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New York to get two retro ball parks
New York’s two Major League Baseball franchises, the New York Yankees and the New York Mets, are to get new stadiums in 2009. While the Yankees are outspending the Mets, both clubs' future homes, which are designed by HOK Sport, are takes on past ballparks.
Construction for the New York Mets’ new home, Citi Field, has begun in the outfield parking lot between Shea Stadium and 126th Street. The $600 million sq ft stadium is a blend of old and new. The overall design is historicist, roughly based on the design of Brooklyn’s beloved Ebbets Field, in honor of Jackie Robinson, the first American to break baseball’s color barrier there in 1945. But the design is interlaced with modern elements such as a retractable roof and removable grass.
The new Yankee Stadium is being constructed adjacent to the existing stadium at East 161st Street and River Avenue in the Bronx. Its design is based on the original Yankee Stadium and when completed the new stadium will incorporate the limestone entrance frieze of the original. The new open-air ballpark will accommodate 54,000 fans, bringing them closer to the field than ever before. The project also includes the construction of three new parking garages and the development of new recreational park facilities within the vicinity of the stadium. Sharon McHugh
US Correspondent
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