The Battle of New York Stadiums…Yankee Stadium vs Citi Field

Unless you have been living under a rock or in Siberia for the past year, you would know that both the New York Mets and New York Yankees have new stadiums.  I have been lucky enough to have made a trip to both parks, and before I even start to review either of them, I will cover myself:  they are both incredible.  Citi Field for the Mets, and Yankee Stadium for the Yankees… both of them are absolutely outstanding.  With that being said, I am going to force myself to pick a winner between the two.  Here goes nothing…

Food:  Obviously, both parks are a step up from what they previously had.  Yankee Stadium has more options now than before, as does Citi Field.  Both stadiums also had more concession stands, which was definitely needed because the lines at the stands could get pretty long in the old stadium, and who wants to wait an entire inning for a hot dog?  However, I think Citi Field gets the nod in this department.  The food court out behind center field is a huge plus and there is another food court on the highest level of the stadium, so fans sitting in the nose bleed section are not penalized food-wise.  Also, the food is actually good!  Everyone loves eating at baseball games, but more times than not the food is generally crappy, and nobody is willing to admit it.  At Citi Field, the food is higher quality.  Another thing Citi Field has going for itself is that the food chains in the stadium are more of the New York variety, while the places in Yankee Stadium are more of the national chain variety.  Yes, I know Yankee Stadium has an upscale steak restaurant, a sports bar out in center field (which I have been in and is very cool), and even a Hard Rock Café.  It’s awesome that places like that are in Yankee Stadium, but I went there to WATCH THE GAME.  Why would I pay for tickets to the game and then spend four innings eating in a restaurant, where the food will be overpriced as well?  Food goes to the Mets.

Setup:  Both parks did something similar in opening up the park more.  Now you can walk around both Citi Field and Yankee Stadium and watch the game while walking.  Both stadiums also have more bathrooms, which is another big improvement.   Citi Field actually has a set up very similar to that of Chase Field for the Arizona Diamondbacks, one of my favorite stadiums.  The only real difference is that in Arizona there is a retractable roof.  In Yankee Stadium, again, it is now more open, so you can walk around and watch the game at the same time.  Also, the upper deck looks to be a little less steep, and a little longer out.  In the old Yankee Stadium, you could be sitting way up in the upper deck and think you’re going to fall out on to the field at any time.  Both stadiums improved in the way it is set up, and there is not a way to determine one winner over the other, so this one is a push.

Amenities:  Citi Field has the Jackie Robinson Rotunda when you enter the stadium, which is very nice… but all it really is is a big room with a  statue of Robinson and escalators that take you to the field.  Yankee Stadium has the Great Hall, which is an even bigger entrance hall with gigantic posters of Yankee Legends.  Both are cool, but one does not necessarily win over the other.  Citi Field has the MLB 2K9 Fan Fest, which is really cool, especially for families.  Kids can play on the mini baseball field, mini batting cages, or give the dunk tank a chance (which many adults play… even I played!  And won!).  However… Yankee Stadium has to win this category.  Monument Park is moved over to the new stadium in Center Field.  There is now the Yankee Museum.  Even though the restaurants were mentioned under food, it is no doubt that they are an amenity to Yankee fans as well.  The Fan Fest in Citi Field is cool, but even a youngster can get bored of it in 10 minutes.  Yankee Stadium wins this round.

Atmosphere:  To me, this is the big kahuna.  You go to a baseball game to experience it.  You don’t go to eat in the food court, or play in the fan fest, or walk through the museum.  You go to experience the baseball game.  Citi Field is a great stadium, a vast improvement over Shea Stadium (which needed to go for a LONG time - something any Mets fan will agree with).  It is a fun place to play, and a beautiful park… but it does not match what Yankee Stadium has to offer.  An important part of this is that Citi Field has 13,000 less seats than Shea did.  13,000!  That means a higher percentage of fans at the game have better views of the game, but of course they do - they took away the opportunity to go to the game from 13,000 potential fans.  It’s not just that.  It might sound silly, but the big screen at Citi Field is nothing compared to the one at Yankee Stadium.  This is only something that can be experienced by someone who goes to a Yankee game.  The screen is massive.  It is absolutely massive.  I can’t even think of words that would do it proper justice.  It is something that just has to be seen.  Also, when you are walking up to the stadium, Citi Field looks great - just like any other new ballpark.  But when you are walking up to Yankee Stadium, it looks historic, yet brand new.  Somehow the Yankees defined an oxymoron perfectly.  Point goes to Yankee Stadium.

Ticket Prices:  This one should be pretty obvious.  While tickets to see both teams aren’t exactly cheap, going to a Yankee game is outrageous.  In fact, when I went I got 2 tickets on the field level in the outfield for $30 each as opposed to the face value of $75 because I got them from a scalper and it was already the third inning (hint to everyone:  if you want cheap tickets, just wait til a little while after first pitch… the tickets become worthless to scalpers).  Even in the upper deck for Yankee games the tickets are $20.  When you include parking, etc., it becomes a steep price to pay.  And it’s no secret that the prime tickets for Yankee games are just out of control, as they are in the thousands of dollars per ticket, and that is after being cut in half!  Citi Field wins this one pretty easily.

Overall, it’s a tough decision.  There are pros and cons to both stadiums.  I don’t want to include the aspect of ticket prices too much in the final say, because that doesn’t relate to the experience a fan has at the ballpark directly.  And if you’re a fan who sits there all game complaining about the price of tickets, you probably just shouldn’t buy them.  Both stadiums are immaculate and places any baseball fan would enjoy visiting, but I think the better baseball fan experience would be had at Yankee Stadium!  It comes down to one deciding factor really.  Citi Field might be a better place to take the family with the MLB 2K9 Fan Fest and such, but part of what makes the new Yankee Stadium so great is how it looks the same on the inside.  That means when you’re sitting in there it still feels like a historic place.  In my opinion, they have done a fantastic job preserving the “mystique and aura” of the late Yankee Stadium, may she rest in peace.  In the end, the history in the Bronx defeats its cross-town rival.