Just back from a trip to NYC where we took in games at Yankee Stadium and CitiField. We stayed in The Marriott Element on 39th Street, across from the Port Authority Terminal. It was our first time there, but will return. The staff was extremely friendly, the room came with a small kitchenette, there’s a free hot breakfast in the morning, and every evening there’s a free Happy Hour, serving beer and wine, and a selection of bread, cheeses, and olives. The rooms are small, as is the norm in NYC, and it’s an older building, so the 3 elevators could get a bit slow and crowded at busy times.
As for the ballparks, Yankee Stadium and CitiField both opened in 2009, but they couldn’t feel more different. Yankee Stadium feels older than 2009, and CitiField feels younger.
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium’s concourses seemed narrow and dark, and the signage was poor. We had to ask a couple of staff how to get to our seats.
Monument Park is smaller than the Monument Park in old Yankee Stadium, and they’ve set up a serpentine walking line where you file in and are guided to walk in front to see the first set of retired numbers and plaques, then make a u-turn turn and walk by the middle numbers and plaques then u-turn again to walk along the back where the larger monuments are. The ushers in this area tell people to keep moving along the line. Lingering is definitely not encouraged.
We’d bought tix for the 3rd level behind home, in something called the Jim Beam Suite. The seats are regular seats, but nicely padded, and the sections are smaller. The Suite itself is located across the concourse and is sort of a large private club, which only people in the Jim Beam sections can access. I think it was limited to Sections 317-321. It has a private bar, private concession stands, and private bathrooms, and plenty of table seating. There’s also free popcorn and peanuts. Outside the Suite in the concourse, there’s a large area roped off with comfortable lounge chair type seating, accessible only to Suite ticket holders.
It was a very chilly night, and we were glad to be able to relax in the warmth of the Suite before the game, and to retreat to it in the middle of the game for a quick warmup. It was also nice at the end of the game to hit the bathroom with no line, in preparation for our subway ride back to our hotel.
We picked up our 2nd row aisle tix on StubHub for $56 each (including fees). I think they run just north of $100 at the box office. Even at full price, I think the access to the Suite is worth it.
Although our seats were on Level 3, they were quite high - the equivalent of 4th level seats at Nats Park and most other ballparks.
The scoreboard is enormous, stretching across the entire outfield almost from foul pole to foul pole. Lots and lots of info going by all game. For instance, for each pitch, you not only get pitch type and speed, but it shows percentage of horizontal and vertical break. The out of town scoreboard lists all the games and scores, then highlights each in turn, with a line or two about each game. It was informational, but at times, distracting having so much info.
The crowd LOVES Soto. He received his Silver Slugger award before the game, and the crowd went wild. Each time he came to bat, there were loud enthusiastic cheers. I think the fact that Judge is struggling a bit to begin the season has contributed to the Soto-mania. New kid in town, and all that.
Basic draft beer was about $18 a pop. Everything else was also in the higher price range.
All in all, I just didn’t care for this version of Yankee Stadium. The Jim Beam Suite seats were comfortable, with padded seats and seat backs. And it was great to see Soto again, although jarring to see him in pinstripes. But somehow the ballpark just left me cold, although I’d have a hard time explaining exactly why. It just did. Not a ballpark I’m in any hurry to return to.
Next up - CitiField
