All Systems Go as Yankees Begin Preparations for New Stadium

There's no turning back now. On August 16, the New York Yankees officially broke ground on their new stadium which they hope will be ready for the 2009 season.

The Yankees naturally are excited about their new stadium because it will bring in even more revenue streams to a team that is swimming in money. But in some ways, the groundbreaking was a sad event because it marked the beginning of the end of one of America's grandest sporting venues.

Yankee Stadium may not be as beloved as Chicago's Wrigley Field's or Boston's Fenway Park. Certainly, it doesn't have the charm of those two quaint old ballparks. Still, no ballpark can mark the history of the one in the South Bronx. Yankee Stadium inspires awe, like a baseball cathedral.

Do the Yankees need a new ballpark? Absolutely not.

When the Yankees announced their future plans a couple years ago, owner George Steinbrenner justified the need for a new stadium by saying he needed one in order to stay competitive with the other teams in the American League. It was a ridiculous statement then and it's a ridiculous statement now. The Yankees drew a major league-high 4.1 million in attendance last season and have their own network. They also have captured eight straight division titles.

Sure, the stadium has signs of wear and tear, just as any 80-year-old would (the stadium opened in 1923, with Babe Ruth hitting a home run in the first game). Some of the infrastructure would need to be repaired and the walkways are too narrow. Some of the bathrooms are pitiful as well. But the Yankees determined renovating the stadium - something they did in 1974 - would be too expensive. Instead, they are embarking on a project that will cost in excess of $1 billion. The Yankees are in for $800 million but the tax payers will pay the rest of the freight - estimated to be nearly $500 million.

This is what it comes done to: after watching many teams get new stadiums in the 1990, Steinbrenner decided he had to have one. Call it stadium envy. The new stadium will give the boss something he doesn't have now - luxury boxes. That's the big thing with all these new stadiums. Luxury boxes are simply another source of revenue.

It'll be a sad day when the Bronx Bombers leave the "House That Ruth Built", but I've resigned myself to the fact that it is going to happen. The one saving grace is that the Yankees are merely moving across the street. They are not picking up stakes and relocating to Yonkers or New Jersey, something they threatened in the 1990s when the area around the stadium supposedly wasn't safe. Actually, it's hard to believe Steinbrenner was ever serious about taking the team across the Hudson River. More than likely he was using the threat as leverage. In the end, George will get what he wants because George always gets what he wants.

The new stadium, to be built in McCombs Dam Park, which encompasses 22 acres in the South Bronx, is part of a master plan includes building a train station for the MetroNorth railroad. Currently, there is no stop at Yankee Stadium.

However, many of the area residents are not happy about the new stadium and it was pushed through without their input. Their chief complaints are that it will eliminate park space and increase noise.

Oh, well. That's progress.