wyliepoon
Senior Member
On Monday I took a trip out to the Bronx to try to score tickets for the popular Yankee Stadium tour, not because I'm a Yankees fan (which I'm not), but because I'm interested in ballpark architecture. This year is the final season for Yankee Stadium. Next season the Yankees will move across the street to a New Yankee Stadium which is supposed to look and feel like a romanticized (Disneyfied?) version of the current one, and much more expensive (according to Wikipedia, the construction of New Yankee Stadium is almost three times what it cost to build the SkyDome).
The Yankees website said that only 20 tickets would be available at the box office for the day's tours. When I arrived shortly before the opening of the box office, there were about 50-60 people already waiting in line. Fortunately the Yankees added more tour times, so everybody there was able to get tickets.
After getting tickets, I took a short stroll three blocks east from the stadium along 161 Street to get to the Grand Concourse. The common impression of the South Bronx is that it is one of the worst "ghettos" of the US, but I was surprised that the area around the Stadium was rather well-kept and safe to walk around. Grand Concourse does look somewhat "grand".
You might recognize some of these buildings beyond the outfield from watching Yankee games on TV...
Bronx County Courthouse
Grand Concourse
There were only three stops on my tour: the press box, Monument Park and the Yankees' clubhouse. The dugouts were closed (to the disappointment of most fans) and we were not allowed on the field. Security was extremely tight- security guards were everywhere, videotaping was not allowed at any time, and photos were not allowed in the clubhouse (The tour I took at Wrigley Field in Chicago last year had none of those restrictions, if I recall correctly. Everybody took photos of the dressing room there).
The Yankees website said that only 20 tickets would be available at the box office for the day's tours. When I arrived shortly before the opening of the box office, there were about 50-60 people already waiting in line. Fortunately the Yankees added more tour times, so everybody there was able to get tickets.
After getting tickets, I took a short stroll three blocks east from the stadium along 161 Street to get to the Grand Concourse. The common impression of the South Bronx is that it is one of the worst "ghettos" of the US, but I was surprised that the area around the Stadium was rather well-kept and safe to walk around. Grand Concourse does look somewhat "grand".
You might recognize some of these buildings beyond the outfield from watching Yankee games on TV...
Bronx County Courthouse
Grand Concourse
There were only three stops on my tour: the press box, Monument Park and the Yankees' clubhouse. The dugouts were closed (to the disappointment of most fans) and we were not allowed on the field. Security was extremely tight- security guards were everywhere, videotaping was not allowed at any time, and photos were not allowed in the clubhouse (The tour I took at Wrigley Field in Chicago last year had none of those restrictions, if I recall correctly. Everybody took photos of the dressing room there).