Image via Wikipedia
The cost was $1.6 billion to build. The New Yankee Stadium…home of the 26-time World Champions.
Well it’s a good thing that the home team has their storied history because their tailgating scene is just awful. And thankfully for football fans the New York football teams play their home games in New Jersey!
Since I live in New Jersey it was only a matter of time before I finally made the trip to see the new stadium. The Yankees playing the Phillies gave me the perfect reason to do some eBay bidding. $52 dollars later my wife and I were headed to the Bronx.
Despite getting to watch the World Champions (insert Chase Utley comment) play this season, the highlight of my baseball experience remains the pregame tailgate.
Silly me assumed that all parks would offer a fan the same tailgate experience as Philadelphia.
It was such thinking that had us arriving in the Bronx 3 hours before 1st pitch with a car ready to tailgate. The only problem was that there was no where to tailgate. (or at least a place to do some serious tailgating.)
So despite a breezy, sunny, 70 degree day we were stuck inside a parking garage with our tailgate. Goodbye blue skies, open space and grilling. Hello parking levels, oil stains and police patrolling for open bottles.
In the end of course we made the best of a not-so-great situation. Once the alcohol consumption begins (of course in our red plastic cups!) you forget that you are in a parking garage and instead enjoy the drinks, food (sandwiches, didn’t want to attempt grilling), and the company. And because Philly fans travel well it was easy enough to find fellow Phillies fans.
Best part of the parking garage tailgate is that if you are in one of the upper levels you can throw stuff at unexpecting Yankee fans and a Phillies cheer echos throughout the entire garage!
Once inside the stadium the experience was decent enough. Though I can’t figure out how in a billion dollar budget that dividers aren’t placed between the bathroom urinals for a little privacy when emptying out a $10 Bud Light!