Yankee Stadium and the Renovation of ’76

The 1976 renovation of Yankee Stadium removed the columns that obstructed views on the lower decks and the seats in center field that obstructed batters, but it also relegated the recognizable frieze to above the outfield wall. (SABR-Rucker Archive)

 

In the spring of 1976, the Yankees celebrated a grand reopening of Yankee Stadium.1 It was the culmination of a 2½-year renovation project intended to modernize the House That Ruth Built and its surrounding areas in the Bronx. But the seeds for a Yankee Stadium facelift were sown about two decades earlier and were cultivated by a series of events that drastically altered New York City’s relationships with its professional sports teams.

Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley had a valuable asset in a team that was a perennial World Series contender in the 1950s. Yet the Dodgers’ ballpark, Ebbets Field, stood in an inconvenient location and was falling into disrepair. In order to realize the full potential of his franchise, O’Malley looked to buy up land in a more accessible part of Brooklyn and build a new ballpark there. He just needed Robert Moses to use his political power as New York City parks commissioner to sell him land at the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues and he would fully fund the cost of construction.

Moses denied O’Malley’s plan and instead offered only to use city funds to build a ballpark on city-owned land in Queens.2 O’Malley had no desire to pay rent for his team’s home field. Meanwhile, Los Angeles city officials got the attention of O’Malley by offering him exactly what he wanted, albeit 3,000 miles away. After the 1957 season, he accepted the offer and decided to do the unthinkable: move the Dodgers out of Brooklyn. He also persuaded the New York Giants – in a similar situation with their home field sitting in the outdated, run-down Polo Grounds – to join him in bolting New York City for California.3 The Yankees had the Big Apple to themselves starting in 1958.

By 1962, the expansion New York Mets were poised to fill the massive void left by the Dodgers and Giants. They did so with the promise of a new city-owned stadium in Flushing, Queens – the same one that Robert Moses would have built for Walter O’Malley – set to open in 1964. Dubbed Shea Stadium, this multipurpose concrete monstrosity was one of a trend of similar “cookie cutter” stadiums that were built in major cities across the United States during the 1960s and ’70s. Public officials jumped at the chance to use tax money to fund these stadiums as tangible evidence that they were improving their cities and creating jobs.4 Through complex accounting, team owners also found that leasing a stadium after letting taxpayers pay for it was quite lucrative.

In the early 1970s, the almost 50-year-old Yankee Stadium was approaching the run-down state that Ebbets Field was in 20 years earlier. Despite its rich history of being the home to championship baseball, it became rapidly outdated with so many new ballparks being built elsewhere. It didn’t help that the team was descending into mediocrity. In 1971 the New York football Giants, who were tenants in Yankee Stadium, then dropped another bombshell on the city. They were moving across the Hudson River after striking a deal to get a new stadium built in New Jersey.5 New York City officials went into full-blown panic mode. To keep the Yankees in New York, something had to be done about Yankee Stadium, and fast.

***

The Giants’ announcement accelerated a conversation between Mayor John Lindsay and Michael Burke, president of the Yankees, that had started a year earlier. Observing that the state of Yankee Stadium would soon be at a tipping point, in August of 1970 Lindsay asked Burke to identify the most important factors in keeping the Yankees in New York. Burke wasted no time issuing Lindsay a letter detailing his thoughts.6

Unsurprisingly, the letter centered on the future of Yankee Stadium, or lack thereof. If Lindsay was offering, Burke wanted one of three things from him. They were, in order of preference, a new domed multipurpose stadium, a new open-air multipurpose stadium, or a major renovation of Yankee Stadium.7 Lindsay was offering, and by early 1971 he hatched a plan based on what New York City had done for the Mets a decade earlier.

The $24 million price tag of Shea Stadium seemed like a number that Lindsay could get approved by city officials for the new Yankee project. However, in 1971 that number fell well short of what it would take to build a new stadium. So the only option was to use the $24 million to purchase Yankee Stadium and the land it sat on, lease it back to the Yankees, and foot the bill for a renovation that the club would oversee. Burke was satisfied, but very little action was taken until the football Giants shocked New York. By early 1972, the city began its acquisition of Yankee Stadium, and Operation Keep the Yankees in New York was in full effect.8

A year later, the renovation deal could have been in jeopardy when CBS sold the Yankees to a group of investors led by George Steinbrenner. Michael Burke was a minority partner in the group and was retained as CEO of the club. Three months later, Steinbrenner disagreed with Burke’s general approach to the business of baseball and brought in Gabe Paul and Lee MacPhail to run the day-to-day operations, rendering Burke obsolete. Whether their differences in opinion included the stadium renovation was unclear, but a press conference in May 1973 quelled any fears. Steinbrenner was on board with the renovation plan, and the Yankees would stay in New York under a 30-year lease with the city.9

***

After falling short of the playoffs for eight straight seasons, the 1973 Yankees seemed destined to make Yankee Stadium’s swan song a triumphant one. For all of July, they sat in first place of the American League East Division, but that proved to be fool’s gold. Their record for August and September was 14 games under .500, and they finished the year in fourth place, 17 games behind the Baltimore Orioles. This diminuendo to finish the season set the stage for an underwhelming finale at the original stadium on September 30.

In front of a half-capacity crowd of just over 32,000, the Yankees put on a performance that was a microcosm of their season. After seven innings they held a 4-2 lead over the Detroit Tigers, then squandered it by surrendering six runs in the top of the eighth and took an 8-5 loss. In a scene that would look surreal today, after the final out, fans either ripped seats out of the stadium’s concrete with tools they brought to the game or ran onto the field to grab their own personal handful of dirt or grass as a souvenir.10

A ceremony hosted by Mayor Lindsay was held at the stadium the following morning. Amid the amateur demolition work done by fans the night before, the mayor presented first base to Eleanor Gehrig, Lou’s widow, and home plate to Claire Ruth, Babe’s widow.11 Shortly after the ceremony, professional demolition began and Yankee Stadium as it was known for nearly 50 years would be no longer.

During the makeover the Yankees needed a temporary home, and with New York City as their new landlord, they were allowed to share space with the Mets in a suddenly very crowded Shea Stadium. In 1975 Shea was home to the Yankees and Mets for baseball, and that fall hosted both the Giants and Jets for football. By the spring of 1976, the Shea Stadium grounds crew got a much-deserved break as the Yankee Stadium renovation was complete.

***

The renovation plan wasn’t limited to Yankee Stadium itself. New parking lots were added in the surrounding neighborhood to make travel more convenient for the growing suburban fan base. Walkways from the subway station to the ballpark were given a makeover, including the newly crowned Hall of Fame Plaza, which featured a 138-foot-tall smokestack. The outside of the smokestack was designed to resemble a giant baseball bat, complete with a “Louisville Slugger” logo and tape around the handle. Theoretically, this served as a great landmark for a pregame rendezvous with friends. In reality, the sea of fans surrounding the bat made it a great place to get lost at.

The outer walls of the renovated stadium looked largely untouched apart from a good cleaning and some fresh paint. Three modern-style escalator towers were installed next to the walls behind left field, right field, and home plate to allow for more efficient entrance and exit. The block lettering signifying “YANKEE STADIUM” on the back of the upper deck was given neon lighting that glowed at night. On the other side of those letters, the awning that once covered most of the upper-deck seating was removed to accommodate the largest structural change of the renovation.

In the original design, over 100 pillars stood in the grandstand to support the upper deck. While fans appreciated the deck above not falling on top of them, these pillars obstructed the view from many seats. This was fixed by using a cantilever system that removed the pillars, added 10 rows of seating to the upper deck, gave it a steeper slope, and pushed it back to sit on new supports behind the grandstand.12 Additional seats at the back of the grandstand that were obstructed by the decks above were removed to make way for an expanded concourse. Thanks to modern technology, there wasn’t a bad seat in the house anymore. The seats themselves also changed, as the old green wooden ones were replaced with a wider blue plastic model, which reduced the seating capacity from 65,010 to 54,028.13 The Yankees were willing to bet that more comfortable seats would increase their average per-game attendance from the 12,000-to-15,000 range they saw in the early 1970s, even if it meant slightly smaller sellout crowds.

A new lighting system was installed at the top of the upper deck: a thin row of bulbs that spanned the entire structure. This made the lighting more uniform on the field below, but also had the effect of removing a trademark feature of Yankee Stadium. The copper frieze that had adorned the top of the upper deck turned a sea green color over the years due to oxidation and was eventually painted white for the last few years before the renovation. Its removal represented the largest visual departure from the iconic look of the original stadium.

The bottom of the revamped upper deck was given a smooth finish to serve as a ceiling to fans sitting in the decks below, none more important than those fortunate enough to occupy one of 16 new luxury boxes in the mezzanine level. In addition to a few rows of seating, these came with a lounge area featuring couches, a TV, and a fully stocked refrigerator.

For fans who still wanted to sit in the cheap seats, there was a new experience for them as well.

The vast sea of bleachers that spanned the entire outfield was trimmed down significantly from 11,000 seats to just 2,500. This made room for expanded bullpens in left-center field. Wedged in between the bullpens was a fan-accessible park built to house the growing number of monuments and plaques by the flagpole that once stood in play in center field. Monument Park was easily the best feature of the new-look Yankee Stadium.

In three sections of the center-field bleachers, the benches were removed and the entirety of the sections were painted jet black. Otherwise, they were left untouched, even the entrance/exit ramps. This eerie remnant of the original stadium, endearingly known as the black seats, served as the batter’s eye post-renovation. The distance to the seats from home plate became a standard unit of measurement for monster home runs hit to dead center field – the most famous being Reggie Jackson’s third home run in Game Six of the 1977 World Series.14

Behind the bleachers, a massive new scoreboard was installed. At 24 feet high, it spanned 565 feet and was broken up into seven sections. Three of the sections were intended to enhance the game experience for fans. An electronic version of a traditional scoreboard tracked the score by inning. A second electronic board was used for messaging and game information. There was also a video board which allowed fans to see replays of close calls on the field, much to the dismay of the umpiring crew. The other four sections, of course, were for advertisements. Trimming the top of the new scoreboard was a replica of the copper frieze that once graced the upper deck. This version was a fraction of the size, cast in concrete and painted white. It seemed out of place in center field, but it was a nice gesture nonetheless.

On the field of play, the most notable difference was a blue wall, uniformly nine feet in height, which replaced the green wall that sloped downward near the foul lines. The outfield dimensions changed significantly. While it didn’t take on the symmetrical dimensions that were in vogue at the time, it became a far tamer version of the extreme original configuration. Home plate originally stood less than 300 feet from each foul pole, but now was 312 feet from the left-field pole, and 310 feet from right field. The infamous “Death Valley” in left-center field was brought in from 457 feet to a still formidable 430 feet, while right-center was pulled in from 407 feet to 385 feet. The most significant change was the distance to dead center, which shrank from 461 feet to 417 feet from home plate.15 Over the years, the Yankees continued to normalize the dimensions, but they always kept the same basic shape that favored left-handed hitters.

After a flirtation with installing artificial turf to make the stadium more conducive to football, thankfully natural grass was planted on the resurfaced field.16 However, it was a different kind of green that became most concerning in New York as the renovation work progressed.

From late 1973 until the finishing touches were complete in 1976, city officials reported the rising cost of the project in small increments. The total cost came in at over $100 million, or more than four times the original $24 million cost estimate. To make matters worse, it was reported in 1976 that those in charge of the project had calculated the cost at over $80 million before it even started. They just neglected to tell the board making the decision to approve it and the taxpayers who would ultimately pay for it.17

The final slap in the face came in December 1975 when city officials decided to abandon a neighborhood improvement plan that was originally part of the renovation project. As costs ballooned, they decided to draw the line at the one aspect of the project that would directly benefit Bronx residents. At least a portion of the $2 million that was earmarked to improve local businesses was instead used for some of the finishing touches within the stadium, including the luxury boxes.18 Under this shroud of controversy, a rejuvenated Yankee Stadium was ready to be revealed to the public.

***

Controversy be damned; George Steinbrenner was ready to throw his first extravagant party as owner of the Yankees. Opening Day at the new-look stadium took place on April 15, 1976, and in front of a packed house, he trotted out a roster of New York sports dignitaries for a pregame ceremony. Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, and Elston Howard got rousing ovations from the crowd. Don Larsen, who in 1956 pitched the only perfect game in World Series history, was invited to bring a bit of luck to the new grounds. Bob Shawkey, who started the first game at the original Stadium in 1923, was in attendance with a host of players from that team and threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

The guest list wasn’t limited to former Yankee players. Frank Gifford and Kyle Rote, who each scored in the Giants’ NFL Championship Game victory over the Chicago Bears at Yankee Stadium in 1956, were showered with applause. Joe Louis waved to the crowd, no doubt reliving his monumental knockout of Max Schmeling at the Stadium in 1938. Broadcaster Mel Allen made a triumphant return to the Bronx. More than a decade after being unceremoniously fired by the Yankees, he again became a play-by-play announcer for the team in 1976. Even Toots Shor, proprietor of the eponymous restaurant that served as the stomping grounds for Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, and many other sports stars of the 1950s, was brought in for the festivities.19

Once the pomp and circumstance concluded, the current Yankees did have a game to play. The Minnesota Twins did their best to play spoiler, tagging Yankees starter Rudy May for three runs in the first inning. In the bottom of the fourth, Oscar Gamble’s triple sparked a rally that gave the Yankees a lead they did not relinquish, much to the fans’ delight. Every move manager Billy Martin made in the 11-4 victory was the right one, and thankfully for the Yankees that would continue. The inaugural season of the new Yankee Stadium serendipitously coincided with a resurgent team that won its first pennant since 1964. They were an eclectic bunch, most of them far from angels, but they were also damn good baseball players led by the wildest of the bunch in Martin. The renovated stadium would serve as the grand stage for one of the most entertaining runs in Yankee history.

***

The legacy of post-renovation Yankee Stadium is a complicated one. While it was basically impossible to justify the ever-increasing cost of the project as it happened, it looked even worse as economic conditions in New York City reached rock bottom in the late 1970s. Money that was spent on constructing luxury boxes and giant scoreboards could have saved the city from bankruptcy. Instead, the income from these features bolstered George Steinbrenner’s bottom line. A lot of New Yorkers understandably have never forgiven the Yankees for that.

Taking finance and politics out of it, the renovation itself was a compromise in style. It attempted to be on the cutting edge of modern technology and keep up with the multipurpose stadiums of the era while retaining the charm and character of the old Stadium. However, it fell short on both accounts. The Stadium was rarely used for football after the renovation and even for baseball it looked like a watered-down replica of the original. The cement frieze in center field paled in comparison to its predecessor. The more conservative field dimensions made balls hit to the gap less exciting, and the shade of royal blue used throughout was not “Yankee” blue no matter what they called it.

Despite these shortcomings, the renovated Yankee Stadium did take on a legacy all its own. As the home for three straight pennant winners and two World Series champions in its first three years, it became synonymous with a return to glory for the Yankees. This winning legacy would reemerge 20 years later when Derek Jeter served as the face of four championship teams from 1996 through 2000. When the House That Ruth Built closed for good in 2008 in favor of a brand-new stadium on the other side of 161st Street, the memories that stood out most were of these championship teams. During those magical Octobers, rowdy fans packed the upper deck, which seemed to hang right over the field, and made Yankee Stadium a crucible for the opposition. Loud, raucous playoff baseball in the post-renovation ballpark was the ultimate Yankees fan experience, and something that’s sorely missed in the new building across the street.

JIM GRIFFIN is a lifelong baseball fan with experience writing for Yankee-specific blogs since 2010. His first book, The New York Yankees All-Time All-Stars, was published by Lyons Press in August 2019. He resides in Glenside, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Amanda, and two children, Josephine and Seamus.

 

SOURCES

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted a number of articles including the following:

Chass, Murray. “Yankee Stadium: Modern Comforts and Hairdryers,” New York Times, March 7, 1976. https://www.nytimes.com/1976/03/07/archives/yankee-stadium-modern-comforts-and-hairdryers-yankee-stadium-modern.html.

Cosell, Howard. “1976-Howard Cosell Feature on Yankee Stadium Re-Opening,” YouTube video, 7:46. Posted by user “epaddon,” October 25, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2L0MAAZEGA.

Harvin, Al. “Fans Call Stadium ‘Beautiful’ But Have Doubts About Cost,” New York Times, April 16, 1976. https://www.nytimes.com/1976/04/16/archives/fans-call-stadium-beautiful-but-have-doubts-about-cost.html.

McCarron, Anthony. “The First Goodbye: Old Yankee Stadium Said Farewell in 1973,” New York Daily News, September 20, 2008. https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/goodbye-old-yankee-stadium-farewell-1973-article-1.323687.

Ranzal, Edward. “City to Buy Yankee Stadium in Move to Keep 2 Teams,” New York Times, March 3, 1971. https://www.nytimes.com/1971/03/03/archives/city-to-buy-yankee-stadium-in-move-to-keep-2-teams-city-to-buy.html.

“Yankee Stadium: 1974 75 Renovation of the Original,” YouTube video, 0:47. Posted by user “Zickcermacity,” February 29, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beAFgRgys94.

 

NOTES

1 Murray Chass, “Yankees Defeat Twins, 11 to 4, Using Two Big Innings to Erase 4‐0 Deficit,” New York Times, April 16, 1976. https://www.nytimes.com/1976/04/16/archives/yankees-defeat-twins-11-to-4-using-two-big-innings-to-erase-40.html.

2 Neil J. Sullivan, The Diamond in the Bronx (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008), 115.

3 “Sport: Walter in Wonderland,” Time, April 28, 1958. https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,868429-5,00.html. Accessed December 1, 2022.

4 Neil J. Sullivan, 138-140.

5 Ronald Sullivan, “Football Giants to Leave City for Jersey After 1974 Season,” New York Times, August 27, 1971. https://www.nytimes.com/1971/08/27/archives/football-giants-to-leave-city-for-jersey-after-1974-season-a.html.

6 Neil J. Sullivan, 118.

7 Neil J. Sullivan, 117.

8 Leonard Koppett, “Yanks Hope to Open ’75 In House the City Rebuilt,” New York Times, January 29, 1972. https://www.nytimes.com/1972/01/29/archives/yanks-hope-to-open-75-in-house-the-city-rebuilt.html.

9 Murray Chass, “Burke’s Eclipse With Yankees Explained,” New York Times, May 14, 1973. https://www.nytimes.com/1973/05/14/archives/burkes-eclipse-with-yankees-explained-series-of-meetings-burke.html.

10 Marty Appel, “Introduction to Greatness In Waiting: Yankee Stadium Renovation 1973-1976,” appelpr.com. Accessed October 1, 2022. http://www.appelpr.com/?page_id=72.

11 Appel.

12 Allen M. Siegal. “Stadium Repairs Touch All Bases,” New York Times, August 29, 1974. https://www.nytimes.com/1974/08/29/archives/stadium-repairs-touch-all-bases.html.

13 https://web.archive.org/web/20020201224929/http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/american/yankee.htm.

14 Scott Ferkovich, “October 18, 1977: Reggie Becomes ‘Mr. October’ with 3 Home Runs in World Series,” SABR Games Project, https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/october-18-1977-reggie-becomes-mr-october-with-3-home-runs-in-world-series/.

15 http://www.andrewclem.com/Baseball/YankeeStadium.html.

16 Siegal.

17 John L. Hess, “Memo Indicates City Obscured Stadium’s High Cost,” New York Times, February 3, 1976. https://www.nytimes.com/1976/02/03/archives/memo-indicates-city-obscured-stadiums-high-cost.html.

18 Martin Waldron, “Yanks Get Windfall as City Shifts Plans,” New York Times, December 1, 1975. https://www.nytimes.com/1975/12/01/archives/yanks-get-windfall-as-city-shifts-plans.html.

19 “Bob Sheppard 1976 – Yankee Stadium Re-Opening, 4/15/1976, Pt. 1,” YouTube video, 13:46. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nyrCeSe0YA; “Bob Sheppard 1976 – Yankee Stadium Re-Opening, 4/15/1976, Pt. 2,” YouTube video, 13:40. Both posted by user “YanksAtShea,” October 25, 2010. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXjtU-uVLj4. “Bob Sheppard 1976 – Yankee Stadium Re-Opening, 4/15/1976, Pt. 3,” YouTube video, 6:20. Posted by user “YanksAtShea,” October 24, 2010. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If7eTZUbkpQ.