New York: All Change for the Yankees and Mets

The Major League Baseball season is now in full flow and for both of the Big Apple’s teams it’s their first campaign playing in a brand new stadium. Gone are both their traditional stadiums and instead fans can look forward to brand new state-of-the art venues offering vastly improved player and spectator facilities.

The New York Yankees have finally closed the doors on the ‘old’ Yankees Stadium which was built in 1923 and moved their organisation lock, stock and barrel a stone’s throw away to the ‘new’ Yankees Stadium. The new venue boasts a spectator capacity of 52,325 including standing room, which is actually lower than the old venue’s limit of 56,886. However, the brand new replacement incorporates a significant number of corporate suites and other premium seating options that were not available in the old stadium.

The new Yankees Stadium also incorporates a Hard Rock Cafe, which will be open all-year round regardless of any games being played and promises to be one of the franchise’s most lucrative enterprises.

Shea Stadium was the venue for a memorable 30 minute Beatles concert in August 1965, and had been the home of the New York Mets. That was until April 13 2009 when the brand new Citi Field was inaugurated and the Mets played their opener against San Diego. With a capacity of 41,800 the new Mets home field is smaller than that of their Major League city counterparts, but what it lacks in size it certainly makes up for in facilities.

And, while in town for baseball there will be plenty of time to take in the sights of Manhattan and the other four Boroughs of New York. Iconic structures such as New York’s tallest building the Empire State Building and the art deco glory of the aluminium-clad Chrysler Building should simply be the first two things to go on any NYC visitor’s itinerary, along with a trip round Central Park, a man-made green oasis on an island of concrete.

It is important to understand that neither of the newly-constructed New York ballparks contains accommodation, but anyone wishing to take in a game and stay overnight in the ‘city that never sleeps’ should find a wide range of cheap New York hotels" nearby to the venues.

But, if tickets to Yankees or Mets baseball prove hard to come by, then there’s always the ESPN Sports Zone in Times Square. Here you can watch all games involving New York teams in comfort and in front of a giant screen; a most amiable alternative to being there!