Inside the new Stadium

Larry Dobrow, writer and Yankee fan, earned himself the rare privilege of a sneak peak into the new stadium and wrote about the trip for CBSSports.com.

At first, he was struck by grandeur of it all. Big halls and big screens will dot the big promenades. While he is appreciate of the Yanks’ efforts at modernization, he was most impressed with the field. Dobrow writes:

Then we walked through the tunnel into the cruise ship of a dugout, and exploded out onto the field.

This, not the steakhouses or the Hard Rock Cafes or the post offices or the arboretums, is why the new Yankee Stadium will make hard-core, old-time, middle-tax-bracket fans very, very happy. Yes, there are modern flourishes, like the monstrous video screen and the obligatory center-field outdoor café dealie. But mostly the new field is the old field.

The dimensions remain the same, save for the elimination of chunks of foul territory around home plate and the first- and third-base lines (this won’t thrill the pitchers, I imagine). Most important, the upper decks still hang tightly and imposingly over the field. If I felt somewhat claustrophobic beneath their shadows on a quiet November morning, I can only imagine how intimidated opposing players might feel on a boisterous October night.

I hope Dobrow’s words ring true in April. We’ve heard that the upper decks are a bit more recessed than they were at the intimate Yankee Stadium and the latest set of pictures on Yankees.com don’t dispel that story. But the early words are comforting. This new stadium just might be a nice one yet.