Thomas Hauser on Sports: Remembering the Journey

Destroying the High Temple

Life goes on. Life goes by. Destroying the High Temple For thousands of years, the most physically imposing buildings on earth were temples, churches, and mosques. In the twentieth century, new houses of worship came to dominate the landscape. Yankee Stadium is the most storied of these contemporary shrines. When it opened in 1923, baseball was in the shadow of the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, and the wounds from the long war between the American and National leagues had yet to fully heal. TheYankees’ new home was the first baseball facility to be called a “stadium.” In ensuing years, the team and Babe Ruth captured the imagination of America. Stadium lore became intertwined with Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio; the Baltimore Colts beating the NewYork Giants in the most important football game ever played; Sugar Ray Robinson wilting in the heat against Joey Maxim; and Joe Louis’s annihilation of Max Schmeling. In 1946, the year I was born,Yankee Stadium was only twenty-three years old. But from my perspective as a boy, it had been around forever.At age seven, I saw it for the first time.As I grew older and was allowed to navigate NewYork City’s subway system on my own, I went to Sunday doubleheaders with friends on a regular basis. Three of my childhood dreams went unfulfilled. I never saw a nohitter ; never saw a triple play; and never caught a ball that had been hit into the stands. But I did see theYankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in a World Series game when I was ten. I watched Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris hit home runs in 1961.And I took pride in the fact that the stadium was impregnable. No one ever hit a fair ball out of it. In the mid-1970s,Yankee Stadium was renovated. Steel columns that supported the roof and upper decks (and obstructed a clear view of the field from some seats) were removed.When the renovation was complete, the copper facade that ran along the edge of the roof and was synonymous with the stadium was gone. The colors were different too. The 194 THOMAS HAUSER familiar aquamarine seats and surrounding environs had been replaced by a pedestrian blue. But by then, my sojourns to Yankee Stadium had become less frequent .Visiting the stadium had taken on the feel of going back to a highschool reunion; seeing a girl I’d longed for when I was young; and realizing that, with the passage of time, she was far less enticing. Baseball as I’d known it as a boy was gone.And I’d changed too. Still, it’s discomforting to me thatYankee Stadium (which has been in existence longer than many countries in the world today) is about to be torn down. Who wants a newYankee Stadium? Not the fans.They like it the way it is.TheYankees have led the league in attendance for five consecutive seasons. Home attendance in 2007 was 4,271,867; an average of 52,739 per game. The new stadium, of course, is driven by economics.The 1970s renovation has been fully depreciated for tax purposes.And while theYankees talk about creating a more “fan-friendly” environment, the “improvements ” (like amenities in a LasVegas hotel-casino) will be all about separating people from their money. The originalYankee Stadium cost $2,500,000 to build.The new stadium will cost in excess of $1.2 billion dollars. One way or another, much of that total will be borne by the taxpayers of the City of NewYork. The original stadium once seated 71,699 fans for baseball. Its current capacity is 57,545.The new stadium will accommodate 55,000. More signi ficantly,it will be constructed in a way that positions the most expensive suites at field level. That’s like theVatican tearing down St. Peter’s Basilica to build a new house of worship with a Jumbotron and luxury pews. The newYankee Stadium will have 1,800 “legends” seats at prices ranging from $2,500 to $500 per seat per game.Those prices are obscene. Alternatively, season-ticket holders can choose from 1,200 seats at $350 per ticket or 1,300 seats at prices ranging from $135 to $100.There will also be 48,000 “non-premium” seats, most of which, theYankees say, will sell for “less than $100.” If theYankees’ fondest wish comes true, the vast majority of seats in the new stadium will be...