If You Build It, Will They
Come?
That's the question people are asking about the
baseball cathedrals
planned for the Yankees and Mets in New York, the first new
ballparks for the city in almost 50 years. But they're not talking
about fans; it's the business community they need.
, Illustration by Headcase Design
Most construction projects don't attract spectators. Not many
people like to spend their free hours watching the slow movement of
bulldozers, cranes, earthmovers, and cement mixers working on a
building that is years away from completion. But that's not true at
River Avenue and 162nd Street in the Bronx, where spectators dawdle
to observe the work in progress morning, noon, and night.
It's not every day that
New York City gets a new ballpark, and the
diamond emerging from this empty lot won't be just any sports
arena. It will be the new
Yankee Stadium, replacing its next-door
neighbor, a sports shrine built in 1923 that has been the showcase
for the unforgettable exploits of men named Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio,
Mantle, Jackson, and Jeter.
It is hard to overestimate what the new construction means for the
Bronx, a down-and-out borough for decades but which has in recent
years showed marked signs of resurgence. The decision of Yankees
owner
George Steinbrenner to stay in the Bronx rather than move to
a newer, greener pasture in Manhattan or
New Jersey means the Bronx
Bombers will stay put for another half century or more. City
officials and local residents believe the gargantuan investment -
estimated at $1.2 billion - will spur housing redevelopments and
the creation of jobs and retail businesses.