Ever the popular topic, new Yankee Stadium has been much in the news lately. I have three stories to highlight today. So let’s just jump in.
Stadium could host bowl games
As anyone who has been subjected to the endlessly boring mid-inning interviews of college football coaches and athletic directors on YES broadcasts of recent Yankee games knows, new Yankee Stadium will be hosting a slate of college football games over the next few seasons. Today, the Daily News reports on something far bigger than just the compelling Rutgers/Army match-up. Yankee Stadium may host a bowl game.
According to Bill Madden, Yankee officials — including Hal Steinbrenner — have been talking with the higher-ups at the NCAA about reviving New York-based bowl games. The two sides are targeting a December 2011 date as the inaugural match-up. As Madden notes, old Yankee Stadium hosted the Gotham Bowl in 1962. While I’m frankly tired of hearing about Army’s sub-par football program coming to Yankee Stadium, a bowl game in New York, BCS or otherwise, would be exciting.
Meanwhile, Fack Youk offers up a dissenting opinion. While Yanks COO Lonn Trost continues to proclaim Yankee Stadium “not just a stadium for baseball,” the dimensions and design are such that a football field can’t really fit properly. Baseball stadiums just aren’t meant to host football games, Jay writes.
Yanks face stadium construction lawsuits
During the course of any major construction project, injuries — and subsequent lawsuits — are sure to mount, and new Yankee Stadium is no exception. As Dorian Block details today, a 28-year-old worker who lost the use of his hand in a handsaw accident last July is suing the team and Turner Construction. Marc Kemprowski alleges that the powersaw was missing a $1.50 safety guard. His suit is one of many the Yanks and Turner face over accidents during the construction of the new park.
Biking options few around new Stadium
As many of you know, I’m a big transit buff. My other blog focuses entirely around mass transit in New York City, and every now and then, transportation issues and baseball intersect. Late yesterday, Streetsblog’s Ben Fried explored biking to Yankee Stadium. Playing off a recent article in Sports Illustrated for Kids, Fried notes that bike parking around the new stadium is severely limited.
According to Sarah Braunstein’s piece for SI Kids, the nearest bike parking for Yankee Stadium is four blocks away in front of the Bronx County Supreme Court building. For comparison, Citi Field has ten bike parking racks right outside, and Wrigley Field and AT&T Park in San Francisco both offer secure indoor parking for bikes.
As a few Streetsblog commenters noted, Yankee Stadium isn’t exactly isolated. Three subway lines service the park during games, and a new Metro-North station sees three commuter rail lines pass through it. The stadium is also serviced by a ferry. Still, for those brave enough to bike to and park in the South Bronx, the Yankees probably should have found a way to host a bike rack or two. After all, the Yanks have been pushing the fact that Yankee Stadium is environmentally friendly. With Heritage Field set to open across the street in a few years, there is still plenty of time to make Yankee Stadium even more access-friendly.
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