realized that the saying “There’s someone out there for everyone” was just not a line that roommates said to console a best friend after a bad breakup. Despite her best efforts, we started dating.

Our first game was on a Saturday against the Orioles. Carl Pavano started the game and Alex Rodriguez hit a walk off grand slam. We were the only ones left in the right field tier seats, and we were celebrating like lunatics.

We’ve watched countless Yankee games together, and she’s thrown countless pillows at me every time I suggest, “If you love Derek Jeter so much, why don’t you marry him?”

We were leaving the Stadium, and she was snapping away at anything that looked like a memory. She got a shot of the “Slippery When Wet” sign that always made us laugh for no apparent reason. (Could be that the sign was indoors).

I ran my hand against the railing, and then the wall, not sure why though. I guess that’s what you’re supposed to do.

I was initially against building the new Yankee Stadium, but have softened my stance since then. Its bittersweet leaving the Stadium for the last time, because you feel like you’re leaving a part of yourself there.

Looking across the street, you see this shiny new hunk of concrete and wonder if you’ll ever feel the same way about the new stadium as you did the old. You’ll watch a new Don Mattingly play first, watch a new Andy Pettite pitch the Yankees to four more world series, and you’ll have a hot dog.

And you'll stare out at the field hoping that the ghosts have found their new home. And one day, when they're tearing down the New Yankee Stadium to make way for the next one, you'll sit in the same revered silence, wondering how you'll ever live without the old one.

News Reported by the Associated Press, as seen on ESPN.com:

NEW YORK -- Fans will be allowed to walk on Yankee Stadium's field for three hours before the ballpark's final game Sunday.

Gates will open at 1 p.m. -- about 7 hours, 15 minutes before New York plays the Baltimore Orioles in its final game at the 85-year-old stadium.

For the first three hours, fans can walk through Monument Park, behind the fence in left-center, and walk along the warning track in the outfield and to home plate. Field access will end at about 4 p.m., and Monument Park will close at about 6:45 p.m.

Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Goose Gossage, Ron Guidry, Graig Nettles and Bobby Richardson are to be part of the pregame ceremonies, which start at 7:05 p.m.

A closing ceremony for the stadium will be held after the season.

by Chris Lima
River Avenue News

According to the New Yankee Stadium's seat selector, fans positioned out in the left field bleachers will be starting a food products if anyone hits a ball down the right field line.

The above image is a screen shot from yankees.com. The big ugly gray mass in center field is actually the restaurant, which also serves as the batters eye.

So when Yankee firstbaseman of the future Jason Giambi/Adam Dunn/Xavier Nady smashes a ball down the right field line for a game winning/come from behind/meaningless stat padding shot home run, the fans in left will have to rely on someone else to clue them in on the action.

Interestingly enough, as listed on the website, Yankee officials are saying that “From the Bleachers to Yankees Premium Offerings, every fan will have more comfortable seating that offers improved sight lines.”

Well, almost everyone.

Stadium Comparison	Current	New
Historical Date
Opening Day	1923	2009
Existing Field Dimensions Maintained
Field Dimensions	Left Field 318' Left Center 399' Center 408' Right Center 385' Right Field 314'	Left Field 318' Left Center 399' Center 408' Right Center 385' Right Field 314'
More Comfortable Seating
Total Seating Capacity*	56,886	52,325 (Including Standing Room)
Seat Width	18" to 22"	19" to 24"
Legroom Between Rows	29.5"	33" to 39"
Cup Holders	N/A	Cup holders in all seating in the general seating bowl
Home Plate To Backstop	72' 4"	52' 4"
Private Luxury Suites	19	56
Party Suites**	XXX	410
Stadium Amenities for Convenience
Average Concourse Width	17'	32'
Concession Fixed Points Of Sale Ratio	1 for every 260 Fans (not including portable and in-seat wait service locations)	1 for every 172 Fans (not including portable and in-seat wait service locations)
Restroom Fixtures Ratio	1 for every 89 Fans	1 for every 60 Fans
Family-Style Restrooms	N/A	12
Team Stores (Square Feet)	Approximately 6,800	Total Approximately 11,560 Main Store 5,825 Collectible/Art 1,735 Home Plate Store 2,435 Great Hall Store 1,565
Dining And Lounge Options	Yankee Club Stadium Club Pinstripe Pub Great Moments Room	Legends Club 2 Legends Dugout Lounges Grill Room Yankees Steakhouse Membership Club Main Level Outdoor Suite Lounge Terrace Outdoor Suite Lounge Martini Bar Sports Bar Outdoor Patio Area Outdoor Food Court Indoor Food Court
Main Video Scoreboard	25' by 33' 25MM (Standard Def.) LED	59' high by 101' wide 16 MM True HD LED
Elevators	3	16
* The total seating capacity figures include wheelchair, aisle-transfer and companion seats. ** The Party Suites capacity figure includes wheelchair, aisle-transfer and companion seats.

Stadium Comparison	Current	New
Historical Date
Opening Day	1923	2009
Existing Field Dimensions Maintained
Field Dimensions	Left Field 318' Left Center 399' Center 408' Right Center 385' Right Field 314'	Left Field 318' Left Center 399' Center 408' Right Center 385' Right Field 314'
More Comfortable Seating
Total Seating Capacity*	56,886	52,325 (Including Standing Room)
Seat Width	18" to 22"	19" to 24"
Legroom Between Rows	29.5"	33" to 39"
Cup Holders	N/A	Cup holders in all seating in the general seating bowl
Home Plate To Backstop	72' 4"	52' 4"
Private Luxury Suites	19	56
Party Suites**	XXX	410
Stadium Amenities for Convenience
Average Concourse Width	17'	32'
Concession Fixed Points Of Sale Ratio	1 for every 260 Fans (not including portable and in-seat wait service locations)	1 for every 172 Fans (not including portable and in-seat wait service locations)
Restroom Fixtures Ratio	1 for every 89 Fans	1 for every 60 Fans
Family-Style Restrooms	N/A	12
Team Stores (Square Feet)	Approximately 6,800	Total Approximately 11,560 Main Store 5,825 Collectible/Art 1,735 Home Plate Store 2,435 Great Hall Store 1,565
Dining And Lounge Options	Yankee Club Stadium Club Pinstripe Pub Great Moments Room	Legends Club 2 Legends Dugout Lounges Grill Room Yankees Steakhouse Membership Club Main Level Outdoor Suite Lounge Terrace Outdoor Suite Lounge Martini Bar Sports Bar Outdoor Patio Area Outdoor Food Court Indoor Food Court
Main Video Scoreboard	25' by 33' 25MM (Standard Def.) LED	59' high by 101' wide 16 MM True HD LED
Elevators	3	16
* The total seating capacity figures include wheelchair, aisle-transfer and companion seats. ** The Party Suites capacity figure includes wheelchair, aisle-transfer and companion seats.

Official New York Yankee Press Release
June 18, 2008

The New York Yankees announced today that they have agreed to enter into a long-term agreement with Seminole Hard Rock Entertainment to open a 7,000-square-foot Hard Rock Cafe in the new Yankee Stadium. In addition, YGE Steakhouses, an affiliate of the Yankees' parent company, Yankee Global Enterprises, has joined with Hard Rock Entertainment to create the newly-branded NYY Steak, a prime steakhouse also slated for the new Yankee Stadium. Both restaurants will be operated year-round. The agreement also permits the parties to explore other NYY Steak locations.

Hard Rock Cafe Yankee Stadium will be located on the corner of 161st Street and River Avenue and feature seating for 210 guests. It will be open year-round to ticketholders and non-ticketholders alike with a full bar and patio seating. The restaurant will house memorabilia from top artists, with an emphasis on New York-area talent and additional Yankees-related pieces.

NYY Steak will open above the Hard Rock Cafe in right field in the new Yankee Stadium. Based on the successful Council Oak Steak & Seafood Restaurants at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos in Tampa and Hollywood, Fla., the new restaurant will occupy 6,300 square feet of space with seating for 128 guests. The restaurant will be open throughout the year and have extended hours on game days. It will be operated by Seminole Hard Rock Entertainment.

"Adding popular and premier dining options such as the Hard Rock Cafe and NYY Steak was done with our fans in mind," said Yankees Chief Operating Officer Lonn Trost. "The new Yankee Stadium will be a destination that fans of every age and from around the world can look forward to visiting throughout the calendar year. By creating year-round restaurants that provide substantial full- and part-time union employment for those in the local community, our partnership with Hard Rock fulfills our initiative to make the new Yankee Stadium a source of pride for Bronx residents."

"We are thrilled to partner with the New York Yankees and to be part of the new Yankee Stadium," said Jim Allen, President and CEO of Seminole Hard Rock Entertainment. "The Hard Rock Cafe Yankee Stadium will bring two iconic brands, as well as sports and music, to this world-class venue."

"The Bronx is home to doo wop, hip hop, salsa and now the Hard Rock," said Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión, Jr. "Marquee restaurants like these will attract even more visitors to the area and will provide new dining choices for the community. Burgers, steaks and the Yankees-that's a Bronx grand slam."

The Yankees are proud to partner with philanthropically-focused entities such as Hard Rock Entertainment. In conjunction with today's announcement, Hard Rock will donate 26 guitars to two Bronx-based programs-Highbridge Voices and Renaissance E.M.S.-which focus on music, entertainment and sports.

"Because all of our Bronx kids can't become Yankees, I applaud Hard Rock Entertainment for donating guitars to community music programs," Carrión, Jr. said.

A construction worker at the new Yankee Stadium, tried to place a curse on the new field, by burying a David Ortiz jersey deep in a concrete pillar.

An excerpt from the ESPN.com article:

NEW YORK -- A construction worker's bid to curse the Yankees by planting a Red Sox jersey in their new stadium was foiled Sunday when the team removed the offending shirt from its burial spot in the ballpark.

After locating the shirt in a service corridor behind what will be a restaurant in the new Yankee Stadium, construction workers jackhammered through the remaining concrete Sunday and pulled it out.

The team learned that a Sox-rooting construction worker had buried a shirt in the stadium from a report in the New York Post on Friday, team officials said.

Yankees President Randy Levine said the team at first considered leaving the shirt.

"The first thought was, you know, it's never a good thing to be buried in cement when you're in New York," Levine said. "But then we decided, 'Why reward somebody who had really bad motives and was trying to do a really bad thing?'"

The Associated Press first reported the story, which can be found here.