After almost three years of work, both New York ballparks are just about complete. These photos of Citi Field and the new Yankee Stadium were taken by Tom Kaminkski from Chopper 88.

I wrote a review a couple of years ago regarding the new ballparks. Then, I could only display the artist renderings. But after two plus years of construction in Queens and the Bronx, we see the results.

Perhaps it's my ignorance to the construction process but it always amazes me that there are those that know how to take engineering plans and turn them into the real thing just as they appeared on paper.

As I wrote in my original review, the HOK architects employed by the Mets had the freedom to create something brand new. There would be no need or want to create a park that evoked memories of Shea Stadium. Actually, I'm sure the effort was to create something as far from Shea's design as possible. In doing so, the Mets followed the pattern of many new ballparks since Oriole Park at Camden Yards opened in 1992. While the Mets new baseball facility would be modern in many ways, it would also include elements of ballparks from long ago. Nooks and quirky angles in the outfield walls, exposed steel beams and trusses reminiscent of the many bridges in New York, traditional green seating and coziness are all a part of Citi Field. And the outside facade of the new stadium is modeled after historic Ebbets Field. And like the Brooklyn Dodgers fabled baseball park, Citi Field has a rotunda too, but on a much grander scale. The rotunda is dedicated to the memory of Jackie Robinson. A nice touch considering the pressure to name everything in a ballpark after a corporate sponsor.

While the Mets had the freedom to create something brand new, the Yankees wanted to recreate Yankee Stadium. Unlike Shea, Yankee Stadium, originally opened in 1923, was a ballpark from the classical era of baseball. And with the Yankees rich history of greatness, to alter the feeling of Yankee Stadium would be criminal. So the Yankees goal was much different than the Mets. The Yankees set out to recreate the original Yankee Stadium but also incorporated some of the characteristics of the rebuilt stadium from 1976. Fortunately, more of the original was borrowed than from the renovated. And like Citi Field, there is plenty of modern in the new Yankee Stadium. Gone is the narrow dark concourse replaced with much wider walk ways with many more amenities.

Citi Field appears to be the quainter and cozier of the two ballparks while Yankee Stadium has more majesty. Citi Field's facade is red brick with limestone arches while Yankee Stadium's shell is limestone that hearkens back to when the Stadium first opened in 1923. What I like most about the new Yankee Stadium is that they have returned the famous frieze to the roof surrounding the upper level of the main grandstand. That's where it belongs and in my opinion it was a mistake to have removed it during the 70s renovation.

The Yankees also kept the same field dimensions as the renovated stadium and the monuments have already been moved across the street. And while Citi Field has the Jackie Robinson Rotunda as the main entrance way, the new Yankee Stadium has the Great Hall that will feature banners and displays of great Yankee players from the past.

While the footprints of the two ballparks are about the same, Yankee Stadium has the the larger seating bowl with a capacity of 53,325 including standing room. In comparison, the Mets stadium will hold 45,000, also including standing room. The Wilpons purposely wanted a smaller venue to bring the fans closer to the action. Both parks have more luxury suits than their predecessors but Yankee Stadium will have more than Citi Field. 

It does appear from the photos, that Mets fans in the upper levels will be seated a bit closer to the action than their Yankee counterparts. The upper level at Citi Field, known as the promenade, appears closer to the field than the upper level at Yankee Stadium. And while both ballparks have less foul territory, it appears that Citi Field has less than Yankee Stadium as foul lines hug the field level down the left and right field foul lines. 

Both ballparks upper levels incorporate a split level design that allows fans to continually view the field while they go to the restrooms or concession stands. The upper levels of each ballpark differ however, in the way fans will get to their seats. At Citi Field, access is via stair cases at the foot of the top half of the upper tier right at the split while the more traditional tunnel entrances are used at Yankee Stadium. Citi Field does have six tunnel entrances behind home plate.  

Citi Field and Yankee Stadium offer dinning while watching the game. Citi Field has a glass enclosed  restaurant in left field in the Club level. Yankee Stadium's large field viewing restaurant is in center field bisecting the bleachers.

The second level in Yankee Stadium appears much bigger than that of  Citi Field. Likely that is where the Yankees have an additional 5000 seats.

The distance to the foul poles is farther from home plate at Citi Field when compared to those at Yankee Stadium. But Yankee Stadium's left center field fence is at a much greater distance than at Citi Field. Here is a comparison of dimensions.

	Yankee Stadium	Citi Field
Left Field	318'	335'
Left Center	399'	379'
Center Field	408'	408'
Right Center	385'	383'
Right Field	314'	330'

Citi Field's seats are green to the dismay of some Mets fans who feel they should have been royal blue and orange. Yankee Stadiums seats are blue, like the older stadium across the street, not like the green of the original Yankee Stadium. 

The lighting at Citi Field is mounted on the more traditional light towers which are actually higher than the lights at Shea Stadium. And in keeping with the bridges theme, the lights are arched in an homage to New York's Hell's Gate Bridge. The Yankees, on the other hand have chosen to use ring lighting above the frieze. Ring lighting was first used at Shea Stadium in 1964. I would have preferred that Yankee Stadium used banks of lights like the original Yankee Stadium to further recall the look of the original stadium. However, that is the only negative I can find with the Yankees new home. And in fairness, the one negative I have in regards to Citi Field is the number of seats. I would have preferred to see the Mets new park seat around 48,000 to 50,000. It would give Mets fans that much more of an opportunity to score tickets without giving up much in the design.

The outfield sections, between the foul poles, of the two stadiums are quite different. The grandstand at Yankee stadium curves around the foul poles much the way it does in the old Yankee Stadium. With the bleachers in right and left fields, there is a massive scoreboard above the restaurant in center field which will be used to replay the action.

Citi Field's three tiered grandstand extends around the left field foul pole all the way to center field. There is a picnic area in center and a double decked section of seats in right field. The top tier hangs over the outfield by eight feet further awarding Citi with the more quirky ballpark.

Citi Field has two scoreboards. The one in center, a video board, is not as big as the one in Yankee Stadium. The other scoreboard is in right center above the administration building and will serve to display statistical information. It is also capable of producing graphical displays.

Another nice touch to the new Yankee Stadium is the scoreboards on the outfield wall like they used to have prior to the renovation. I'm not sure if these are going to be hand operated or electronic. I'm hoping for the former. Citi Field's out of town scores will be provided on a board high above left field hanging from the canopy over the seats. Each game section has a diamond to show player activity as well as the score and number of outs.

I'm sure there will be debate over which team has the better ballpark. Mets fans will favor Citi Field while Yankee fans will claim there is no comparison with new Yankee Stadium. But in reality it's a silly argument. They are both different and both magnificent. They both feature more amenities than their predecessors with more restaurants, bars, and shops. The concourses are wider and the sight lines are better. With more restrooms and space to walk around, it should be a lot of fun to catch a game at each facility in 2009. Now, getting the cash together to accomplish that is another story.

Tom Kaminski has posted yet more pictures of both Citi Field and the New Yankee Stadium. In these pictures the fields are covered with snow. There are also some pictures of the incredibly shrinking Shea. Click here to view.