Inside The House That George Built will look quite different next year.
Opened in 2009, Yankee Stadium III is undergoing a major construction project that begins this week that will eliminate the obstructed-view seats in the bleachers, cost in the neighborhood of $20 million – all funded by the Yankees – and be completed in time for the start of the 2017 season.
The project includes seven new social gathering areas in the Stadium.
While roughly 2,000 seats will be lost during the process the team plans to sell 200,000 tickets for $15 or less that will allow buyers access to the new areas. Of those 2,000 vanishing seats, the 1,100 obstructed seats in the bleachers will be eliminated as will 600 seats in the Terrace Level.
“We have listened to our fans and ticket holders and their top requests were for more family-friendly and socially-oriented spaces at Yankee Stadium,” Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said in a statement. “Yankees fans will now have many more dedicated areas for spending time with guests who have tickets in other sections of the Stadium, allowing all guests to be able to enjoy the game from multiple vantage points while having unique food and drink options available to them. We are also especially excited to provide an engaging children’s play area for families to utilize prior to and throughout the game. Having these types of spaces in Yankee Stadium is fundamental to the expectations of our fans, and we look forward to making them a huge part of the Yankee Stadium experience in 2017 and beyond.”
According to Yankees COO Lonn Trost, the landings will be accessible to all Stadium customers.
“Anybody with a ticket,” Trost said. “The fans wanted landings and meeting locations. It will be more of a gathering place.”
Among the new features will be Sunrise Kids Clubhouse. It will be a 2,850 square foot Yankee themed playground located on the 300 Level in right field,
Other attractions are the Master Card Batters Eye Deck on the 200 Level in center field. The Bullpen Landings in right and left field will be on the 100 Level in the former Sections 239 and 201 overlooking the bullpens. Like the AT&T Sports Lounge in Section 134 on Field Level, the Bullpen Landings will have power and USB outlets. The Budweiser Party Decks will be on the 300 Level in Sections 311 and 328.- by George A. King III, The New York Post