It has also occasionally hosted college football games, including the annual Pinstripe Bowl, concerts, and other athletic and entertainment events.
In 1993, Mayor David Dinkins expanded on Koch's proposal by offering his Bronx Center vision for the neighborhood, including new housing, a new courthouse, and relocating the Police Academy nearby.
That same year, Mayor Rudy Giuliani unveiled a plan to relocate the Yankees to the West Side Yard for a $1 billion stadium.
The interior, a modern ballpark with greater space and increased amenities, features a playing field that closely mimics the 1988–2008 dimensions of the old stadium.
[41] Made of steel coated with zinc for rust protection, it is part of the support system for the cantilevers holding up the top deck and the lighting on the roof.
A manually operated auxiliary scoreboard was built into the left and right field fences, in the same locations it existed in the pre-renovation iteration of the original Yankee Stadium.
[45] With seven-story ceilings, the Great Hall is the largest open air public entry way at any sports venue in the world and features more than 31,000 square feet (2,900 m2) of retail space and is lined with 20 banners of past and present Yankees superstars.
[41][42] At the old Yankee Stadium, the right field wall curved from the right-field corner to straightaway center, while at the new ballpark the fence takes a sharp, almost entirely straight angle.
The grass is equipped with a drainage system (featuring over 14,000 feet (4,300 m) of pipe) that makes the field playable an hour after taking 2 inches (51 mm) of rain.
[58] The dressing area alone features 3,344 sq ft (310.7 m2) of space, with each locker equipped with a safety deposit box and touch-screen computer.
[58] The Yankees are believed to be the first team to chemically treat their uniforms, as well as the showering surfaces with an anti-bacterial agent that reduces the risk of infection.
[45] Celebrity chefs will occasionally make appearances at the ballpark's restaurants and help prepare food for fans in premium seating over the course of the season.
An 2,850 sq ft (265 m2) outdoor area, known as the Kids Clubhouse, was created and is located on the 300 level in the right field grandstand above Gate 6 and is outfitted with Yankees-themed playground equipment.
It is also part of the "New York Yankees Healthy Home Plate Program" which provides a hands-on learning experience for local students and non-profit organizations.
[70] In response to the backlash the Yankees received for the incident, the staff members were required to sign a gag order preventing them from speaking to media, but they did indicate that communication for rain delays would be improved.
The company involved in inspecting the concrete was indicted on charges that its employees either faked or failed to perform some required tests and falsified the results of others.
"[73] In his autobiography The Closer, the Yankees' longtime relief pitcher Mariano Rivera wrote about the new stadium's atmosphere: "It doesn't hold noise, or home-team fervor, anywhere near the way the old place did.
"[74] Derek Jeter echoed this sentiment in a September 2014 article in New York magazine, in which he said he missed the original Yankee Stadium: "It was a different feel.
"[76] In its first season, Yankee Stadium quickly acquired a reputation as a "bandbox" and a "launching pad" because of the high number of home runs hit at the new ballpark.
[77][78][79][80][81][82] Through its first 23 games, 87 home runs were hit at the venue, easily besting Enron Field's (now called Daikin Park) previous record set in 2000.
[83] Early in the season, Yankee Stadium was on pace to break Coors Field's 1999 single-season record of 303 home runs allowed, and the hometown Daily News (using the back-page headline "HOMERS ODYSSEY") started publishing a daily graphic comparing each stadium's home run totals through a similar number of games.
[79] Likewise, Gammons' ESPN colleague Buster Olney described the stadium as "a veritable wind tunnel"[77] and likened it to his childhood Wiffle-ball park.
[84] Newsday columnist Wallace Matthews joined in the criticism, labeling the stadium "ridiculous" and accused "the franchise that took ownership of the home run" of cheapening it.
[85] An independent study by the weather service provider AccuWeather in June 2009 concluded that the shape and height of the right field wall, rather than the wind, is responsible for the proliferation of home runs at the stadium.
Later in that game, Grady Sizemore of the Indians hit the first grand slam at the stadium, doing so off of Yankee relief pitcher Dámaso Marte in the top of the seventh inning.
On July 2, 2009, Russell Branyan of the Seattle Mariners became the first player to hit a home run off of the Mohegan Sun Restaurant in center field.
The garages will be built (and renovated) by the Community Initiatives Development Corporation of Hudson, a nonprofit entity that will use the parking revenue to repay the bonds and pay a $3 million yearly land lease to the City of New York.
[123] The first non-baseball event at the current version of Yankee Stadium took place on the evening of Saturday, April 25, 2009, when Senior Pastor Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church held what was dubbed as a "Historic Night of Hope" Christian prayer service.
As a further satire of Trost's arguments against discounted resale, Oliver then announced a contest in which viewers were invited to send photos of themselves dressed as if they had "never sat in a premium location before", with winners offered the ability to purchase a pair of Legends Seats from one of the first three home games of the season for 25 cents.
Team president Randy Levine responded positively to the stunt, thanking Oliver for having bought tickets to begin with, and remarked that everyone was welcome at Yankee Stadium.