I hope these images aren't too large:

Yankee Stadium with a roof over it? (Sigh) Somehow, it seems sacreligious, doesn't it? My dream has always been to see a Yankees-Red Sox game in either Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium; to me, that is the epitome of major league baseball at its finest. Guess I'd better hurry before BOTH of them are gone!

Take this column for all its worth, which may not be saying all that much.


http://www.nypost.com/sports/4643.htm

THE INSIDERS

Steve Serby
Kevin Kernan

December 21, 2003 -- Macombs Dam Yankees

While all the attention is on the blood war one-upmanship between the Yankees and Red Sox, some of our most trusted Inspyders are hearing some fascinating whispers about the Pinstripers.

And this has nothing to do with the product on the field, but everything to do with the fans and the enjoyment of watching a ballgame in The Bronx.

The talk is heating up again about plans for a new Yankee Stadium at Macombs Dam Park. Things had been quiet for the last two years. Our Inspyder insists that the Yankees are going full steam ahead on the $800 million ballpark with the club kicking in $400 million, a park that would have the class of Yankee Stadium with the amenities of a state-of-the-art ballpark. From the outside it will look like the original Yankee Stadium, from the inside it will look more like the current Yankee Stadium.

Word is one of the best and biggest developers in the world is involved in the project - Tishman Speyer Properties.

As much as the baseball world tries to romanticize Yankee Stadium, if you really step back and look at it, the Stadium is second-rate. Everything, from the site lines to the amenities, needs to be improved. If small-market teams like the Padres are opening state-of-the-art ballparks like Petco (Dog) Park, why can't the greatest championship franchise of them all frame a new deal for a new park?

For those who believe Yankee Stadium is hallowed ground, remember these words from former Yankee Jerry Coleman. When we asked him a few years back about returning to the Stadium, he said, "That's not the same Yankee Stadium that I played in. It's a different park since the renovation."

That renovation took place in 1973. Much more will be heard on this project in the near future.

_____________________________________

And now a home venue for the Expos

BC, yup, you HAVE to see a game in Fenway...I've seen a few games there, and it is nothing less than the BEST baseball experience on the planet...Yankee Stadium, I don't feel as much urgency to witness a game there--it has so much history, bravado, etc., but doesn't say "pure baseball" to me like Fenway does...when they finally build a new Fenway, it'll be great and all, but I'm in no hurry for it to happen...best park in majors for scenery/setting: Pac Bell...best park in majors if you only see one game for the rest of your life and want the best in pure baseball entertainment: Fenway, whose fans are the best in baseball

"I don't want to talk about Him!"--J.J. McClure

I went to Yankee stadium in full mariner attire to see the M's beat the Yanks. It was a great expirence i might say.

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MLB2PDX
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As if the A-Rod trade didn't get your blood boiling enough...


http://www.nypost.com/commentary/17947.htm


YANKS PLAY BALL WITH MIKE IN NEW STADIUM TALKS

By DAVID SEIFMAN


February 15, 2004 -- BASEBALL executives are meeting with the Bloomberg administration in an attempt to revisit the stadium deals signed by the Giuliani administration.

Sources said the Yankees have offered to pick up a larger share of the tab than they agreed to in 2001 for construction of a new $800 million, retractable-roof arena in The Bronx.

"It's moving ahead," said one source.

The Yankees had originally offered to pay about 60 percent of an estimated $50 million-a-year tab in interest costs.

Jennifer Falk, a spokeswoman for Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, confirmed, "Dan has had meetings on that subject."

But Falk said the city's position hasn't changed.

"We are only willing to make investments in those projects where we can show significant private investment and incremental tax revenues offsetting the public dollars," she said. "At the very least, it has to be revenue-neutral to the city."

Howard Rubenstein, a spokesman for the Yankees, told The Post that the team is "continuing to plan for a new stadium and is working with the city, elected officials and the community to try to finalize our plans."

In the waning days of the his administration, Mayor Rudy Giuliani granted the Yankees and Mets up to $50 million over five years to plan new ballparks.

The Yankees and Mets reached tentative deals with Giuliani on Dec. 28, 2001, to build a pair of $800 million ballparks, funded through a $1.6 billion city-backed bond offering.

Bloomberg took office four days later and put the contracts on hold, saying they were not affordable in the face of multibillion-dollar budget deficits.

_____________________________________

Super Bowl's Over. It's Time To Play Ball And Bring The Expos Home.

why is it so expensive? Is it land acquisition costs plus roof or what?

I think BaseballPartners can answer that one... something about paying off the mob bosses and such...

Visualize.... Portland Explorers - March, 2005 - Scottsdale, AZ

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/178550p-155291c.html


Mike: Team play builds stadiums

By MICHAEL SAUL
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU


Mayor Bloomberg said he'll go to bat for new stadiums for the Yankees and Mets, but only if the teams step up to the plate with cash of their own.

The two teams should follow the example of the NFL's Jets, Bloomberg said. The team plans to contribute $800 million toward a new football stadium on the West Side when it leaves New Jersey in 2008.

"I'm committed to trying to help both those [baseball] organizations and to help Cablevision with the new Madison Square Garden. But the city just doesn't have the monies to do it all," Bloomberg said.

The city also is in negotiations with new Nets owner Bruce Ratner on how much the city would kick in for a basketball arena in Brooklyn. That arena would be part of a $2.5billion office and residential development that Ratner has said would be paid for with mostly private funds.

The Jets deal, announced last week by Bloomberg and Gov. Pataki, is part of a $2.8 billion deal that also includes expanding the Javits Center. The city and state will each spend $300 million on the stadium component of the project.

"The city is prepared to make investments for the kind of facilities that will give us and our children a future," Bloomberg said. "And nobody understands the value of the Yankees and the Mets to New York City any more than I do."

In December 2001, just 79 hours before he left office, then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani announced he had struck a nonbinding deal to construct new stadiums for the Mets and Yankees.

According to the deal, the stadiums' estimated cost of $800 million each would be shared equally by the teams and the taxpayers. The ballparks would be built near the existing Yankee and Shea stadiums.

Upon taking office, though, Bloomberg said the city could not afford to build the stadiums. "That hasn't changed," Bloomberg said yesterday.

Howard Rubenstein, a spokesman for Steinbrenner, said, "We're hopeful we will be successful in a reasonable period of time."

A spokesman for the Mets did not return calls for comment.

Originally published on March 30, 2004

quote:

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The two teams should follow the example of the NFL's Jets, Bloomberg said. The team plans to contribute $800 million toward a new football stadium on the West Side when it leaves New Jersey in 2008.

---

Now, if I'm a major league baseball team, I've got to be wondering how in the world a team can AFFORD to invest that kind of money in a stadium, and what in the world they are doing differently that they can actually have that much money available. If I'm an MLB owner, I'm asking myself what is it about our system that is so screwed up that I can barely make ends meet, while football is rolling in the dough, despite the fact that we have 10 times as many games?

What do you suppose the answer is going to be?

Doesn't NYC's bid for the Olympics in 2012 factor into this somehow?

No, there were some thoughts it would with the Jets stadium but Johnson put those to rest by offering to pay up to $800 Million out of pocket in order for NYJ to get out of NYG's shadow....

The ballparks were supposed to be done on their own with no thoughts of the Olympics involved...

Blair, the Patriots (relitivly) new stadium was 100% privatly funded too, I forget the cost, but it was a heafty price tag. The only public costs were about $50-$75 million in raod improvements getting to the stadium that I beleive Robert Kraft (the Patriots owner) the paying back to the state in the form of a loan with 0% interest.

I don't know how this might bear out but it has the potential to make the stadium situation in NY/NJ quite interesting.

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/17847.htm


JETS' RETURN LEAVES JERSEY DREAMING OF MLB PITCH

By TOM TOPOUSIS


March 31, 2004 -- The city's plan to bring the Jets back to New York has sparked a return volley from across the Hudson - New Jersey officials are vowing a bid to lure the Yankees or the Mets to a new ballpark in the Garden State.

George Zoffinger, president of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, told The Post that New York's attempted poaching of the Jets would be met stadium seat for stadium seat with a new proposal for a baseball site west of the Hudson River.

"I could come up with a very aggressive plan for a baseball stadium and shop that to the Yankees and the Mets," Zoffinger said.

Gov. Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg last week unveiled plans for a new $1.4 billion West Side Stadium for the Jets that would be built above the MTA's railroad yard west of 11th Avenue at 33rd Street.

Jets owner Robert Wood Johnson wants to move his team to Manhattan after the 2008 season when his lease at Giants Stadium ends.

A possible Jets move comes on the heels of developer Bruce Ratner's purchase of the New Jersey Nets, which he wants to move from the Meadowlands to a new arena in Downtown Brooklyn.

"New York City should concentrate on the Yankees and the Mets," Zoffinger said. "Let us concentrate on the Giants and the Jets - and not have us in a situation where we are bidding against each other."

Howard Rubenstein, a spokesman for the Yankees, said team officials would not consider a move to New Jersey.

A Mets spokesman did not respond to the New Jersey offer.

http://www.crainsny.com/news.cms?newsId=8496


Yankees plan to build new stadium

by Anne Michaud

The New York Yankees plan to announce within the next two weeks that they want to build a new, $750 million stadium across the street from Yankee Stadium. The new stadium would be in McCombs Dam Park.

According to sources close to the deal, the team will ask for $450 million in public infrastructure investment to build a hotel and conference center, a new Metro North stop, and a ferry landing, as well as three new parks elsewhere in the Bronx. Under state law, the team must replace the parkland it uses.

The team will likely seek to finance the facility by issuing tax-exempt Industrial Development Authority bonds. Sources say revenue from the new stadium would more than pay off the bonds. The Yankees were at first looking at a design that would have increased luxury boxes to 70. But the design did not work well, and the team is now planning 50 to 52 skyboxes. A spokesman for the team says the Yankees are continuing to work out the details with the Bloomberg administration and that an announcement is expected in the coming weeks.

According to sources, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion played a major role in bringing the city and the Yankees together.
Copyright 2004, Crain Communications, Inc

$750 million



3/4 of a billion. Amazing.

The numbers are all over the place. This article says it's "just" $700 million.


The New York Times


Yankees Propose New Stadium, and Would Pay
By CHARLES V. BAGLI

Published: July 30, 2004


The New York Yankees will soon unveil plans to build a new $700 million, open-air stadium across 161st Street from its present home in the Bronx, according to team executives and elected officials, and the team is willing to pay much of the cost of construction.

The team's willingness to put up so much cash reflects a significant change from the team's earlier proposals for a new stadium during the administration of Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, when the Yankees offered to pay half the construction cost, and appears to have enhanced its prospects with the Bloomberg administration. At a City Hall meeting two weeks ago, the Yankees got a relatively positive reception from members of the Bloomberg administration.

The team continues to tinker with the plan but intends to present a final proposal to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Governor George E. Pataki in the coming weeks. The new, slightly smaller ballpark, with about 50,000 seats and 50 luxury boxes, would be built in Macombs Dam Park, just to the north of the existing stadium, an American sports shrine.

The city and state would probably have to spend around $100 million, officials said. Primarily, the city would be asked to create a string of ball fields and parks nearby that would lead down to the Harlem River, north of the Bronx Terminal market, to offset the loss of parkland in the neighborhood. The state would be asked to build a Metro-North train stop along its tracks adjacent to the field.

The existing stadium, which opened in 1923 and has been the site of 33 World Series, would not be demolished, at least not most of it. It would be converted, possibly, to a multilevel parking garage with a soccer field on top, while retaining the ball field and the most recognizable elements of the structure.

Although the Yankees now lead the major leagues by drawing nearly 3.5 million fans a year at their aging, outmoded home, the team's principal owner, George Steinbrenner, has long wanted a modern stadium with wider concourses, restaurants, more luxury boxes and club seating that would generate millions more in revenue and increase the value of the team.

The new stadium would have about 6,000 fewer seats but 39 more luxury boxes and far better sight lines, according to executives who have seen the plans. The team also saved money from an earlier proposal by eliminating a retractable roof, a feature that could cost $200 million. The proposal dovetails with a redevelopment plan sponsored by the Bronx borough president, Adolfo Carrión, for the neighborhood, which includes a site for a hotel, retail shops, commercial development, a Metro-North station, an improved ferry terminal on the Harlem River and a shopping mall at the Bronx Terminal Market.

Neither the Yankees nor city officials were willing to comment publicly yesterday on the details of the proposal, but the Yankees showed their plans to city officials earlier this month, and the team conceded that a proposal was in the works.

"The Yankees are continuing to plan for a new stadium," said Randy Levine, president of the Yankees. "We're speaking with many people in government and in the community, but we don't have anything to present yet."

Mr. Carrión, who was in Boston for the Democratic National Convention, said he would soon release a comprehensive plan for the area surrounding Yankee Stadium.

"We've been talking to the Yankees for two years," he said. "There's some pretty serious planning brewing here. We'll be able to give a full-blown presentation pretty soon."

The Yankees' latest proposal is a remarkable turnabout for a legendary ball club that once threatened to abandon the Bronx for New Jersey unless the city and state helped it build a $1 billion stadium on the West Side of Manhattan. It seems to take into account new political realities and the volatility of government subsidies for sports buildings among the public.

At the same time, the team's plan is likely to provoke greater scrutiny of plans for the city and state to provide a $600 million subsidy for a $1.4 billion, 75,000-seat football stadium for the Jets and to do $187.7 million in road and rail yard work for the proposed $435 million Nets basketball arena in Brooklyn.

"The most recent proposal from the Yankees indicates a sea change in their thinking, recognizing that the public doesn't want to subsidize stadiums given the city's other more pressing needs," said Harvey Robins, a former aide to Mayors Edward I. Koch and David N. Dinkins. "As the Yankees put more on the table, I'd like to see comparable concessions from the Jets and the Nets."

If the Yankees proposal is adopted, the team's $700 million investment in the stadium would make it both the most expensive baseball park and the largest such investment by a professional baseball team. In recent years, as economists questioned the wisdom of public investment in stadiums that mostly enrich the owners, sports teams have increasingly been forced to pay a larger share of the stadium costs once borne gladly by cities and counties.

Four years ago, for example, the San Francisco Giants became the first team in recent years to finance its stadium privately. The St. Louis Cardinals are building a $400 million stadium that is almost entirely privately financed.

Given New York's recent fiscal constraints, the Bloomberg and Pataki administrations declared that they would not pay for sports buildings themselves, although they would be willing to consider infrastructure improvements like roadwork and public transportation.

At the end of his term in 2001, Mr. Giuliani tried to seal a deal to build new $800 million stadiums for both the Yankees and the Mets, in which the teams would pay half the cost. The Yankees would have built a new 47,000-seat stadium with a retractable roof in Macombs Dam Park and demolished the old stadium. Under that deal, the state was expected to spend $390 million on parking garages, highway improvements and public transportation for the stadiums.

After Mayor Bloomberg succeeded Mr. Giuliani, inheriting a recession and a city wounded by the attack on the World Trade Center, he quickly said there was no money for stadiums.

Since then, the city backed the plan for a Jets stadium, which would also serve as an Olympic stadium if New York wins its bid for the 2012 summer Olympic Games, and the arena proposal.

Like the Jets and the Nets, the Yankees may also ask the city to issue tax-exempt bonds for the project. The team, however, would make the annual payments on the bonds.

Still, the state would probably have to spend tens of millions to build the Metro-North station and extend subway platforms for the new stadium, as well as make a number of highway improvements. The team's plan envisions a large, multilevel parking garage, which could be built by the state or a private owner. The Metro-North station could, however, reduce the total number of parking spaces.

The team has also worked with Bronx officials to map out a series of parks and ball fields to replace Macombs Dam Park and sidestep potential community opposition.

One executive who was briefed by the Yankees said the whole project was made possible by the team's financial plan. One of the most valuable sports franchises in the world, the Yankees paid about $60 million in revenue-sharing money to Major League Baseball. The league's rules allow teams to subtract annual stadium costs from their revenue-sharing obligations. So the Yankees would pay, say, $40 million a year to repay the bonds, rather than handing it over to Major League Baseball.

"The team can shoulder most of the costs," said one person who has seen the Yankees' plan. "The beauty of this transaction is the fact that money spent towards stadium construction is viewed as an operating cost and isn't subject to revenue sharing."

The Yankees now charge from $8 to $95 a ticket.

New York Times


Bloomberg Says City Will Help the Franchise That Helps Itself

By WINNIE HU and CHARLES V. BAGLI

Published: July 31, 2004


Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg expressed support yesterday for the New York Yankees' plan to pay for a new stadium in the Bronx, saying that he would also like to replace the city's other aging sports arenas, Shea Stadium and Madison Square Garden.

But the mayor made clear that those sports projects would also have to be paid for primarily by the teams themselves, or through other private investments. Reiterating his earlier position on the issue, he said that city money could be counted on only for smaller improvements in infrastructure.

"We just don't have a lot of money to pay for it," the mayor said on his weekly radio program on WABC-AM. "And so what we said from Day 1 was to build these things, it's got to be done with private money, and if there needs to be a public investment for infrastructure, there has to be a return for the city."

Officials with the Yankees and the city said on Wednesday that the team planned to pay for much of the $700 million cost of a new open-air stadium, which would rise across 161st Street from its current home. According to the team's latest proposal, the city and state share would total roughly $300 million, which would be used in part to create public ball fields and parks to offset the loss of parkland in the neighborhood.

Yankees' executives, who have hired PricewaterhouseCoopers to do an economic impact analysis, said they were confident that it will show that additional tax revenues from a new stadium would more than offset the cost of the infrastructure work by the state and the city.

"We're appreciative of the mayor's views and we look forward to working with him as we finalize our plans," Randy Levine, president of the Yankees, said yesterday.

In contrast, the city and state would pay substantially more -about $600 million in public funds -for a proposed $1.4 billion stadium for the New York Jets on the far West Side of Manhattan. The Jets would invest about $800 million in the stadium, or what the mayor calls "the biggest private contribution ever." It would also be most the expensive football stadium in the country, by far.

In recent months, the Jets stadium has been opposed by community groups and businesses, including Cablevision, the publicly traded company that owns Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers. But the Jets stadium remains a central part of the Bloomberg administration's $6.5 billion plan to transform the West Side: it would double as an exhibition hall and as an Olympic stadium if the city succeeds in its bid for the 2012 summer Olympics.

Mayor Bloomberg defended the Jets proposal yesterday by pointing out that it would be used mostly as a convention center, not as a sports stadium, and that it would create a large number of jobs in the city. The Jets, the state and the city contend that the stadium will generate more than $65 million annually in state and city taxes, or $23 million more than they believe it will cost the city and state in annual debt payments.

"Baseball stadiums are different," the mayor said. "They're basically used for baseball and not a lot else. They're open stadiums, so they can't be used in the winter, and in the summer, when you would like to use them for a concert or something, there's either a baseball game there or you can't tear up the field. So you know, you say, 'Well, it's sitting there empty.' Yeah, but you can't use it, so that's the problem."

The mayor said a proposed $435 million arena in Brooklyn for the New Jersey Nets was part of a residential and commercial complex that would generate "enormous returns because it will bring a lot of jobs and housing to that neighborhood."

The developer is also asking for more than $300 million in tax breaks and road and rail yard work.

Even so, Mayor Bloomberg said that city officials were working closely with the Yankees to move ahead with the stadium proposal. In a thinly veiled swipe at Cablevision, which has financed ads against the Jets stadium, the mayor also praised the Yankees' principal owner, George Steinbrenner, for trying to find a way to pay for the stadium without relying on the city.

"The Steinbrenner organization, they're smart, they're aggressive, and rather than just go out and yell and scream and try to stop other projects, their whole focus is in trying to get something that's viable and that works," he said. "I'm a big fan."

Mayor Bloomberg said that he would also like to see a new Madison Square Garden built on the West Side, along with the Jets stadium. Other possibilities, he said, included building a new arena as part of the refurbishment of Penn Station, or on a vacant parcel of land on Eighth Avenue.

Cablevision, in turn, has pointedly announced that it would renovate the Garden without asking for additional city subsidies. Officials in the Bloomberg administration say they hope Cablevision will cease its war against the Jets' project and seek the city's help in building a new Garden at another location.

The mayor, who attended a Yankees game on Thursday night, said that he would not play favorites when it came to the city's two baseball teams. He added that city officials were also working with Fred Wilpon, the principal owner of the Mets, to come up with a way to pay for a new Shea Stadium. But the Mets, whose officials could not be reached for comment, generate far less revenue than the Yankees, the most valuable sports franchise in the country, and may not be able to offer to pay for a $700 million stadium, said one baseball official.

"If the Steinbrenner organization comes up with money, we'll look at that; if it's right for the city, the city will help them," the mayor said. "If the Wilpon organization comes up with money for a new Shea stadium, and it's right for the city, the city will help them. I mean, I'd love to see both."

-------------------------------------------------------------------


Newark Star-Ledger


In house that George builds, revenue needy aren't welcome
New Yankee Stadium would be sweet revenge for Boss

Saturday, July 31, 2004

BY MATTHEW FUTTERMAN
Star-Ledger Staff


For Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, one major factor is driving a plan to pay for a new $700 million stadium in the Bronx: He would rather invest money in his own franchise instead of sharing it with some of baseball's 29 other teams.

Two years ago, the Yankees cast the lone vote against Major League Baseball's collective bargaining agreement with the Players Association, stating it would take too much money from baseball's richest team.

This season Steinbrenner is on course to share some $60 million in Yankees profits and executives close to the man known as "The Boss" say he is none too happy about his worst fears coming true.

Now, according to those associates, Steinbrenner is on the verge of getting some revenge by using the rules every other team approved.

In paying for his own stadium, Steinbrenner will not only get a gleaming, cash-rich venue for his team, he will also significantly decrease how much money he has to hand over to teams like the Kansas City Royals and the Milwaukee Brewers. Baseball's rules require the richest teams to share 34 percent of their revenues from local television deals and ticket sales. But the teams get to deduct what they spend on their ballparks, giving Steinbrenner the equivalent of a big tax deduction.

"Every dollar he invests in the long-term viability of the Yankees and a new stadium is one less dollar he has to invest in the teams he's competing against," said David Carter, who teaches about the sports business at the University of Southern California. "For the everyday fan, this is akin to putting money in your 401(k) every other Friday instead of giving to Uncle Sam."

For Steinbrenner, a new stadium would cap an impressive run since his return from a two-year suspension during the early 1990s. The Yankees have won four World Series, created the YES Network, and solidified their position as the country's top sports franchise. A new stadium would only enhance the value of the franchise.

Howard Rubenstein, a spokesman for Steinbrenner, said the Yankees and New York City officials would continue to discuss the stadium proposal but will not be ready to present the public with a plan for at least several weeks.

"The Yankees will pay for it, that much we know," Rubenstein said of the proposed $700 million stadium across 161st Street from the current Yankee Stadium in Macombs Dam Park. "If we get the park site, the land will be replaced and improved."

The Yankees are asking the city to cover the costs of replacing the parkland with a series of fields along the Harlem River waterfront where abandoned warehouses and litter-strewn parking lots now stand. In addition, the team wants the Metropolitan Transit Authority to build a train station for Metro North that would allow fans from Westchester to take trains to and from the games. The total public costs associated with the project are expected to be more than $100 million.

City officials are now studying whether the incremental tax revenues generated by a stadium, hotel and retail complex in the area would cover the costs of improving access to the site.

The current proposal is substantially different from former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's plan to share the costs of separate $800 million stadiums for the Yankees and the Mets.

Yesterday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg reiterated his commitment not to spend public money on the stadium. Lawyers for the city and the Yankees still need to work out numerous details before an agreement could be reached, he said.

An associate of Steinbrenner's said the Yankees boss has spent the past two years keeping a close eye on Mets owner Fred Wilpon's attempts to get public financing for his stadium. While Steinbrenner has the money to build his own stadium, he opted not to pursue the project until it became clear the Mets would not receive public money for their stadium.

Now, he may get his stadium and enjoy the bonus of limiting what he pays to baseball's revenue- sharing program.

The Yankees' contribution is calculated by taxing its payroll above $117 million and by taking 34 percent of its local revenues, including broadcasts and ticket sales. This year that amounts to about $60 million, which is roughly the amount of the annual debt payments -- spread over 30 years -- for a $700 million stadium.

It's the same loophole a few other teams have used to limit their contributions to revenue sharing.

"As a business deal this makes perfect sense for George," said Sal Galatioto, an investment banker with Lehman Brothers, the New York investment firm, who has advised Steinbrenner in the past. "It's money he is spending anyway."

A new stadium would not totally wipe out Steinbrenner's revenue sharing contribution because it would likely produce more money than the Yankees' current 81-year-old home.

With 50,000 seats, the new stadium would be smaller than the existing 55,000-seat Yankee Stadium. But it would have 50 luxury suites, more than double the current amount. Also, in keeping with other modern ballparks, it would include retail and restaurant space that could be rented.

Finally, Steinbrenner has always resisted letting a company pay him to put a corporate name on Yankee Stadium because he did not want to ruin the ballpark's tradition. At a new stadium, he would be free from such concerns.

Yesterday, Rubenstein would not rule out selling the naming rights to the proposed stadium, and industry experts said any new building where the Yankees play could command more than $10 million a year from a sponsor. Houston, for example, receives $6 million a year for the naming rights to Minute Maid Park.

"Whatever the biggest deal is you start from there and go up," said Michael Rowe, the former president of the Nets and a leading sports industry consultant. "It could be double. It's the Yankees. It's New York."

New York Times


Early Reaction Is Positive on a New Yankee Stadium

By CHARLES V. BAGLI

Published: September 5, 2004


The New York Yankees' plan for a new $750 million, open-air stadium in the Bronx, which they hope to announce publicly at the end of the month, is winning generally positive reviews so far in meetings with elected officials and city agencies.

Under the proposal, the team would build a 51,000-seat stadium with 50 to 75 luxury boxes designed by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum to evoke the original 1923 stadium, not the renovated version that exists today. The stadium would go up in Macombs Dam Park, across 161st Street from the team's current home in the Bronx.

City officials and others who have talked to the Yankees say the team has devised a plan to replace the 16.7 acres of parkland as well as four community ball fields, a soccer field, a running track and the tennis and handball courts that would be eliminated by the project. The historic baseball field would remain for use by local teams, but part, if not all, of the existing stadium may be demolished, officials said.

The stadium proposal would dovetail with a broader plan by Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión Jr. for the redevelopment of the entire neighborhood, including a rejuvenation of the 161st Street corridor, as well as construction of a hotel and conference center near the stadium.

"It looks fabulous," said Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, who met with team executives a week ago and who has seen the renderings. "At first glance, it's almost too good to be true."

City Councilman José M. Serrano, whose district includes the area around the stadium, said the Yankees "deserve a new stadium." At the same time, he said, it was important that the team become more involved with the community and athletic programs in the South Bronx.

"I think it's important to make sure they do the right thing as far as the neighborhood is concerned," Mr. Serrano said.

The president of the Yankees, Randy Levine, would not provide renderings of the stadium or many details of the project because they remain a work in progress. "We are actively planning the new stadium," Mr. Levine said. "We've been getting input because it's very important that this be a consensus plan. We hope to present a final plan in the next several weeks."

But with Mr. Levine meeting with City Planning, the Parks Department and elected officials in the Bronx, a picture of the Yankees' proposal is emerging, and it is not sparking the same kind of controversy as the proposals for a $1.4 billion stadium for the Jets in Manhattan and a $435 million arena for the Nets in Brooklyn.

The latest proposal represents a remarkable turnaround from the early 1990's, when the Yankees' principal owner, George M. Steinbrenner, threatened to move to New Jersey if the city refused to build a new stadium in Manhattan. He routinely complained that crime, grime and an antiquated stadium kept annual attendance at home games well below two million.

But this year, attendance may top four million, and the Yankees say they will pay the $700 million to $750 million cost of a new stadium if the city issues tax-free bonds for the project. But the team is asking state and city officials for an additional $100 million and $300 million in infrastructure work, including four to six parking garages, a Metro-North rail station, roads and sewers.

One of the most pressing issues, however, is that the stadium project would require taking nearly half of the 28.4 acres in Macombs Dam Park, the site of four hardscrabble ball fields, a running track and a soccer field. In addition, the project would need 2.9 more acres, just to the north of Macombs Dam, in John Mullaly Park, which would eliminate 16 tennis courts and eight handball courts.

Officials say the Yankees have identified city-owned land nearby, including a parcel west of the stadium near the Harlem River, where even more ball fields, a track, a soccer field and basketball courts could be built. At a recent meeting with the team, the Parks Department suggested that some tennis and basketball courts could be built atop a series of three-story parking garages that would be part of the project. Under the team's proposal, the city would build the new parks at an estimated cost of $50 million, with the team providing an annual comprehensive maintenance fund.

The demolition of the old stadium would cost up to $25 million, although some city officials have suggested that the stadium structure could be spared and used for city offices and storage.

According to elected officials, the Yankees intend to ask the state at a meeting later this month to build a series of parking garages on existing lots that would bring the total number of parking spaces in the area to 13,000 from about 7,000, at an estimated cost of $150 million. The team has told officials that the garages could easily generate enough revenue from fans and commuters to justify the cost.

City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, who visited Yankee Stadium last Wednesday for a briefing on the project, said he thought the team was "moving in the right direction."

"As a lifelong Yankees fan, it's a priority for the speaker to keep the team in the Bronx," said Steve Sigmund, a spokesman for Mr. Miller. "Now he'd like to see the team commit fully to park and community development in the area."

Mr. Carrión, the Bronx borough president, said his master plan for the neighborhood, which he expects to unveil later this month, would include a new stadium, but would differ with the Yankees' proposal in some other ways, primarily relating to parkland location and design.

"This is not simply about a stadium," Mr. Carrión said. "Everyone has to understand that, especially the Yankees. This is about building a center of gravity for sports, tourism, conferences and conventions."

http://www.nysun.com/article/3386


Bronx President Plans Little League for Yankee Stadium


BY JULIE SATOW - Staff Reporter of the Sun
October 19, 2004

Historic Yankee Stadium would host Little League games under a redevelopment plan to be announced today by the Bronx borough president, Adolfo Carrion Jr.

If the Yankees proceed with their proposal to build a $750 million stadium at what is now Macombs Dam Park, Mr. Carrion has developed a Yankee Stadium Neighborhood Development Plan that calls for, among other things, a hotel, waterfront access to the Harlem River, and a high school for sports medicine, The New York Sun has learned. Mr. Carrion is unveiling his plan this morning at a breakfast held by the Association for a Better New York.

The team is not endorsing Mr. Carrion's plan but does support some aspects of it, said a source familiar with the Yankees' plans. Big-ticket items such as the high school for sports medicine and the hotel are not things the Yankees would be willing to fund, and it could be difficult for Mr. Carrion to find financing for them, the source said.

The idea for using the current stadium for Little League games was a concept originated by the team itself, and it already has plans to create waterfront access to the Harlem River and improve the surrounding landscape, the source said. The Yankees are also in favor of using part of the stadium as a Baseball Hall of Fame museum and for baseball exhibits.

As for demolishing the current stadium, "they will remove some of the stadium, such as the seats, because 55,000 people don't come to see Little League games," the source said.

Several calls to Mr. Carrion's office and to the Yankees were not returned. Some local elected officials said they were caught unawares that Mr. Carrion was announcing a plan for the neighborhood today.

"It would be nice if we had been notified and asked our opinion before he makes some big announcement," said an elected official who did not want to be named.

The Yankees have been circulating their own plan among local officials that details a new open-air stadium at 161st Street in Macombs Dam Park. It would include 51,000 seats and up to 75 luxury boxes designed to evoke the style of the original Yankees Stadium built in 1923.

The team has agreed to pay $700 million to $750 million to build the new stadium if the city issues tax-free bonds for the project, and is also asking the city and the state to fund $100 million to $300 million for additional infrastructure, including parking garages, a Metro-North rail station, and road and sewerage improvements.

"It is critical that we keep the Yankees in the Bronx, and that any plan benefits the Bronx and the neighborhoods around the stadium," said Rep. Jose Serrano, who represents the district. "The Yankees plan is a good start."

The plan to build the stadium at Macombs Dam Park would require taking nearly half of the park's 28.4 acres and an additional 2.9 acres in John Mullaly Park, with a number of ball fields, tennis and handball courts, a running track, and a soccer field being demolished. To remove a city park, the state Legislature must approve the measure, and in exchange, a park of equal size must be built in the same community. This means the Yankees and the city and state must locate a new park in the same South Bronx neighborhood and fund its creation, and the move must be approved by the state Legislature.

Officials say that using Yankee Stadium for Little League games could help offset the need to create some replacement parkland.

According to the Yankees plan, the city would build the new park and cover the estimated $50 million price tag, and the team would pay an annual maintenance fee for its upkeep.

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FIELD OF DREAMS

By BILL SANDERSON


October 19, 2004 -- EXCLUSIVE

Here's a sneak peek at the proposed new Yankee Stadium "” and Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion's plan to use the current ballpark's field and distinctive facade for recreation and private development.

The new $700 million stadium would go up in Macombs Dam Park across East 161st Street from the current stadium.

The Bronx Bombers, who lost last night to the Boston Red Sox 5-4 in 14 innings but still lead their best-of-seven ALCS 3-2 going into today's Game Six, are in the final stages of planning the much-anticipated new stadium .

Sources said this depiction of the ballpark, from Carrion's office, is consistent with what the team has proposed.

Yankee reps wouldn't tip their hat about how exactly the new stadium would look.

"The borough president has been quite helpful and we welcome his support," said Yankees spokesman Howard Rubenstein said. But he added: "We have not released any of our specific plans" to Carrion or anyone else.

The new stadium would have about 50,000 seats compared to 57,000 at the current stadium, but the new ballpark would have 50 revenue-generating luxury skyboxes, in contrast to the current 19.

Carrion, whose job gives him a lead role in economic development and planning in The Bronx, believes much of the old city-owned stadium should be preserved.

"The borough president wants to honor the House that Ruth Built," said his spokesman, Eldin Villafane.

In a statement, Carrion's office said his plan "will complement the stadium plan proposed by the Yankee organization."

Carrion says he seeks "a wide array of redevelopment improvements for the Yankee Stadium neighborhood," and will offer "a detailed plan" for the old stadium "as a destination spot."

That plan includes "infrastructure, transportation and green space development."

Besides preserving the current stadium's walls, Carrion proposes tearing down the 1970s pedestrian ramp that obstructs the historic façade behind home plate. Inside, the historic field at its current dimensions "” with a shallow right field and a deep left field designed to favor Babe Ruth and other left-handed power hitters "” would remain green and grassy.

Most of the seating inside the existing stadium would be removed, making space for new, privately developed buildings offering views of the old playing field.

The plan shows one such building in left field. Another would go up inside the current stadium wall, along the first-base side of the field.

Exactly what kind of business or other development Carrion would like to see in the new buildings is unclear. Carrion says he will disclose specifics today at a meeting of the Association for a Better New York.

Also unclear is whether Carrion's plan includes other elements sought by the Yankees "” including a new ferry terminal on the nearby Harlem River, and a new train station. The Yankees have wanted a station on the Metro-North's Hudson line since the current stadium was built in 1922.

Carrion sees his Yankee Stadium proposal as part of the redevelopment of the entire surrounding area, including the nearby Bronx Terminal Market.

When the Yankees began discussing building a new "state of the art" stadium several years ago, the team never offered any proposal for the existing ballpark, which is owned by the city, and leased by the team.

For years after the stadium's 1970s renovation, team owner George Steinbrenner hinted about moving the Yankees to a new ballpark in Manhattan "” or even, heaven forbid, to the Meadowlands in New Jersey.

But it's become clear that in the last few years, the Boss has settled on the idea of a new stadium in The Bronx. He and then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani discussed the idea in 2001, Giuliani's last year in office.

Other city officials also seem to like the idea of a new Bronx stadium, but many say it would have to be financed with the team's own money.