Yankee Stadium

Located in The Bronx borough of New York City, the Yankee Stadium is undoubtedly one of the most important and globally recognized MLB venues in the world. The stadium we see today actually replaced the original Yankee Stadium facility. The original ballpark opened in 1923, just about one year after construction began. Unlike most stadiums built with public funds or a mix of private and public money, the original Yankee Stadium was built by Jacob Ruppert, the owner of the Yankees at the time. He actually decided to use his own money in order to avoid compromises and build a more suitable home for his team. The investment definitely paid off, as the stadium became one of the most iconic landmarks in the history of MLB and baseball in general. To this day, the stadium is still referred to as “The Cathedral of Baseball,” or “The House That Ruth Built,” in reference to Babe Ruth, one of the world’s most iconic players, who actually spent his prime years at this particular venue. As the facility was growing obsolete, rumors began to circulate of the Yankees wanting to replace it with a new stadium. The new facility is in line with what anyone would expect from a city like New York, which is home to a historically large audience. The construction was so effective that it actually minimized the noise from the audience getting to the playing field, something that not everyone appreciated: some players loved to hear the deafening crowd!

Placed just one blog away from the original stadium, the new building is the second largest stadium in Major League Baseball, especially concerning its seating capacity. Speaking of audience and tickets, one of the most discussed policies of the modern Yankee Stadium is the fact that attendees can no longer use printed electronic tickets as of 2016. This was established as a way to prevent fraud and ticket forgery. People attending games at the Yankee Stadiums can use traditional hard-stock tickets, as well as electronic tickets distributed via a specific mobile ticketing system. Although the Yankees stated that the main reason for this decision was to combat piracy, rumor has it that they are actually actively trying to discourage people from using ticket resale services such as StubHub, which create an aftermarket, competing directly with the official sales from companies such as TicketMaster, which officially runs the Yankees Ticket Exchange programs.

In addition to hosting many iconic baseball games, the stadium has also hosted a wide range of non-baseball events, including several concerts. The first artists who performed at the newly built stadium were Jay-Z, Eminem, and J. Cole, who set up a memorable event featuring surprise guests such as 50 Cent, Chris Martin (the singer from the band Coldplay,) as well as Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Drake, and Beyonce, some of the most prominent musical acts of that generation. In addition to that, the new Yankee Stadium featured major performers as diverse as Paul McCartney, Madonna, Metallica, Garth Brooks, and many others. The stadium hosted some religious services, as well as the famous “Historic Night of Hope,” hosted by Christian pastor Joel Osteen. In addition to that, the Yankee Stadium was home to many professional boxing fights, including the infamous “Stadium Slugfest” fight with Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto defeating Yuri Foreman with a TKO during the night round of the match.

While the former Yankee Stadium will forever remain iconic, the new stadium has quickly made its way into the heart of New Yorkers, earning its rightful place as one of the best Major League Baseball venues in North America today.