Urban Prospect: Yankees, Stay Home?

The prospect of constructing a new, West Side stadium for the Yankees has stirred a storm of controversy in the press and in planning circles. A public undertaking of that scope would have major implications for the future development of the Bronx and Manhattan that would require careful scrutiny of complex economic, social, and environmental considerations. Distinct from those planning concerns, however, is the question of how much public subsidy would be required and whether the city would be financially able and politically willing to pay.

Most of the press coverage thus far has focused on the gross costs of erecting a new stadium. According to the study prepared by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassbaum (HOK) for the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the New York State Empire State Development Corporation and the Yankees, a single-sport, retractable dome stadium at the west side rail yards would cost $770.5 million. Neither that study, however, nor the related Peat Marwick LLP financial analysis, detail how much a facility would be financed. The probable public cost of keeping the Yankees in New York City, whether at a new site in Manhattan, the Bronx, or in a refurbished Yankees Stadium, is still largely obscure.