Innovation. Are there exceptions? As Thomas Friedman wrote in The World is Flat, visit Florence, Italy and gain a better appreciation of the virtues of hanging on to the old and traditional. Is Florence the center of commerce any longer? Of course not. Is it still on the world's short list as a destination to visit? Sure is.
Now segway that notion to 2008. Major League Baseball just celebrated the annual All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx. A big celebration for The House That Ruth Built. There have been make-a-buck schemes going on for at least a year and as an article in the All Star Game program said, The Yankees will be cashing in on a memorabilia craze as they sell off everything from seats to dirt from Yankee Stadium (Hey, I get it. As a fan back in my high school years while living in suburban NY, I went to the last game at Yankee Stadium before the major renovation when the Yankees had to play 2 years at Shea Stadium. That winter I visited Yankee Stadium, bought a seat from the stadium with #7 on it (Mickey Mantle's number), a metal framed plastic number 7 that used to be manually placed on the scoreboard, and a few other goodies. That firesale back in 1973 tool stadium memorabilia to a new level. This 2008 version will take stadium memorabilia into the stratosphere.
So, the new Yankee Stadium (which Fox Sports cropped out of aereal shots of All Star Game) sits right next door, just beyond Left Field. Sitting in the Right Field Line seats, you can look out beyond the Left Field wall and see the massive structure with "Yankee Stadium" across the stop. A bit surreal.
However, this advocate and proponent of innovation will take a stance against the new stadium with the abundance of luxury boxes (and about 8,000 fewer seats). Gee, imagine what supply and demand will do to future ticket prices. That said, my stance isn't economic. As the folks from Florence recognized, some things are worth saving and protecting. Here in the USA we generally have a track record of bulldozing our heritage. One of the most recent monuments to fall was the old Boston Garden. I never went to a game there, but via TV, felt a reverence for this cathedral for basketball. Yankee Stadium, along with Wrigley Field in Chicago and Fenway Park in Boston are among the last of an era. My instinct is that Chicago and Boston fans will fight to protect their cathedrals.
Reflecting upon what I have seen and heard over the last few years in the NYC area, I do not recall one peep from traditionalists, from historians, from preservationists (etc.) who could have raised a hand and voice and said "no" to taking down Yankee Stadium. Years ago "The Boss" got everyone's eye off the ball by flirting with moving the Yankees to New Jersey. Yea right. Maybe keeping the Yanks in The Bronx became the distracted goal.
A few weeks ago I took family from Indiana to their first game at Yankee Stadium. Baseball junkies who have visited about every stadium in the country over the years, they saved the best for last - Yankee Stadium, The Mecca of all sport venues. Their reaction? "Why are they going to tear this place down/replace it? This is a beautiful stadium!" I told them they were right in my mind. Yankee Stadium is more that just fine in my book - it is the epitome of the baseball experience (and so is grass - which MLB has switched back to after the farce of astro-turf for decades; day games ... and thumbs down on the designated hitter). Baseball is a sport of tradition. Chicago and Boston get that. New York blinked. What a shame. Sometimes innovation can stand aside and respect the brilliance of tradition (which was once innovation in it's day).
Now segway that notion to 2008. Major League Baseball just celebrated the annual All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx. A big celebration for The House That Ruth Built. There have been make-a-buck schemes going on for at least a year and as an article in the All Star Game program said, The Yankees will be cashing in on a memorabilia craze as they sell off everything from seats to dirt from Yankee Stadium (Hey, I get it. As a fan back in my high school years while living in suburban NY, I went to the last game at Yankee Stadium before the major renovation when the Yankees had to play 2 years at Shea Stadium. That winter I visited Yankee Stadium, bought a seat from the stadium with #7 on it (Mickey Mantle's number), a metal framed plastic number 7 that used to be manually placed on the scoreboard, and a few other goodies. That firesale back in 1973 tool stadium memorabilia to a new level. This 2008 version will take stadium memorabilia into the stratosphere.
So, the new Yankee Stadium (which Fox Sports cropped out of aereal shots of All Star Game) sits right next door, just beyond Left Field. Sitting in the Right Field Line seats, you can look out beyond the Left Field wall and see the massive structure with "Yankee Stadium" across the stop. A bit surreal.
However, this advocate and proponent of innovation will take a stance against the new stadium with the abundance of luxury boxes (and about 8,000 fewer seats). Gee, imagine what supply and demand will do to future ticket prices. That said, my stance isn't economic. As the folks from Florence recognized, some things are worth saving and protecting. Here in the USA we generally have a track record of bulldozing our heritage. One of the most recent monuments to fall was the old Boston Garden. I never went to a game there, but via TV, felt a reverence for this cathedral for basketball. Yankee Stadium, along with Wrigley Field in Chicago and Fenway Park in Boston are among the last of an era. My instinct is that Chicago and Boston fans will fight to protect their cathedrals.
Reflecting upon what I have seen and heard over the last few years in the NYC area, I do not recall one peep from traditionalists, from historians, from preservationists (etc.) who could have raised a hand and voice and said "no" to taking down Yankee Stadium. Years ago "The Boss" got everyone's eye off the ball by flirting with moving the Yankees to New Jersey. Yea right. Maybe keeping the Yanks in The Bronx became the distracted goal.
A few weeks ago I took family from Indiana to their first game at Yankee Stadium. Baseball junkies who have visited about every stadium in the country over the years, they saved the best for last - Yankee Stadium, The Mecca of all sport venues. Their reaction? "Why are they going to tear this place down/replace it? This is a beautiful stadium!" I told them they were right in my mind. Yankee Stadium is more that just fine in my book - it is the epitome of the baseball experience (and so is grass - which MLB has switched back to after the farce of astro-turf for decades; day games ... and thumbs down on the designated hitter). Baseball is a sport of tradition. Chicago and Boston get that. New York blinked. What a shame. Sometimes innovation can stand aside and respect the brilliance of tradition (which was once innovation in it's day).
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