This is why those exhibition games in early April can’t replace a real grand opening. It’s an hour and a half before game time, and the new Yankee Stadium is dazzling.
Some new aesthetic touches make a big difference, especially the retired numbers displayed on a previously blank wall above the left field bleachers, and the championship seasons listed on a similar space above the bleachers in right. There’s also a flag for each major league team – including National League clubs, for the first time – ringing the top of the stadium, giving it a splash of color. There’s yellow for the Pirates, green for the A’s, purple for the Rockies. They look like candles on top of a white birthday cake.
The line to enter Monument Park snakes far behind the bleachers and up several flights of stairs. It’s like the security line at Laguardia on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, but nobody seemed to mind.
One thing you notice right away is the classic collection of photographs, several for each of the 26 title teams, drawing your eyes above the concession stands. In the very last photo we see Joe Torre, holding the 2000 trophy with the principal owner George Steinbrenner and then-Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani. (It seems like a long time since Torre managed the Yankees, doesn’t it?)
www.metspolice.com
@metspolice
