From the archives: Fallen beam at postpones Yankee games

This story was originally published in Newsday on April 14, 1998

Yankee Stadium - the House that Ruth Built and George Steinbrenner threatened to leave - was closed last night after a 350-pound expansion beam fell onto an empty seat, gouging a hole in the concrete floor.

The 75-year-old stadium, which was renovated for the 1976 season, was shut down and last night's game postponed after the beam fell from a roof into the loge section between third base and leftfield about 3 p.m. There were no fans in the stadium at the time and no injuries were reported.

Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who went quickly to the scene, said a connecting beam fell from the underside of the upper deck onto a loge seat near the leftfield line. "It completely smashed a seat," he said. "It actually created a crater in the cement below."

The Yankees immediately postponed last night's and today's games against the Anaheim Angels. The Yankees said tomorrow's game against Anaheim might be played at Shea Stadium at 1 p.m., as the Mets are on the road. The possibility exists, however, the game will be played at Yankee Stadium if repairs are completed.

"Unless the city is convinced it's safe, we will not do it," said Yankee counsel Lonn Trost. The decision must be reached by tonight.

Richard Visconti, deputy commissioner of the Department of Buildings, said, "The joint that failed was part of the original 1923 construction of Yankee Stadium," and not the 1974-75 renovations.

Giuliani said the city is building a replacement joint. "Hopefully, it will be installed tomorrow," he said.

"As a Yankee fan, I'd rather that we were playing, but as a mayor, we have to make sure it's safe," Giuliani said at a news conference. "If this had happened during a game, there would have been a death, so we can't take the risk."

The incident raised the critical question of the future of the Bronx institution, which Steinbrenner, the Yankees' principal owner, has repeatedly condemned because of its location, inadequate parking and traffic problems.

Giuliani said he had discussed the incident with Steinbrenner.

"We actually look at this in much the same way," he said. "From the moment I started discussing this with George Steinbrenner, his view was we should do everything to make certain the fans are safe, that we should not force an opening. He understood what the city was doing."

Steinbrenner, in Tampa, Fla., yesterday, refused comment. "I'm on the phone with New York tonight and I can't talk about it," he said. He is expected to return to New York today.

The mayor said the crash may be proof that a new stadium is needed. "It may point out to some people that the structure, the way it was originally built or whatever, has some problems," Giuliani said.

"We are very thankful it happened when nobody was here," said Giuliani, who has raised the alternative of building a new stadium on Manhattan's West Side. "It was a warning, and we are taking it that way."

Officials were hopeful repairs would be completed at least in time for the weekend stand against the Detroit Tigers, which begins Friday.

Stadium superintendent Bob Wilkinson said the beam - a shear hinge or roller joint - fell through the thin covering over the loge and on top of Seat 7 in Section 22, Box A. He said the beam demolished the seat and then smashed into the concrete floor, leaving a hole of about a foot in diameter. The crater exposed the wire-mesh rods that support the concrete floor.

Wilkinson said the beam functions as a shock absorber that provides the building with some give during changes in the weather. He said some of the country's top engineers have been flown into New York to look at the damage along with the stadium's contractor and engineer. "We will be working all night," he said.

He said the actual repair job would only take five or six hours. "But we have to crawl through every nook and cranny to make sure everything is OK," Wilkinson said.

Giuliani said the city's buildings and parks departments conducted a quick inspection. "They could not find another expansion beam like that one or another one in that condition," he said.

The Yankees lease the land and stadium from the city. The lease expires on Dec. 31, 2002. The city received $2.4 million in rent and $1.4 million in parking revenues for the 1997 season, according to the city's Parks Department.

Under the lease agreement, the Yankees maintain the stadium and deduct the maintenance costs from the rent they pay the city.

Giuliani recently said he is waiting for a decision by Steinbrenner on whether he wants to remain in the Bronx before pursuing any options. About the Ball Opened: April 18, 1923 Initial cost: $2.5 million Capacity: 57,545 Lights: 800 Single-game ticekt price: $7 to $23 Dimensions: 313 feet down the left-field line 408 feet to center field 314 feet down right-field line Playing field: 3.5 acres

Dan Janison and Robert Polner contributed to this story.