L u k e n . o r g

Yankee Stadium vs Shea Stadium Of course the advantage is with Yankee Stadium, who cares about the swamp.

In case this page is ever lost, here’s a reprint:

LOCATION: Yankee Stadium is located in the South Bronx, right near the Bronx county courthouse, Shea Stadium is located in Queens, near Flushing Meadows Park, LaGuardia Airport (that’s why you hear the planes roar during some games,) and the Arthur Ashe Tennis Stadium. Across the street from Yankee Stadium are sports bars (Stan’s rocks,) a bowling alley, a McDonald’s and other small places of commerce. Located across the way from Shea is undeveloped land and a junkyard.
ADVANTAGE: Yankee Stadium

TRANSPORTATION: To get to Yankee Stadium, you can drive via the Major Deegan Expressway, of course, but you can also take 2 subway lines. One is the Woodlawn (#4) line which takes you from as far south as the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, then to Manhattan’s East Side, before reaching the big house in the Bronx. Also the #4 line stops at Grand Central station, which means you can take a Metro North train from upstate or Connecticut to eventually get to the Stadium. You can also take the Grand Councourse (B/D) line from as far south as Brighton Beach or Coney Island, through 6 Avenue (a PATH NY/NJ Port Authority train station included at 34 Street), the area where the Polo Grounds used to be (155 Street/8 Avenue,) then finally to the Stadium. To get to Shea, besides driving to the park via the Van Wyck Expressway, Grand Central Parkway or other roadways, only one subway line is accessible – the Flushing (#7) line, the line John Rocker made famous back in 2000. It goes all the way from Times Square, through the beautiful sections of Western Queens (including my neighborhood,) up to Shea.
ADVANTAGE: Yankee Stadium (by one subway line)

SMOKING REGULATIONS: I am a smoker, and I’m not ashamed to say it (screw you Bloomberg, you Communist midget bastard!) At Shea, you are not allowed to smoke in the seating areas, then again, you are not allowed to smoke in any seating area of any ballpark, however you are allowed to smoke in the stadium’s open air ramps. However, at Yankee Stadium, smoking is not allowed anywhere inside the stadium, so once you are inside, you’re going to have to ignore those cravings till Mariano gets the final out.
ADVANTAGE: Shea Stadium

PUBLIC ADDRESS ANNOUNCER: Since the inception of the Mets, the Yankees have only had one announcer, Bob Sheppard (aka the voice of God) while the Mets have multiple, not-so-famous public address voices.
ADVANTAGE: Yankee Stadium

SOUND SYSTEM: The sound system at Shea is nice and loud while the sound system in the Bronx is at a normal decibal count. Shea also has the problems with nearby LaGuardia and the planes taking off and landing at the nearby runway.
ADVANTAGE: Yankee Stadium (where there is less chance of permanent hearing loss)

HOT DOGS: At Yankee Stadium, Nathan’s hot dogs are served, at Shea, Kahn’s beef hot dogs are served.
ADVANTAGE: Even

UPPER DECK SEATS:At Shea Stadium, they have recently installed rails in the upper level, so at least the trip is not as scary as it used to be. At Yankee Stadium, there are also guard rails, however the difference between the two stadiums is that at Shea, the rail is one long rail, while at Yankee Stadium, the rail is divided into multiple sections, which can make somebody who suffers from vertigo or acraphobia (like yours truly) feel edgy.
ADVANTAGE: Shea Stadium (slightly)

BLEACHER SEATS: Clearly this should be no contest at all! Yankee Stadium’s bleacher seats are available to all fans, and are the home of the most hardcore and rabid Yankee fans – “The Bleacher Creatures.” Add to that, the #4 train rumbles behind the wall. At Shea, the bleacher seats look tiny, remote, as far as I have heard (from a Met fan mind you) only a group of people can rent it for a game, and is called “The Picnic Area.” ‘Nuff said
ADVANTAGE: Yankee Stadium

DIMENSIONS: Yankee Stadium is a hitter’s ballpark with left field at 318, left center at 379, dead center at 400, right center at 385 and right field at 314. Shea is more of a pitcher’s ballpark however the gaps do favor the hitters more. Left and right fields stand at 330, left center at 371, right center at 378, and dead center at 411.
ADVANTAGE: Even (it depends on what one prefers, slugfests or pitchers’ duels)

VIEWS BEYOND THE OUTFIELD: When getting a view from beyond Yankee Stadium, one doesn’t really see too much, except for the Bronx County Courthouse in right field which is actually about 2 blocks from the ballpark, and even the #4-train is hard to spot unless you sit in left field. Meanwhile at Shea one gets a beautiful view of the Grand Central Parkway, the Wan Wyck Expressway, the Whitestone Bridge, and some nice views of Eastern Queens and maybe a nice view of Western Nassau County on a clear day.
ADVANTAGE: Shea Stadium

FANS: There is no real difference between Met fans and Yankee fans, both fans have the energy of a typical New York sports fans and both are very baseball knowledgable (that’s for all you non-New York vermin who trash us – my apologies to real vermin.)
ADVANTAGE: Even

OVERALL: As I have already mentioned, both stadiums are good stadiums, but each has its faults. However there is one deciding factor for me. At Yankee Stadium, the team I’ve rooted for my while life plays its games – the Yankees play (unless you have some mental defect, I think you should have figured that out by now,) while at Shea, the Mets play. I don’t think anything more needs to be said about that.
ADVANTAGE: Yankee Stadium