While I am not a Yankee fan, I've been to Yankee Stadium many times. Each time at some point in the game, I'll look to right field and think about Ruth standing there or hitting a blast into various spots. I'll consider the history that had taken place on the very ground. Those feelings (and I'm sure I'm not the only one) will be lost, or at least diluted, in another park, no matter how close they build it to the old place.
When Turner Field was built in Atlanta to replace Fulton County Stadium, which was torn down, a marker was laid in the spot where Aaron's record breaking homerun was caught by Tom House. It's in a sidewalk or parking lot, and you don't get a real sense of the history.
But Fulton County Stadium was in need of replacement and Yankee Stadium can not match the comfort and amenities of the newer parks across the League. It still seems like an incredible price to pay in the name of progress.
By the way, in the last year of Veterans' Stadium I went to a Phillies' game with my brother, father and brother-in-law where we had field level seats behind home plate. After the game as the stadium was nearly empty, the field security allowed my brother-in-law and me to reenact Tug McGraw's final pitch to end the 1980 World Series. It was a thrill for me to be on the mound reliving that moment. At their final game that season, many of the formal Phillies were reunited and lined the field, and Tug Mcgraw, dying of cancer, but looking happy and upbeat as always, took the mound and threw the final pitch to Bob Boone. Their reenactment was more dramatic than mine.
