Activity 8.2

Jennifer Rios

Activity 8.2

For activity eight, group seven recommended that my group visit the Yankee Stadium. Due to the fact that this stadium is new and I have not been able to see it in person, I was excited to finally be able to see what the big deal was about this stadium. I expected this stadium to be rather similar to the previous one, which was not a big deal either. Once I got to the Yankee Stadium, I was surprised at how the old stadium was already gone. I was aware that the stadium was going to be demolished soon but I was hoping that I would have been able to compare both stadiums at once. Despite my interest in wanting to see both stadiums, I am in no way interested in baseball. I feel that sports are yet another way to milk the money out of people for the benefit of the sports team.

Once I got into the new stadium, I began to compare my surroundings to what William Whyte mentioned about what would make a good open space. I realized that stadiums in general fit most of these requirements as well. Although I was in a stadium, which is closed off by walls, I feel as if it can also be one of the areas that were analyzed by Whyte because of the fact that some parks are also closed off- usually with fences. This coincides with the idea that, “small parks, especially those enclosed on three sides, function well” in terms of the requirements he said were necessary for open spaces. I came to the conclusion that this may be a reason why people are comfortable spending hours at baseball games, due to the fact that a majority of the necessities outlined by Whyte are present in the stadium. For example, stadiums consist of various areas for people to be able to sit and watch the game from. Along with there being a variety of selections for one’s seating, people are also able to enjoy being out in the open. By being exposed to the environment, people are also able to enjoy the wind and the sun, which are guaranteed to reach people since they will technically be sitting outside. I believe that the Yankee Stadium is an area that Whyte considered a “semioutdoor” area. He mentioned that, “Most new urban spaces are either all outdoors or all indoors [and that] more could be done to encourage inbetweens” (Whyte, 45), which is what Whyte meant by semioutdoor.

While inside of the new Yankee Stadium, I was not intrigued by anything in my sight except for the size of the place. While analyzing my surroundings, I noticed that a majority of the people inside of the stadium were Caucasian, which was a bit strange for me to see. The reason why I found it a little strange was because of the fact that the neighborhood in which the stadium is located has a large African American and Hispanic population. Therefore, I had expected to see a lot more minorities in the stadium than what I did get to see. When I first realized this it got me a bit angry because of the way in which even baseball can cause some kind of division between the populace. For example, a way in which this division is created is through the high prices charged for certain seats. Since the residents around the Yankee Stadium are considered working class, it may be hard for these people to afford tickets that are so expensive. Being that the Yankees already have plenty of money as it is, they should be more considerate to the fans who support them but who are not able to buy tickets.