Danielle SolzmanThe House That Jeter Built
If the previous Yankee Stadium was The House That Ruth Built, the current stadium is The House That Jeter Built.
My main reason in doing a new tour of Yankee Stadium was because I needed new photos since coming out as transgender a few months after my first visit. In looking over my previous photos, there are definitely areas of the stadium that we didn’t go to this time around. It wouldn’t surprise me as teams recreate their tours every now and then. The Wayback Machine only confirms two stops from the 2015 tour with one other site being based on availability. I’m thinking I visited one of the suites because there were some great views of the field.
Non-gameday tours—at least the one I went no—will take fans to the Great Hall, Legends seating behind the dugout, Yankees Museum, Judge’s Chambers, Monument Park, and Toyota Terrace. It would be nice to have gotten onto the warning track or sit in the dugout but alas, you can blame a few bad apples for that. Since the Yankees were on a road trip, they were converting the field for an upcoming soccer match.
While the website lists the Hard Rock Café as being the entrance, we started our 60-minute tour from the team store. The standard adult tour admission, including fees, is $33.
The Great Hall is the first thing that fans see upon entering the stadium. There are so many Yankees legends that the banners are in black and white if you’re looking from one direction and color from the other. Our tour started in the Great Hall but we didn’t get to really explore the banners until walking from the seats to the Yankees Museum.
Yes, there’s a huge photo of The Captain, Derek Jeter.
The Legends seats are nice, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve been on other stadium tours where fans can sit n the dugout or walk on the warning track. Again, we have some bad apples to blame for that.
The two places that make the tour worth the cost of admission are the Yankees Museum and Monument Park. Some of the exhibits rotate in the museum because of players being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Derek Jeter is the most recent Yankees player to be inducted but a few years ago, the exhibit would have been dedicated to both Mariano Rivera and Mike Mussina. The museum features statues of both Don Larsen and Yogi Berra in honor of Larsen’s perfect game. Permanent exhibits include the Baseball Wall, World Series Trophies, World Series Rings, and Therman Munson’s locker.
Prior to Monument Park, we made a brief stop at Judge’s Chambers.
There are so many legends to wear the Yankees pinstripes through the years. Rather than commission multiple statues, they get monuments dedicated in the outfield. It’s a small area and is closed during the game. Unfortunately, the park closes 45 minutes before first pitch so the best time to visit is really during a stadium tour. You better believe that I took so many selfies with the many plaques. It’s basically their Hall of Fame when you think about it.
Monument Park also offers one of the closest views of the retired numbers during the tour. I had my cell phone on me so I couldn’t get a closer view like I would with my other camera. The plaques along the wall honor Nelson Mandela, Jackie Robinson, and Stonewall.
It’s weird not seeing any of the base paths on the field! Toyota Terrace offers one of the picturesque views of the park sans scoreboard.
At the moment, tours are not scheduled beyond September 27. It’s a 60-minute tour, which runs about the same length as the Citi Field tour in Flushing Meadows. But that being said, the Yankee Stadium tour goes to fewer spots so as to spend more time at both the New York Yankees Museum and Monument Park. Back in 2015, I was able to take in a view from the suite level on a tour—this time around, not so much. I recommend the tour on those two spots because the cost of admission is worth going to those two spots alone especially if you’re unable to make it out to a ballgame.
