Both of the stadiums will be used as the magnets in a development plan that is expected to bring in new businesses to neglected­ parts of the city. The goal, says Joshua Laird, assistant commissioner of planning and natural resources for the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, is to use the stadiums to anchor year-round businesses so that the benefits of having a baseball team will extend far beyond the 81 days and nights when the teams actually play home games.

It is a tricky proposition, he says, because baseball stadiums in local neighborhoods usually generate a huge amount of demand for parking and other services when they are in use and then are completely shuttered for much of the year, creating something of a blight in urban areas when the stadium gates are closed. Both the Yankees and Mets are looking at creating year-round stores and restaurants within the stadiums so that there will be some use of the facilities in the winter.

"There is always a dilemma in planning these major facilities," Laird says. "They have an importance to the city that goes beyond the immediate neighborhoods. So how do you recognize that there is a greater importance economically and prestigewise for the city without trampling on the interests of the people who have to live nearby and live with the stadiums day in and day out?"

Steinbrenner threatened for many years to leave the Bronx as Yankee Stadium deteriorated, and his decision to keep the team in the Bronx has huge implications, says Laird, who adds that the Yankees say they are making what is probably the largest single private investment in the history of the Bronx. Their ambitious plans call for a new stadium to be built with a facade based on the original 1923 masterpiece, which has become one of the world's best-known arenas.