New Yankee Stadium: prices under scrutiny

Even seats behind the outfield fence will be costly at the new Yankee Stadium.

The front part of the area behind the outfield in right and left will cost US$100 and $75 per game next year as part of season-ticket plans at the $1.3-billion ballpark.

But behind those four sections of seats, and to the rear of the bullpens closer to centre field, are nine sections of bleachers priced at $12, the same as the cost this season in the final year of the 85-year-old ballpark.

The Yankees put season ticket prices on their website Friday along with a seat locator that shows views from each location. They also mailed relocation brochures to season-ticket holders.

… the old charm of Yankee Stadium will soon fade into the realm of memory, to be replaced by a modern ballpark that promises to improve on the old one’s crumbling infrastructure and outdated amenities, but can’t promise to carry with it the undeniable mystique of the historic address.

The new Yankee Stadium is currently under construction and is situated right across the street from the long-standing ballpark, which opened in 1923. The new incarnation will be ready for action on April 16, 2009, when the Yanks take on the Cleveland Indians.

The fact that Yankee Stadium will soon be replaced is just starting to sink in for baseball fans around the world, but plans to build a new stadium have actually been brewing for almost 30 years…

…what was initially projected to be an $800 million job, soon balloned to a mammoth $1.3 billion, making it almost 500 times the cost of the original stadium.

It has since become the most expensive stadium ever built in the United States.