Post by Marcus Wayne Robertson on Sept 5, 2016 14:15:10 GMT -5
1. Take that, Boston.
What used to be Yankees’ attempt to replicate the seats on top of Fenway Park’s Green Monster: the Bleachers Café, two rows (80 seats total) directly above the batter’s eye, which view is unique, now serves as a common resting area for the stadium`s community members.
2. Quickest route to the upper deck.
If you are in a hurry to reach the upper levels, don’t enter through Gates 2 or 8—there are no escalators here. Go through Gates 4 or 6 instead. (Escalators don`t work.)
3. The suite life.
The luxuries suits/boxes that once had dessert stations and full cocktail service have now all been turned into bedrooms, with several bunker beds in each. These are guarded at all times.
5. Baseball locavorism.
The Yankees’ local-food options, like the Mike’s Deli on the first concourse, is currently used for storage of food and equipment.
8. New stop on the Hudson Line.
Yankee Stadium’s very own taxpayer-funded MetroNorth station, once carried 10,000 fans each game, now a sealed off area where no one is allowed to pass.
10. Get your autographs here.
The players’ parking lot (once prime ground for signature hunters) is now in an inaccessible garage.
11. Rain-delay strategy.
The upper concourse is covered, but it’s not enclosed—meaning that fans might need to seek shelter on a lower level during rain delays. This would be a good time to visit the Yankees Museum in right field.
13. Enter here.
From the B, D, and 4 trains, you can glide straight into the Great Hall, an indoor plaza running from Gate 4, behind home plate, to Gate 6, on 161st Street and River Avenue. Even though the Yankees anticipate 60 to 70 percent of fans will enter here, there shouldn’t be a bottleneck: They’ve installed 26 turnstiles in this area alone.
14. The line for the shrine.
Though Monument Park has moved from left center to center field, the policies remain the same: It closes 45 minutes before game time, and only a few dozen fans will be let in at a time.
15. Parking maneuvers.
Expect the largest lots closest to the ball park to have maddening exit times. A smaller one, like the 90-space lot on the north side of 151st Street, is farther away, but will clear out more quickly.
16. What ball game?
If you prefer a good steak to a good pitching matchup, NYY Steak has 100 bottles on its wine list but zero views of the field.
17. Where A-Rod meets Madonna.
A Hard Rock Café filled with articles used by celebrity fans like Billy Joel and Paul Simon is open year-round, and you don’t need a ticket to enter, even on game days.
18. For the nostalgics.
A new Yankees Museum holds, among other things, Thurman Munson’s locker, which had remained empty in the team’s clubhouse since his death in 1979. Unlike Monument Park, the museum stays open during the game, closing at the start of the eighth inning.
21. So that’s what’s under there.
The Yankees have hidden the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar inside the batter’s eye in center field, with a glass wall overlooking the field. Access is limited to members and fans who buy a single-game ticket ($125) to sit inside.
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4. Bring your glove, part II.
The bleachers in right field aren’t the home-run magnet they used to be—there’s field-level seating in front of them. Much better (albeit more expensive) are the sections inside either foul pole, 106–107 in right field and 132–133 in left field.
6. An old-timey touch.
As part of the Yankees’ youth program, kids will be operating the manual scoreboards next to each bull pen.
7. Bring your glove, part III.
There’s no netting above the box seats behind home plate, which makes them newly foul-ball-accessible.
9. Stand where you like.
The Yankees will eventually sell standing-room tickets, but for now, you can watch freely behind the seating bowl wherever you want—even right behind home plate.
12. Best seats for your buck.
The fourteen rows of Grandstand seating between the bases ($29) are worth the extra $7 not to be stuck down the lines, and you won’t catch a nosebleed like you did in the old Tier Reserved sections.
19. Bleacher Creatures, rejoice!
Unlike at the old stadium, bleacher-seat holders are no longer cordoned off from the rest of the stadium, and—at least for now—they can drink alcohol in the stands.
20. Obstruction zones.
Some bleacher seats in sections 201 and 239 are heavily obstructed by the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar, which is why they only cost $5.
(More will be added)