A slice of sports heaven is coming to the Big Apple.
The $100 million Sports Museum of America will open downtown Wednesday, unveiling eclectic exhibits that range from the original Heisman Trophy to the shoes gold-medal gymnast Kerri Strug used to stick her Olympic vault landing with a sprained ankle.
Located across from Wall Street’s “Charging Bull” statue at 26 Broadway, the museum is full of New York sports memories, including the 1996 Yankees World Series trophy; Joe Namath’s Super Bowl III football; Derek Jeter’s Little League uniform; Reggie Jackson’s 1977 World Series bat; a Lou Carnesecca sweater; Willis Reed’s 1970 Knicks playoff jersey; and late Mets owner Joan Payson’s hat.
Pieces of the soon-to-be-demolished Yankee and Shea stadiums will likely be added to a collection that already features a part of the original Yankee Stadium façade, a brick from Ebbets Field and the home plate from the final game at the Polo Grounds.
Visitors can engage in dozens of interactive exhibits – picking up bats used by major leaguers like A-Rod; playing broadcaster and calling great moments in sports history; or peering through a goalie mask equipped with a video screen to see what Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist sees.
The museum is the brainchild of Philip Schwalb, a Manhattan entertainment-industry exec who took on $120,000 in credit-card debt to get the project started in 2001.
The idea came to him during his first visit to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., on Sept. 10, 2001, his 39th birthday.
“I thought there should be one convenient place for fans to go to just get a taste of everything,” he said.
The World Trade Center attacks the next day became a “personal catalyst” to act on his epiphany.
Schwalb has contracts with 60 nonprofit partners, including every major sports hall of fame in North America. They loan the museum exhibits and get publicity and a portion of the museum’s revenue. Schwalb is aiming for 1 million visitors this year.