Going to a Red Sox vs. Yankees at Yankee Stadium is the best matchup we could have possibly seen! My first reaction to seeing the stadium was “Are we in Rome?” – it felt like the Colosseum built by the Roman Empire. I’m assuming that’s the affect the Yankees were aiming for, and I guess is appropriate for a team that rules the baseball dynasty.

Design

I’m sad we missed out on seeing the original Yankee Stadium. The new stadium was definitely built with some of it’s features. The most notable is replica frieze along the upper decks. The grandstand seating stretching beyond the foul poles and bleacher seats beyond the outfield fences are similar to the original stadium. Everything was made of light-colored limestone and seemed massive, very reminiscent of Roman architecture.

The team history was depicted all over the stadium. They have the most World Series victories of any team so have plenty to display! The “Great Hall” along Gates 4 to 6, displays banners for superstar Yankees.

With such a large stadium, getting around to multiple levels was a bit of a challenge so we didn’t venture out of our seats too much. There’s not much of a view from the stadium, but there is a huge scoreboard (no surprise) spattered with ads.

Location

The stadium is located in the Bronx, and requires a pretty long subway ride from downtown NY. We opted this route of transit, because driving & parking is probably a nightmare. There are a lot of vendors outside the stadium and a McDonalds. We don’t remember a whole lot else.

Concessions

To get cheap eats, we actually opted for buying food before entering the stadium. There are lots of vendors outside the stadium, and we went for a gyro (my favorite and an extremely popular street food in NY). We unfortunately didn’t get a chance to try out any of the staples inside the stadium. They have a Steakhouse and Hard Rock Cafe – no surprise they have restaurants like these.

Amenities

I’m sure there are a plethora of suites for high-end customers, but we didn’t really look into these. There are other amenities we also missed out on (party decks). Restrooms, seats, and team store were all large & luxurious, as expected. The Yankees Museum (including with admission) is located on the lower level at Gate 6. The main feature is the “Ball Wall”, which has hundreds of balls autographed by Yankees players.

Culture

We were at a Red Sox vs. Yankees game so the fans were pretty energetic from both sides. Fans were surprisingly amiable to us and each other. We unfortunately didn’t see Dandy, the mascot.

Here’s a single by our buddy, Carlos Beltran. He went 3 for 4 with a HR and double as well.

Summary & Scoring

Date Visited: April 13, 2014
Game Played: Yankees 3, Red Sox 2 – Beltran had a HR, double, and 2 RBIs. Box Score
Design:  – Roman-like architecture with frieze and grandstands akin to old Yankee Stadium
Location: – In the Bronx, a ways from Manhattan and downtown NY
Concessions: – Lots of fine dining inside or cheap vendor eats right outside the stadium
Amenities: – Many extras that we didn’t get to experience
Culture:  – Energetic matchup between the Yankees and Red Sox
Overall:  – Majestic Roman-inspired stadium with Yankee history prominently displayed and strong fan-base