Yankee Stadium Review

Well, I didn't think it was any more likely than you did that I'd be writing a little review of the new Yankee Stadium, especially this soon, but thanks to the fates (who love trying to make me look like a hypocrite), here I am. Good old Mr Dyer sprung a nice field-level seat on me at the last minute this Monday, and I jumped at the opportunity since 1) it was probably a rich a-hole who paid for the ticket, not me; 2) I love watching baseball games; and 3) when would I get another chance to see a game in the new stadium, seeing as how I've boycotted it and all?
First, the stadium itself is mostly reminiscent of the old stadium (the renovated old stadium, I mean, since by all accounts the actual "old" stadium was a far sight different from the renovated version I saw many times firsthand). I say mostly because it carries none of the grandness of the scale of the old stadium, so at no point during your stay in the new one will you ever forget you're not in the old one. It doesn't feel as big, for one thing (which of course it isn't. They fit many extra seats in to offset the capacity difference, but those come at the expense of less foul territory and more outfield seats closer to the field. The simple size of the stadium is quite smaller).
This is a lazy thing to say, but it sorta just seems like a lot of the newer stadiums in the league: nicer than most of the old, and more inviting, but ultimately less distinct. This kind of thing would be a definite plus if replacing a stadium such as Shea, or the Pitt/Philly/Cincy bowls, but not so great when replacing something as iconic as Yankee Stadium.
Now to the positives. The concourses (at least the lower one, that's all I saw) are excellent. It's all very very open with great sightlines, not just from the concourse to the field, but also from the lower seats up into the concourse. This is nice since I could just sit in my sight and scan around the stadium to see exactly where I wanted to go for beer or food or restrooms. It's one of those smallish things you don't notice initially that shows what a lot of thought was put into this stadium (pricing excepted of course, as well as the theorized possibility of a homer-heavy wind draft). There is a large enclosed bar right behind center field, and the windows are tinted jet black so they double as the batter's eye. The seats are nicely cushioned and sized, and the food, while nothing spectacular, was adequately varied so that if you wanted something reasonably healthy or nonstandard, you could get it (I had a pulled pork sandwich that was pretty good). The scoreboard is nice and big as expected (Scotty brought up an odd point, that since the scoreboard is directly in center, and features a huge headshot of the batter, would it be odd for that batter to look right over the pitcher's shoulder and get distracted by his own massive image?) and the score and count seemed to be visible from most angles. There was an electronic K counter, plus count, pitch speed and description, plus a nicely detailed rotating out-of-town score and current pitcher-batter-base-out status. Each batter also got a full six season stat categories: AVG, HR, and RBI, plus R, OBP, and even SLG. Very nicely thorough. Sticking in the outfield, although I didn't get a good look from there, the outfield seats seemed to be vastly improved from the old stadium.
A very nice thing is the friezes ringing the top of the stands. These were the famous image of the old stadium (not so much the renovated), so it's very nice they've got them somewhat prominent. Maybe it's sentimentalism, but they look very good, and somehow not forced.
Now, to a couple random points. There is a vast almost-hall-like area off to the first base side of the stadium, behind the concourse but within the outer wall, that was quite visually impressive and maybe even intimidating. The only problem was that it didn't have much use, being mostly empty except for a selection of your standard stadium vendors: bank/credit card companies, a lemonade stand, couple beer stands, and some souvenir stands. Amidst this out-of-the-way randomness was one detail that amazed and--I'm almost ashamed to say because I know they're shamelessly pandering to someone just like me--impressed me was their "Retro Beers" fridge. This nondescript vending spot was manned by two lonely people, and contained 16oz cans of PBR, Schafer, Schlitz, and even Ballantine. Of course I bought a Ballantine, and of course I was upset they had to pour it into a plastic cup, since everyone knows the only joy in drinking a Ballantine is showing off the can while you do so.
Back to the concourses, and another thing I was impressed with: they seemed to be letting anyone who wanted, for as long as they wanted, to just stand at the edge of the concourse right behind the last row of seats and watch the game. I've always wondered why teams didn't let people use the standing areas of stadiums, and they seem to be doing just that.
Finally, on a personal note, I will turn to our specific seats. They were labled $325, and were located 9 rows up directly behind the visitor's dugout. They were in the fourth row beyond the infamous Legends Suites, but they still were low enough to have the offensive (to me) waiter service that they also practiced in the old stadium. They were very good, providing a perfect side-view perspective of the pitcher-batter matchup, as well as the flight of the ball of the bat (so I always knew if a fly was shallow, medium, deep, or a homer, and didn't do the annoying expectant gasping thing that some people do in stadiums anytime a batter lofts a ball out of the infield.
Scotty told me that his company (who provided the tickets) was actually given two extra seats (they orginally bought four), when the Yankees recently came to their senses and lowered the prices for all the lower-level seats. So the absurd pricing for those seats is slightly less absurd now. They're still a bunch of bastards.
Anyway, to sum, new Yankee Stadium is nice, and they mostly did everything right, both macro and micro. You can't build character, though, and I'm not sure that this one will necessarily ever produce it much on its own. That's where it will likely always lag behind its predecessor.