Yankee Stadium (1923)

Yankee Stadium

"The House That Ruth Built" "The Big Ballpark in the Bronx" "The Cathedral of Baseball" "The Stadium"
Aerial view in August 2002.
Address	East 161st Street & River Avenue
Location	Bronx, New York
Coordinates	40°49′37″N 73°55′41″W / 40.82694°N 73.92806°W / 40.82694; -73.92806Coordinates: 40°49′37″N 73°55′41″W / 40.82694°N 73.92806°W / 40.82694; -73.92806
Owner	City of New York
Operator	New York Yankees
Capacity	58,000 (1923) • 62,000 (1927) • 62,000 (1929) • 71,699 (1937) • 70,000 (1942) • 67,000 (1948) • 67,205 (1958) • 67,337 (1961) • 67,000 (1965) • 65,010 (1971) • 54,028 (1976) • 57,145 (1977) • 57,545 (1980) • 57,478 (2003) • 56,936 (2005)
Field size	Left Field – 318 feet (97 m) Left-Center – 399 feet (122 m) Center Field – 408 feet (124 m) Right-Center – 385 feet (117 m) Right Field – 314 feet (96 m) Backstop – 84 feet (26 m)
Surface	Grass
Construction
Broke ground	May 5, 1922
Opened	April 18, 1923 April 15, 1976 (re-opening)
Renovated	October 1973 – April 1976
Closed	September 30 1973 November 9, 2008 (final tour)
Reopened	April 15, 1976
Construction cost	$2.4 million (1923) $167 million (1976) ($33.7 million in 2017 dollars) Renovations: ($703 million in 2017 dollars)
Architect	Osborn Engineering Corporation (1923) Praeger-Kavanaugh-Waterbury (1976)
General contractor	White Construction Co. (1923)
Tenants
New York Yankees (MLB) (1923–1973, 1976–2008) New York Yankees (AFL I / NFL) (1926–1928) New York Yankees (AFL II) (1936–1937) New York Yankees (AFL III) (1940) New York Americans (AFL III) (1941) New York Yankees (AAFC) (1946–1949) New York Yanks (NFL) (1950–1951) New York Giants (NFL) (1956–1973) New York Skyliners (USA) (1967–1968) New York Generals (NPSL / NASL) (1967–1968) New York Cosmos (NASL) (1971, 1976)

Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in the Bronx, a borough of New York City. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees, one of the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises, from 1923 to 1973 and then from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York Giants football team from 1956 through the first part of the 1973–74 football season. The stadium's nickname, "The House That Ruth Built", is derived from Babe Ruth, the baseball superstar whose prime years coincided with the stadium's opening and the beginning of the Yankees' winning history. It has also been known as "The Big Ballpark in The Bronx", "The Stadium", and "The Cathedral of Baseball".

The stadium was built from 1922 to 1923 for $2.4 million ($33.9 million in 2016 dollars). The stadium's construction was paid for entirely by Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert, who was eager to have his own stadium after sharing the Polo Grounds with the New York Giants baseball team the previous 10 years. Yankee Stadium opened for the 1923 MLB season and at the time, it was hailed as a one-of-a-kind facility in the country for its size. Over the course of its history, it became one of the most famous venues in the United States, having hosted a variety of events and historic moments during its existence. While many of these moments were baseball-related—including World Series games, no-hitters, perfect games and historic home runs—the stadium also hosted boxing matches, concerts, Jehovah's Witnesses conventions (see record attendance) and three Papal Masses. The stadium went through many alterations and playing surface configurations over the years. The condition of the facility worsened in the 1960s and 1970s, prompting its closing for renovation from 1974 to 1975. The renovation significantly altered the appearance of the venue and reduced the distance of the outfield fences.