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ITN Source
USA: BASEBALL: Ground is broken on a new stadium for the New York Yankees baseball team
USA: BASEBALL: Ground is broken on a new stadium for the New York Yankees baseball team
Construction officially began on Wednesday (August 16) on a new stadium for the New York Yankees baseball team. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and Yankees owner George Steinbrenner were among the many guests invited to grab a shovel and participate in the official ground-breaking. The open-air stadium, with a price tag of $800 million (USD), will be built next to the existing stadium in conjunction with an estimated $200 million (USD) infrastructure upgrade to the surrounding areas. Said Bloomberg, "Today we're opening a whole new chapter, an exciting chapter in history. This new Yankee stadium will honor this franchise's brilliant past, while creating a new home field worthy of the greatest team in professional sports." Slated to open for the 2009 season, the new stadium will have the same dimensions as the current one. It is planned to have 53,000 seats, 4,000 fewer seats than the current one, but it will have more luxury boxes. "We're just happy that we're able to do this for the Yankees, and happy to do it for you people. Enjoy the new stadium. I hope it's wonderful," said Steinbrenner. Although it was renovated in the 1970's, the existing stadium, or "The House that Ruth Built," is the third oldest ballpark in the major leagues, housing the team since 1923. For many baseball fans, the stadium is hallowed ground, home to some of baseball's greats like Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio.
ITN Source | August 17, 2006
