New Yankee Stadium - by HOK Sport

[NYguy]

(NY Times)

Agreement Is Reached on $200 Million for Bronx Parks

By WINNIE HU
September 10, 2004

After more than a year of wrangling, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and state leaders have agreed on the details of how to spend $200 million on parks projects in the Bronx, including $6 million for the park that would house a new stadium for the Yankees.

The money - the largest bounty for city parks in decades - was approved in July 2003 as part of a larger agreement by state officials to allow New York City to build a $1.3 billion water filtration plant in Van Cortlandt Park.

The $200 million is meant to ease the impact of that plant on Bronx communities; a separate allocation of $43 million would be used specifically for Van Cortlandt Park. All the money would come from the city.

But in a largely secret process that has been assailed by advocacy groups, elected officials from City Hall to the State Capitol pushed their pet projects for dividing up the $200 million. A copy of the agreement detailing where the money would go, obtained yesterday by The New York Times, shows that $190 million would be used for more than 60 parks projects, ranging from increasing access to waterfronts to refurbishing running tracks and ball fields. An additional $10 million would be used for "green projects," including planting trees on streets and in playgrounds.

Civic groups have assailed the process of selecting which parks are to get money, saying it was undertaken without public influence and solely to benefit politicians hoping to take credit with voters.

"It was done behind closed doors," said Christian DiPalermo, executive director of New Yorkers for Parks. "I mean this is taxpayer money. Projects are being chosen in the community without involving the community."

The agreement was signed by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno in the last two months, and by Mayor Bloomberg this week. During a public meeting in Riverdale on Wednesday night, the mayor sought to reassure residents that the money was being distributed on the basis of need, not politics. "You do not have to worry about it just being a big pork barrel," the mayor said.

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said city and state officials had worked together for months to develop a "need-based, priority-based list," relying on categories like waterfront access and neighborhood location.

Mr. Benepe emphasized that the list was also based on meetings held over the years with many community groups, adding that more public debate would be solicited as the projects move forward.

The park money agreement, which has not been publicly released, could come up for a vote by the City Council as early as Sept. 28. Council officials said yesterday that they planned to hold a public hearing on the issue on Wednesday.

The agreement sets aside $10 million for improvements at Roberto Clemente State Park, prompting Mr. DiPalermo and other critics to question why city money should be used for a state park. Jennifer Meicht, a spokeswoman for Gov. George E. Pataki, confirmed that he had requested $20 million for the park.

Ms. Meicht pointed out that the state park was a resource for city residents, and that the money was the result of state legislation "to ensure that the children and families of the Bronx are able to live, work and play in the clean, safe environment they deserve."

In addition, $6 million would be used to install a synthetic-turf soccer field and build bleachers at Macombs Dam Park, next to Yankee Stadium.

In July, the Yankees announced a plan to build a new open-air stadium in part of the park. While the team would pay for much of the $700 million cost, the city and state would spend roughly $300 million to create public ball fields and parks to offset the loss of parkland.

Mr. Benepe said that the $6 million was included before the stadium project was announced.

The agreement also calls for nearly $20 million in additional money for Van Cortlandt Park, which would include $16.5 million to rebuild athletic fields. Pelham Bay Park would receive $8 million for development of a waterfront area near a landfill and seawall repairs, and Williamsbridge Oval Park, $15 million for restoring perimeter walls and fencing, and work on a track, playgrounds and a roller hockey and skating rink.

[NYguy]

The borough president finally reveals his idea of what a new Yankee Stadium develoment could be. It's basically the same as the Yankee plan, with a better connection between the new and older stadium...

NY POST

FIELD OF DREAMS

By BILL SANDERSON
October 19, 2004 -- EXCLUSIVE

Here's a sneak peek at the proposed new Yankee Stadium — and Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion's plan to use the current ballpark's field and distinctive facade for recreation and private development.

The new $700 million stadium would go up in Macombs Dam Park across East 161st Street from the current stadium.

The Bronx Bombers, who lost last night to the Boston Red Sox 5-4 in 14 innings but still lead their best-of-seven ALCS 3-2 going into today's Game Six, are in the final stages of planning the much-anticipated new stadium .

Sources said this depiction of the ballpark, from Carrion's office, is consistent with what the team has proposed.

Yankee reps wouldn't tip their hat about how exactly the new stadium would look.

"The borough president has been quite helpful and we welcome his support," said Yankees spokesman Howard Rubenstein said. But he added: "We have not released any of our specific plans" to Carrion or anyone else.

The new stadium would have about 50,000 seats compared to 57,000 at the current stadium, but the new ballpark would have 50 revenue-generating luxury skyboxes, in contrast to the current 19.

Carrion, whose job gives him a lead role in economic development and planning in The Bronx, believes much of the old city-owned stadium should be preserved.

"The borough president wants to honor the House that Ruth Built," said his spokesman, Eldin Villafane.

In a statement, Carrion's office said his plan "will complement the stadium plan proposed by the Yankee organization."

Carrion says he seeks "a wide array of redevelopment improvements for the Yankee Stadium neighborhood," and will offer "a detailed plan" for the old stadium "as a destination spot."

That plan includes "infrastructure, transportation and green space development."

Besides preserving the current stadium's walls, Carrion proposes tearing down the 1970s pedestrian ramp that obstructs the historic façade behind home plate. Inside, the historic field at its current dimensions — with a shallow right field and a deep left field designed to favor Babe Ruth and other left-handed power hitters — would remain green and grassy.

Most of the seating inside the existing stadium would be removed, making space for new, privately developed buildings offering views of the old playing field.

The plan shows one such building in left field. Another would go up inside the current stadium wall, along the first-base side of the field.

Exactly what kind of business or other development Carrion would like to see in the new buildings is unclear. Carrion says he will disclose specifics today at a meeting of the Association for a Better New York.

Also unclear is whether Carrion's plan includes other elements sought by the Yankees — including a new ferry terminal on the nearby Harlem River, and a new train station. The Yankees have wanted a station on the Metro-North's Hudson line since the current stadium was built in 1922.

Carrion sees his Yankee Stadium proposal as part of the redevelopment of the entire surrounding area, including the nearby Bronx Terminal Market.

When the Yankees began discussing building a new "state of the art" stadium several years ago, the team never offered any proposal for the existing ballpark, which is owned by the city, and leased by the team.

For years after the stadium's 1970s renovation, team owner George Steinbrenner hinted about moving the Yankees to a new ballpark in Manhattan — or even, heaven forbid, to the Meadowlands in New Jersey.

But it's become clear that in the last few years, the Boss has settled on the idea of a new stadium in The Bronx. He and then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani discussed the idea in 2001, Giuliani's last year in office.

Other city officials also seem to like the idea of a new Bronx stadium, but many say it would have to be financed with the team's own money.

[NYguy]

The borough presidents stadium, and an earlier Yankees plan....


BP




YANKEES

[STT757]

They are scrapping the roof, which will cut about $300-400 Million off the price. Good thing too since playing October baseball outside in cool damp weather just feels right for baseball, being in a climate controlled stadium in a tee shirt during Late autum baseball playoffs just doesn't seem right.

Then there's the opening day snowstorms, all of which give baseball character.

[NYguy]

DAILY NEWS

Lot of ideas for Stadium

BY BILL EGBERT

The Parking Lot That Ruth Built?

With the Yankees planning for a new stadium across the street from their 81-year-old ballpark, team owner George Steinbrenner is weighing whether to pave over the historic playground of Ruth, DiMaggio and Mantle to create a parking lot, sources said yesterday.

Limited parking has been as big an issue as skyboxes in Steinbrenner's very public agonizing over whether to stay in the Bronx or seek greener pastures across the Hudson or in midtown.

Yesterday, the Yankees organization would not deny reports that the Boss wants parking in the old ballpark.

"I can't answer that," said Yankees spokesman Howard Rubenstein, "because I don't know."

In something of a preemptive strike, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión unveiled a very different vision yesterday, centering on an ambitious renovation of the historic ballpark with the green field very much a part of the plan.

Speaking at the Grand Hyatt to the Association for a Better New York, Carrión described "a competitive urban place for sports, entertainment, parks, business - and a good return of the taxpayer's dollar."

It would feature waterfront parks, better public transportation, more than 1 million square feet of retail space, a new high school, infrastructure improvements and a 250-room hotel and convention center inside the walls of the landmarked stadium.

The distinctive outer walls of the House That Ruth Built would be preserved. The inside would be gutted to make way for the hotel and a smaller, community ballfield as well as retail space and a Yankee Hall of Fame.

But the borough president's sweeping plan also includes a new ferry terminal and Metro-North station, parking garages topped with parks and an elevated promenade linking them all to a new Yankee Stadium, to be built on the site of Macombs Dam Park.

A new High School for Sports Industry Careers would go up in place of the current parking garage and a mall with 1 million square feet of retail space would replace the Bronx Terminal Market.

The plan also calls for three massive parking garages - two adjacent to the new stadium and one on the waterfront linked by the promenade.

"We're trying to accommodate a couple of thousand more parking spaces than they have now," said Wilhem Rondha, a planner in the beep's office.

But with the Yankees tight-lipped about their own plans, it's not known whether Carrión's efforts will save the field of pinstriped dreams.

"It's an interesting proposal," Rubenstein said of Carrión's vision.

But, asked whether the Yankees would go along with the borough president's ambitious plan for the old stadium, he would only say, "That's subject to discussion."

[NYatKNIGHT]

Can't concentrate on anything about the future of the Yankees during these playoffs. Win first, then we'll get excited about the new stadium.

[ZippyTheChimp]

If they don't win tonight, forget about a stadium. Steinbrenner will move the team south. Vicksberg Yankees. Got a ring to it.

Have you seen that commercial with Steinbrenner at the hospital. He's in pain trying to write with a broken hand, and a concerned Joe Torre says, "That's Torre, with two R's."

[Jasonik]

If the Sox sufficienty desecrate the "house that Ruth built" tonight, the Yanks may need a new one. :twisted:

"The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime." George Herman Ruth, Jr.

PLAYBALL!

[NYguy]

If the YANKEES don't win tonight?..... :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

[TallGuy]

My older brother went to a game at the stadium in 1976, the year the 'new one' opened. He brought back a brochure showing some photos of the original Yankee Stadium being torn down and the new one built. They were fascinating photos I have not seen in over 25 years. I have desperately searched the web and bookstores for photos of the demolition and rebuilding of Yankee Stadium, and been completely frustrated? Can anyone help?

It is frustrating for me to keep seeing the term 'remodeling of Yankee Stadium' referenced regarding the period of '73-'76, since from the few photos I have seen it appears apparent that the stadium was completely rebuilt from the ground up, with only the white metal cornice work being saved and moved to the wall over the scoreboards.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Contact the Yankees.

I remember once seeing a series of photos detailing the renovation, but I think it was a magazine article.

You have it backwards. The facade is one of the elements that did not survive. What you see in the outfield is a replica of the copper facade that lined the overhang roof.

However, much of the pre-1973 stadium is intact. The entire concrete outer shell, the interior ramps and tunnels, and the "bowl" foundation on which the tiers were built.

The original playing field is still there, but the appearance was altered. The huge left center field was shortened, but the wall remains. It is now the back wall of the bullpens and monument park. In the old stadium, the monuments were part of the playing field.

The old bullpens were in right field (Yanks) and left field, between the grandstands and the bleachers. There were garage doors in back that opened onto the street (more about that in a minute). Those areas have been filled in.

The huge scoreboard behind the bleachers is also gone.

The playing surface was lowered several feet. The walls in right and left field were once railings at field level. After games, gates in the railings were opened, and you could exit through the bullpens. Fans were allowed on the field back then - a big thrill for a 10-year-old to stand out in center field and look in at home plate.

As the Yankees prepared to play a few seasons at Shea (jeez, that sucked) - the most notable event in a mediocre 1973 team:

Yankee players Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich decide to swap, not only their wives, but their children and family pets. It was a bizarre portent of what was to come - the Bronx Zoo.

A good book about the Stadium and its relationship to New York:

The Diamond in the Bronx
Yankee Stadium and the Politics of New York
Neil Sullivan

[Kris]

January 16, 2005

Stadium Games: Give and Take and Speculation

By CHARLES V. BAGLI


A new Yankees stadium would come with tennis courts, ball fields, new garages and transportation stations. It would cost taxpayers $300 million.

Just after he was elected, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg told New Yorkers in his first State of the City speech that there was no money in the budget to subsidize two $800 million baseball stadiums for the Yankees and the Mets.

Three years later, the city faces a $2 billion gap in the coming fiscal year's $47 billion budget. Nonetheless, the mayor and Gov. George E. Pataki are on the verge of approving three new sports sites - a football stadium for the Jets, a baseball stadium for the Yankees and a basketball arena for the Nets - that will require a combined public investment of at least $1.1 billion.

It is not easy to assess precisely what the taxpayers will get out of their investment, which is equivalent in cost to a major Manhattan skyscraper or 25 schools with 600 seats each. In part, that is because the economic benefits are based on studies commissioned by the teams themselves, and promoted by the government sponsors of the projects.

Nonetheless, from interviews with public and team officials, it is starting to become clearer how much tax money will be spent on each project, and what city residents are being promised in return.

The Jets stadium will require a combined public investment of $600 million from the state and city. In exchange, New York will get a football team back from New Jersey, and a West Side stadium with a retractable roof that can be used for games, Olympic events and large conventions.

The new Yankee Stadium will require a public investment of about $300 million. New York will get a modernized, more comfortable stadium a block north of the existing stadium in the Bronx; more baseball fields and tennis courts for the public; and new garages and transportation stations.

The Nets arena in Brooklyn will require a public investment of about $200 million and the condemnation of several blocks of housing and stores. New York will get a basketball team back from New Jersey and an arena with a public garden on top that is intended to serve as an anchor for a residential and commercial development. The arena could also be used for high school or college games.

All three projects would be built on public land and use tax-free bonds for financing. All three are also designed to bypass the city's land use review process and a vote by the City Council, thereby avoiding potentially troublesome public hearings.

Beyond the physical improvements, the mayor, the governor and the teams themselves assert that the projects will spark new development and generate far more in state and city tax revenues than government will spend. But many independent critics say these indirect benefits are speculative compared with the cost to the taxpayer.

"Nationally, many of these projects wound up costing more and delivering fewer public benefits than promised by their proponents," said Doug Turetsky, chief of staff for the city's Independent Budget Office.

Sports economists have long said that stadiums and arenas often enrich teams but are relatively poor public investments.

"There's no intrinsic economic benefit from building a sports facility," said Andrew Zimbalist, a leading sports economist who teaches at Smith College. "You have to look at the details of the financing, the facility and the location."

Andrew Alper, president of the city's Economic Development Corporation, said that while each project is different, all went through a rigorous analysis by city officials. He said that for every dollar invested by the city in the three projects, taxpayers would get a return of $3.50 to $4.50 over 30 years.

He said the sports deals were more about direct and indirect taxes, jobs, the vibrancy of neighborhoods and parks than how many games are played.

The Jets are proposing a $1.4 billion stadium that much of the year would be used as an exhibition hall linked to the nearby Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, enabling the city to attract thousands of new visitors to New York. The team is proposing to invest $800 million in the project and to cover any cost overruns, while the state and city would invest $300 million each.

More recently, the team has also agreed to pay for a concourse on 33rd Street in front of the stadium and half the cost of two pedestrian bridges over the West Side Highway, at an estimated cost of $75 million.

The city and state contend that they are only paying for infrastructure, specifically the retractable roof ($225 million) and platform ($375 million) on which the stadium would be built. But infrastructure usually refers to public works like roads, sewers or subways, not to two items without which the stadium could not function or attract a Super Bowl, concerts and basketball games, as the Jets propose.

"None of the money is for a stadium or an arena," said Charles A. Gargano, chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation. "It's for the economic development portion of the project. The Jets stadium is unique in that it gives us a multi-use facility."

The Bloomberg administration describes the stadium as a key element in plans to redevelop the Far West Side of Manhattan and its bid for the 2012 Olympics.

The Jets estimate that in its first year the stadium would generate $30 million more in tax revenues than it would cost the city and the state, with a net gain over 30 years of $716 million. The team estimates that 75 percent of the revenues would come from trade shows, not football games.

The city's Independent Budget Office, however, did its own study and pared the net gain of the Jets project by two-thirds, to an estimated $200 million.

Betsy Gotbaum, the city's public advocate, and others argue that the true public investment actually exceeds $600 million. The city, for instance, will presumably pay half, about $18 million, toward the cost of the pedestrian bridges and $30 million for the tunnel connecting the stadium and the Javits Center. The Jets say that the $55 million deck over the highway depicted in their stadium renderings is part of the 2012 Olympic budget and not their responsibility.

The Nets' $430 million Brooklyn arena, in the Long Island Rail Road yard at the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues, is an eye-catching but ultimately modest element of a larger $2.5 billion residential and commercial development next door. Developer Bruce Ratner bought the New Jersey-based team for $300 million last year, intending to use it as a lever to build the arena, 4,500 apartments and 2 million square feet of office space on a 21-acre site in downtown Brooklyn.

The project has won considerable support in Brooklyn, but some local residents and others object to the state's willingness to condemn land on behalf of a private developer, especially in an area that is finally enjoying a revival. They also say that the level of subsidies outweigh the benefits of the project.

Mr. Ratner's initial request for $450 million in subsidies and infrastructure work has been whittled down to $200 million to $215 million in negotiations with the city and the state, according to officials involved in the talks.

A newly revised analysis by Mr. Zimbalist, the sports economist, estimated that the net fiscal impact of the entire project at $1.06 billion over 30 years. Proponents argue that the principal benefit is the housing, about half of which would be for middle-, moderate- and low-income tenants. Of course, those apartments would benefit from an as yet undetermined level of tax breaks and other incentives.

Real estate executives in Brooklyn said that Mr. Ratner was considering a sharp reduction in the amount of office space, and an increase in the number of apartments.

Sifting out the value of the arena alone is difficult, but based on Mr. Zimbalist's original analysis, it would appear to be a modest $107.5 million over 30 years, after deducting the cost of the public investment.

"The arena is an indirect value creator," Mr. Alper said. For the developer, he added, "the economics are really in the commercial space and the housing."

Unlike the projects for the Jets and the Nets, there is little if any opposition to plans by the Yankees, which spent much of the 1990's belittling the Bronx and demanding a stadium in Manhattan. The team ultimately found that abandoning the Bronx was politically untenable.

The Yankees have told public officials that their offer to pay the entire cost of building a new stadium in the Bronx was motivated, in part, by a recognition that they would have to "pay most of the freight" to get the project done under the Bloomberg administration.

New rules in Major League Baseball allow the team to deduct much of the cost of construction from the revenues that the Yankees are required to share with other teams.

The Yankees have agreed to pay the estimated $800 million cost of a new 50,000-seat open air stadium in Macombs Dam Park, across 161st Street from the current stadium, which was built in 1923 and refurbished in the 1970's, according to state and city officials. The team, which does not expect to pay rent for the land, has asked the city and state for about $300 million in "infrastructure work," including about $160 million for new garages, a ferry terminal on the Harlem River, a Metro-North train station and 16.7 acres of new parkland to replace Macombs Dam Park.

As part of the deal, the city would create a park along the Harlem River, south of Macombs Dam Bridge, with Little League ball fields and a softball field. There would also be basketball courts, with tennis courts and possibly a soccer field atop the garages.

The Yankees project dovetails with efforts by the Bloomberg administration and Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion to rejuvenate the surrounding neighborhood. There are plans to turn the dilapidated Bronx Terminal Market into a major retail center, with a waterfront park. Mr. Carrion wants to preserve most of the existing stadium and build a hotel, conference center and Yankee museum and sports-related high school in the area.

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

[billyblancoNYC]

I like what I see more and more. This will really revitalize the whole area. Maybe this could be NY's "Wrigelyville" afterall. The waterfront parks, transit improvements, retail, hotels, etc. Looks good. Don't think this will be too tough to approve.

[Kris]

[H-man]

they need to come out with a model or renderings im growing impatient, Yankees 2005 world champions