Bud likes Fenway
NEW YORK - Commissioner Bud Selig looked around the New Yankee Stadium and marveled at how precisely the architects replicated the pre-renovated (1974) Yankee Stadium.
When I asked Selig whether he'd like to see a new Fenway Park, he said, "I've said this many times, but there's something about Fenway and Wrigley that I'd like to see preserved."
Didn't you feel that way about Yankee Stadium?
"I did but it had been redone in 74. This is more like the old Yankee stadium. I think Fenway and Wrigley there's something that should be preserved. I give a lot of credit to John Henry and Tom Werner and the new owners of the Cubs feel the same way. Fenway and Wrigley - as long as they can make it work (economically) I encourage them."
Selig's first impressions of the new Yankee Stadium:"The first thing that I noticed when I walked in is I looked up...and it brought back memories of the (old) ballpark when I walked in here 60 years ago on my 15th birthday when my mother brought me here. I think they've done a remarkable job of preserving the things they wanted to preserve. It's the most famous sports cathedral in the world. When I walked in here I reacted the same way I did when I walked in here 60 years ago. I sat in the third deck then and the view is a little better now. It's a great testament to them.They did a tremendous job preserving the indigenous qualities of the old stadium."
Selig met with Yankee owner George Steinbrenner.
"I had a great visit with George as I always do. George and I have watched a lot of games together over the years especially in the late 70s and early 80s. I did most of the talking, but he talked too. I told him he ought to be very proud of what they've done here. It was a very emotional conversation," Selig said.
How did he react when you told him he should be proud?
"He gave me a hug," Selig said. "In what they were trying to preserve, they did a remarkable job."
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Bud Selig has probably never sat in a grandstand seat at Fenway with no legroom or sat in a seat that doesn't face the plate.
For 1.4 BILLION they better have done a good job. Tough to get your money back if ya don't like it!!
"It's the most famous sports cathedral in the world". No way, It should be "It's the most famous sports cathedral in America". No one, probably except South Americans, outside US know about Yankee stadium. Wimbledon, Wembley and Lords stadium in London. Melbourne, Australia and Calcutta, India cricket stadiums are way more popular than Yankee stadium. Please Nick don't exaggerate.
Agree with Bud that Fenway and Wrigley should be preserved. They are now the only remaining Cathedrals of Baseball, with hallowed ground where for nearly a century all the greats played, and where both true fans and the glitterati came to watch them. They ARE baseball history, more Hall of Fames than Cooperstown.
Sorry Bud, the new Yankee Stadium is NOT "the most famous sports cathedral in the world". That was the magnificent OLD Yankee Stadium which WAS the Cathedral, and should have been preserved. But it is gone now, to increase the bottom line. Not surprising the facade looks more like Wall St. than a baseball field.
Bud...shut up....worry about the World Bud Classic and how it kills players....you jacka** car salesman
I Love Fenway too. I love watching it on my Big Screen TV which might be actual size! I love how people in Boston turn the opening of every new stadium in to a discussion of how great Fenway is. We all love Fenway. We hear it all the time. We'll see how much future free agents love Fenway compared to New Yankee Stadium. Now the Yankees have all the money, all the tradition, and a billion dollar stadium built to recruit future players. But Fenway is great too!!!
Selig obviously hasn't watched a game at Fenway from anywhere in the right field grandstand (or any back-row of the grandstand) or from behind any poles. I love the park, but I wouldn't mind seeing it replaced.
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