Thursday, July 23, 2009

“This is not just a stadium for baseball”

That's what Lonn Trost thinks of the New Yankee Stadium:
"This is not just a stadium for baseball," Yankees COO Lonn Trost said. "It's a stadium for college and university football."
To refresh, this is Lonn Trost, the man whose fingerprints are all over the New Stadium and who was more responsible than anyone else for designing it. Got it? Now take a look at this:

See how well the football field fits into the dimensions of the baseball configurat... wait, I'm sorry, what's that? It doesn't fit at all and the dugouts might have to be filled-in during these games just to accomodate the corners of the endzones? Just look at how the stands unnecessarily jut away from from the 50 yard lines! I like what you did there, Lonn. There's hardly a good seat in the house!

You'd think that if someone with Mr. Trost's "appreciation of the history" of the Old Yankee Stadium might have thought of this beforehand, if they truly had wanted to play college football games there. Perhaps the need popped up after the Yankees' revenue projections fell short for this year and they are taking steps to cover their behinds just in case the economic conditions don't improve.

But the fact remains that it IS a Stadium just for baseball, which explains what it was explicity fucking designed for it without taking any other events into consideration. You can try to shoehorn a football grid into it or put a stage for a concert in centerfield, but it's going to be completely awkward because baseball parks aren't meant for anything else. Just like football stadiums weren't meant to house baseball games. Again, historically, this was done out of necessity. Now it's being done out of nostalgia and greed and I'm not sure which of those is worse.

5 comments:

  1. Most impressive part? There are no good seats in the stadium for football.

    Either you're close to the field, but stuck by one of the endzones, or you're at mid field but 200 feet from the field.

    I'm sure they're going to sell TONS of tickets with that set up!

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  2. I'm excited about BC playing there, but overall this is stupid.

    This is clearly a baseball only complex. The original, pre-remodel Stadium was cavernous. They could have fit two football fields in there.

    I can't imagine the potential damage that'll be done or costs incurred it getting this bandbox ready for football.

    Honoring the past is one thing. Getting in a time machine and going back to the days of multi-sport facilities is another. Big mistake by the Yanks IMO.

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  3. Matt,

    Personally I would rather see the Eagles play at West Point--one of the most beautiful college football venues there is.

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  4. I'll agree with you on that Joe. West Point is a great place to see a game. The stadium itself isn't all that nice in my recollection, but the campus is beautiful, and the cadet traditions are one of the great things about college football.

    Still, part of me is excited about BC playing in YS. I just hope the Yankees don't make a habit out of this beyond 2014. Then again, all we need is one disaster next year with that cramped set up and it may eliminate any future football games there.

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  5. Yeah, its nice that we won't have to take the risk with the first game. If anybody takes the sword, surely I have no problem with it being Notre Dame.

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