Yankee Stadium primer
On the eve of the Yankees’ first home game of the season, NewYorkology
contributor Scott Ross offers up a Bronx Bomber guide to everything you
need to know about buying tickets, how to get there, where to sit and
what to eat. Ross is the East Coast editor of Sploid.
The Stadium
In the decade preceding the arrival of Babe Ruth, the Yankees were a
so-so team. Their performance at the gate reflected their play on the
field, as average attendance at the Polo Grounds was only about 5,000.
With the addition of Ruth the Yankees in 1920 started winning and
immediately their attendance tripled. The influx of cash from gate
receipts allowed team owner Jacob Rupert to put up the money for “The
House That Ruth Built,” as the stadium came to be known.
Yankee Stadium opened on April 18, 1923. That season the Bronx Bombers
captured their first World Series title. Since then, the stadium has
been home to an additional 25 championships, more than any other team
in pro sports.
With the announcement in June 2005 of a new Yankee Stadium slated to
open in April 2009, there are now less than 250 more opportunities (not
including the playoffs) to see a game there. If you haven’t seen this
historic coliseum, get on it.
How to Buy Tickets
Tickets are available online at the Yankees official website or through Ticketmaster. You can print your own tickets off the Internet, so you needn’t fall victim to the capricious ways of the U.S. Postal Service.
You can also visit one of the Yankee Clubhouse Stores
around the city. Don’t bother getting your tickets through the
Clubhouses in an effort to avoid the Ticketmaster surcharge, they still
get you. … Yeah, I don’t get it either.
You can buy tickets at the ballpark, but it’s in your best interest to
get them before you head up there. You’d be wise to call and check
availability before making the trek up there ticketless.
Of course you can always buy tickets from scalpers, but you do so at your own risk.
Where to Sit
Ticket prices range from $12 for the bleachers to $115 for “Field
Championship” seats, what dad used to call “box seats.” All the really
pricey tickets for 2006 are sold out; the most expensive section still
on sale is “Main Box” for $52.
I typically sit in the upper-deck behind home plate (Tier Reserved,
between Sections 7 and 8). The tickets are cheap, $18-$20, usually
available and you can see the whole field. The more expensive the
ticket, the harder it is to come by, so you need to decide what’s important to you.
If your priority is not having your child surrounded by blood-hungry
drunks, let me suggest the bleachers or Tier Reserved sections 13 &
14, where the sale of alcohol is forbidden.
There’s no escaping the thunderously loud P.A., though I find it particularly bad in the upper decks.
How to Get to Yankee Stadium
Subway – Yankee Stadium is easily reached by taking the 4 train if you’re coming from the East Side or the D
train up the West Side. Both trains let you off at the 161st Street
station. (Be advised the 4 train will not be crossing between Brooklyn
and Manhattan on weekends until the fall of 2006.)
Car – If you just have to drive, the Stadium is at exit 4 off of Route 87 (aka, The Major Degan). There are parking lots, but isn’t going to a game expensive enough? And getting out of there after a game can be a nightmare. In “A Pitcher’s Story,”
Roger Angel tells of how the police allow Yankee P.A. announcer Bob
Shepherd to make an illegal left turn that cuts 30 to 45 minutes off
his drive. You are not Bob Shepherd.
Ferry – NY Waterway’s Yankee Clipper
costs $18 roundtrip and makes several Manhattan stops. The trip takes
about an hour and a half and leaves you about a 7-10 minute walk from
the Stadium. Really, what’s more magical than a cruise along the East
River?
Riding the Yankee Clipper from Pier 11 (near South and Wall streets)
takes considerably longer and is more expensive than the train, but
it’s not without its merits. The chief advantages of the ferry are the
full bar and the comfort, with the later truly becoming an issue on the
ride home. Rather than jostling with 50,000 other hot, tired fans on
the dank, sweaty subway platform and trains, you’ve got plenty of fresh
air and seating as you float down the East River. It’s a far more
civilized way to travel.
Where to Meet
Mercifully, we all have cell phones now, so finding one another is far
easier, but you still need a location. Everybody who doesn’t know the
area meets at The Bat. As you get off the subway and walk west along
161st, you’ll see a giant bat, maybe 30 feet high, surrounded by a
couple hundred people looking as lost and confused as you.
Before the Game
Unless you’re sitting in the bleachers, your ticket also allows you to
take a walk through Monument Park in centerfield, where the team pays
tribute to its former greats. The park is located by Section 36 and is
open from two hours before game time to 45 minutes before game time.
It’s pretty cool; check it out if you have time.
If you’d rather grab a beer or a nosh beforehand, there is no shortage
of bars and restaurants in the neighborhood, all of them teeming with
fans.
Getting Into the Stadium
The gates open two hours before first pitch and you’re permitted to
seek autographs until the end of batting practice. Give yourself a
minimum of thirty minutes to get through security, buy a hot dog and
find your seat.
Before you get into the park, you will be subject to a search,
typically a cursory patting down. Be prepared to turn your cell phone
on, take off your hat or open your purse.
Outside food is permitted, though cans and bottles are not. If
you’re carrying anything in an opaque bag, you may be asked to
transfer your belongings into a clear one provided to you by security.
Any bag larger than a purse (this is a purely subjective determination
made by the security guard taking into account your gender, demeanor
and bra size) will not be permitted (diaper bags are OK).
You can check your bag for $5 at many of the bars across River Avenue.
The lines move pretty quickly and I’ve never heard of anybody
losing anything, but there are no guarantees, so if you can avoid it,
don’t bring a bag.
What to Eat
The Stadium has your standard ballpark fare; vendors troll the aisles
with beer, dogs, peanuts, soda, popcorn, Cracker Jack, ice cream. …
If you want pizza, fries, nachos or a sandwich, you have to walk quite
a ways and wait in a long line; you’re looking at a minimum of 30
minutes, more likely 45.
Miscellanea
If you feel compelled to wear your Red Sox hat, be ready for catcalls
and mockery, but don’t take the bait. You can’t win.
There are only four ATMs in the whole ballpark, so you’d be advised to get money in advance.
Listen for the mellifluous sounds of Bob Shepherd on the P.A. I’m
holding onto the hope that someone will have the good sense to record
Shepherd pronouncing every syllable in the world so we can create a
Shepherd see-and-say, and hear him for all eternity. The sound of that
man saying “Shigetoshi Hasegawa” makes my knees weak.
Watch out for Freddie, the crazy old guy with a sign that reads “Freddy Sez …”
The man has been trolling the aisles of the stadium forever, carrying
his sign and offering people the chance to clang his bell with a spoon.
If you get close enough, ring the bell, have your picture taken with
him and be sure to ask for a copy of his newsletter. Bad jokes,
recipes, ads. … It’s incredible. A stapled mess of photocopies,
it may be the original zine.
Listen for the chant at the start of every game that rains down from
the bleachers. In the top of the first inning the fans in the bleachers
chant the name of each player on the field and clap (Der-RICK! Je-TER!
… clap … clap … clap-clap-clap) until the player acknowledges
them with a tip of the cap.
Whether you’re visiting from Smithtown or Boston or Manhattan,
Kansas, the idea of spending the day in the South Bronx can sound
daunting. Do not be afraid. The neighborhood is completely safe.
Don’t think twice about heading up early for a beer or to take
the tour of Monument Park.
Corrected: This entry was modified after a commenter pointed out that
the phrase “(i)n hours leading up to the game and for about an hour
after, the neighborhood is perfectly safe” made it seem the Bronx may
be perpetually burning when not under the soothing spell of a Yankees’
game. Writer Scott Ross concurs with the commenter and the phrase has
been deleted.
Update: Writer Scott Ross took a mid-season trip on the Yankee Clipper
and provided more details on the sail for the entry above. Also, this
new info on security changes: After 9/11, security at Yankee Stadium
was cranked up quite a bit. In the wake of the terror plot uncovered in
London last week (Aug. 10, 2006,) the Yankees have again raised the
bar. As always, the Yankees remain one of the few — if not only —
ballparks that graciously allows outside food and drink, however you
now must take a sip of any liquid before it’ll be permitted. As a
friend noted, this new protocol may keep liquid explosives out of the
stadium, but it won’t keep you from smuggling in booze. Hooray for
freedom!
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