Blog post

January 2, 2009 [LINK / comment]

Yankee Stadium II update

I have made substantial revisions to the Yankee Stadium II diagram, which -- like Citi Field -- is still preliminary, pending completion of construction. The Yankees want everyone to think that the outfield dimensions will be the same as at the old Yankee Stadium, but unless I have been misled by some of the blueprint images I've seen, that is definitely not the case in the power alleys. Evidently, they intend to mark the outfield fence with the same distances as before, but the markers will have to placed much closer to center field, not in the true power alleys. I think it's a shame that they aren't even making allowances in the stadium design for a possible future expansion of the outfield, so that it might at least partly resemble the way Yankee Stadium used to be. One thing I learned recently is that the perimeter concourse on the south side (along 161st Street, which separates the new and old Yankee Stadiums) bulges out quite a bit. It's about 30 feet wider than the perimeter concourse along the street leading to Macombs Dam Bridge.

"Winter Classic" (br-r-r!)

On the north side of Chicago, the Detroit Red Wings overcame a 3-1 deficit to beat the Chicago Black Hawks by a score of 6 to 3. It was the third NHL "Winter Classic" match, and the first time hockey has been played at Wrigley Field. Over 40,000 fans braved the frigid temperatures to watch the historic event, but I doubt that very many of them were close enough to the rink to actually see the puck. I finished the hockey version diagram in the evening, and duly posted it, though not in time for the match itself. From the National Hockey League Web site, I learned that the standard dimensions of a hockey rink in the NHL are 200 feet long by 85 feet wide. I got wrapped up in the Gator Bowl between Nebraska and Clemson, so I missed the Winter Classic entirely.

I have seen one NHL game in my life, in 1983 or so, a Washington Capitals game at the old Capital Centre (later known as "USAir Arena") in Landover, Maryland. In 1997 the Caps moved into the MCI Center (now called "Verizon Center") in downtown D.C., as did the NBA Wizards, which until then had been called the "Bullets." I recall local star Rod Langway, who played for the Caps from 1982 to 1993 but disdained to use a helmet.