YANKEE STADIUM

Due to its deteriorating condition in the late 1960s and 1970s, Yankee Stadium was renovated and rebuilt. Since this renovation, nearly every team in baseball has either renovated or had a new ballpark constructed. While many fans and traditionalists would have preferred the Yankees to continue to play at Yankee Stadium, the team wanted a new ballpark built in order to bring in additional revenue and to offer fans more amenities and luxuries. After years of discussions and rumors, the New York Yankees officially announced plans for a new Yankee Stadium in June 2005. Constructed adjacent to the old Yankee Stadium, groundbreaking occurred on August 16, 2006. The Yankees financed the $1.6 billion project, and the City of New York spent $220 million for infrastructure and other improvements in the area.

On April 16, 2009, the New York Yankees played their first game at the new Yankee Stadium against the Cleveland Indians. Tradition and the look of the original Yankee Stadium prior to its renovation in the 1970s is incorporated into the new stadium. The new Yankee Stadium seats approximately 52,000 fans as the main grandstand consists of four levels stretching from foul pole to foul pole, with nearly 30,000 seats in the first two levels. The third level contains 56 luxury suites and the fourth level features a split level upper deck.

College football returned to Yankee Stadium for the first time since the early 1970s when Notre Dame and Army renewed their rivalry on November 20, 2010 as the Irish defeated the Black Knights. Army will play one game each year in 2011, 2012 and 2014 at Yankee Stadium. The stadium also hosts the annual New Era Pinstripe Bowl that matches teams from the ACC and the Big 12. The old Yankee Stadium hosted one bowl game, the Gotham Bowl between Nebraska and the University of Miami in 1962.