MLB

HARD ROCK CAFE AT YANKEE STADIUM

After this season, when the Yankees move out of the stadium they have called home since 1923 and into a high-tech luxury building across the street, everyone in the organization will say they’re not just moving out, but moving up.

The new Yankee Stadium opened its doors and held its first official press conference yesterday, where it was announced the Hard Rock Café will inhabit part of the ground floor of the stadium, along with a new joint-venture steakhouse, NYY Steak.

Both restaurants will be open to ticket-holders and non-ticket-holders alike, and will be located at the end of a 31,000-square-foot glass-enclosed concourse called “the great hall.” The field cannot be viewed from either restaurant, and as for a lot of the new stadium, the great hall’s main purpose is to serve non-baseball events, lined with concession stands and high-definition televisions.

“This whole area is going to be a true high-definition screen,” Yankees COO Lonn Trost said yesterday as he stood and pointed at a 290-foot curving wall. “We’re trying to utilize all the resources we can so the fans can mill about and have the best experience possible.”

What might be more appealing to Yankees fans is the already-standing white façade lining the upper-deck of the outfield seats. It is one of the many carryovers from the original stadium, including the dimensions of the field and famed Monument Park behind the center-field wall.

“You can’t forget that we’re not just building, but slowly moving from one stadium to the other,” Trost said. “This is for the new generation of Yankee fans, without compromising history.”

It’s been a long time coming for the new stadium, and now that the opening is imminent, a lot of people around the Yankees find themselves dumbfounded.

One of those people is senior VP Jenny Steinbrenner, daughter of principal owner George and sister of general partners Hank and Hal.

“We have visited the stadium every couple of months and it’s amazing what’s been done,” Jenny said. “This place is going to be very special.”