the sports section

Not Every Seat in the New Yankee Stadium Is a Winner

By this time next week, “Yankee Stadium” will no longer refer to the historic (if poorly remodeled) park on the south side of 161st Street in the Bronx, but the shiny, new palace currently being built across the street. For $1.3 billion, you’d expect every detail to be taken care of, beyond just the promise of “cup holders throughout the general seating bowl.” For example, the team’s Website explains that “From the Bleachers to Yankees Premium Offerings, every fan will have more comfortable seating that offers improved sight lines.” In fact, it’s the first thing on the page.

What you see in the above image is one of those improved sightlines, from Bleacher Section 239, courtesy of the team’s nifty seat selector. You know what you don’t see in the above image? Right field. Instead, you’ve got a view of a restaurant that will serve as the batter’s eye in dead center. Presumably the view only gets worse if you’re sitting in the dozens of seats still further left. Granted, sightlines like this will only affect a few hundred people, but that’s arguably a worse view than you get in the current left-field bleachers, which is really saying something.

Of course, this won’t be a problem for most people, since it’ll likely be next to impossible to get tickets once the stadium opens in April. That is, unless you’re a city official. According to the Times, the city will have its own suite, which it’ll get for free (though that’s pretty standard practice at this point). But it will also get “first dibs on the best available seats” and be allowed to buy up to 145 tickets for every game, at face value. We’re just guessing those won’t be in Bleacher Section 239.

Not Every Seat in the New Yankee Stadium Is a Winner