George Blinks! (July, 1998)
YANKEES ARE SAFE AT HOME
A few seasons ago, when the now notorious beam feel through a false ceiling at Yankee Stadium, it appeared the perfect opportunity for Mayor Giuliani and Yankee Principal Owner Steinbrenner to make their move to get the Yankees out of the Bronx. Its the Mayor's least popular borough and the place the less than tactful Steinbrenner has been insulting for better than a decade. Obviously not a graduate of any marketing program, Steinbrenner has been scaring away fans by the thousands with his remarks about neighborhood crime and his directing traffic out of the crowded parking lots. We're talking about the guy who took away the stadium ushers and replaced them with security guards a few years ago.
It doesn't take a marketing genius to know that Yankee Stadium is a neglected jewel just waiting to be polished up into yet another New York entertainment center. The Stadium is arguably the most well publicized sports facility in the world and a genuine landmark. It is the heart and soul of America's pastime and as even the occasional visitor knows, a great place to watch a ballgame. It reeks of the success of American sports' most successful franchise.
Ironically, the place the Mayor would like to see the Yankees go to is only a few blocks from one of New York's most recent and catastrophic landmark demolitions: Pennsylvania Station. As a high school student I remember watching the grand old station come down to make room for yet another landmark on the move, Madison Square Garden. Now as the MTA completes the restoration of Grand Central Station, the city is searching for money to convert the General Post Office into a new "old" Penn Station.
Are we going to do the same thing trying to create another Yankee Stadium, when the old one is better than anything we could possibly hope to create, or pay for, today?
The once and future Yankee Stadium is already ideally located for getting people in and out of a game. Several changes can make it even more convenient. The most obvious is the installation of a Metro North Train Station for the Harlem Line less than a foul pop-up away from the Stadium's main gate. There's lots of room for more parking at the nearly abandoned Terminal Market and the Harlem River provides yet another way to take people out to the ballgame. One of the arguments in favor of a downtown location has been that the restaurants and shops so popular at other new "urban" stadiums won't be able to attract anyone in the off season. Steinbrenner's exclusive contract with the city has been an anchor around the neck of any plans to develop the Stadium's true economic potential. The Yankees only use the place about 80 days a year and its a virtual ghost town when the season ends. The answer is to create something that will attract New Yorkers and tourists to the Stadium for the rest of the year. The answer is a New York Sports Museum.
New York's sports history is second to none and its currently celebrated nowhere. By connecting such a museum to the Stadium, visitors will come to the Yankee Village every day, not just game day. Tourists will come to see Muhammad Ali box, Joe Namath pass and Walt Frazier teaching us all what it means to stay cool. Who wouldn't want to sit in the dugout with a likeness of Babe Ruth or Joe Dimaggio, or have their picture taken sliding into second base in Yankee Stadium? Visitors can then conveniently complete their day in the Bronx with a stop at the Zoo, the Botanical Garden or the Bronx Museum of the Arts.
A year round, constant flow of visitors arriving by train, bus and boat will support the kinds of restaurants and shops needed to create that "downtown" atmosphere the new stadiums have created. Its the kind of economic development project everyone talks about for 161st Street, but always fall short of actually accomplishing.
Now, what about George blinking? When the beam fell in April George screamed 'the sky is falling' and Rudy responded with an outrageous show of inspectors from every government agency within 30 miles. Even Bronx lifers like myself shook our heads and thought, 'They're gone," when we saw the banner headlines about the deathtrap on River Avenue. Within a few days it became apparent that the tide was turning, especially when Giuliani rolled out his mega plans for a billion dollar West Side stadium. New Yorkers and suburbanites alike love that Stadium and the outpouring of affection for the place was remarkable. You don't throw out your Rolls Royce because you need a new muffler.
I don't want to throw a wet blanket on the game of referendum brinkmanship now underway between Speaker Vallone and Manhattan's Mayor Giuliani, but this vote has already taken place, fellas. The public has already made it clear the Yankees are staying put and Steinbrenner sees the writing on the scoreboard. He's now challenged Bronx BP Ferrer to produce three million fans and he'll consider staying. Even Babe Ruth never drew those numbers, but the '98 Yankees just might.
I had the happy good luck to be sitting in the upper deck on Beanie Baby Day this May when David Wells pitched his perfect game. Its the same place I watched as Mickey Mantle, Reggie Jackson and now Bernie Williams hit home runs. As the excitement of a crowd of 50,000 fans reached a near frenzy one feeling became overwhelmingly apparent: for the New York Yankees, there's no place like home.
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