Jaunted

New York Yankees

The (New) Yankee Stadium is set to open its gates on Friday for an exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs. If you don’t want to see what the new billion dollar stadium has to offer before the season starts, then you’ll have to wait until mid-April for the official opening of the new park. HOK Sport designed the park—they pretty much are the only option if you’re building a stadium—and they did a great job giving the outside a retro look. The design comes from the original Yankee Stadium, before it was renovated and spruced up.

Seats: The cheapest seats, if you can grab ‘em, will be $5. However, these bleacher seats have obstructed views, but there are some TVs where you can watch what you’re missing. We’ll miss the history of the old stadium, but can’t wait to enjoy the convenience and design of a new one. For tickets try StubHub, Craiglist, or the scalpers. Going through the Yankees site will probably cause you to run into dissapointment and sell-outs.
Restaurants: They’ll be plenty of overpriced hot dogs and beer here, but you’ll also be able to whet you whistle at a new Hard Rock Cafe. We can only assume things here will be beyond expensive, but at least it’s another option!
Retail: For your girlfriend, there will be almost a million feet of retail space, so she can grab one of those cute pink Jeter jerseys.
Getting There: Take the No. 4 train to 161st Street/Yankee Stadium. The B and D trains also stop here. Getting out there will take about 25 minutes from midtown Manhattan. Go here for other ways of getting there.
Where to Stay: The Grand Hyatt New York is located next to Grand Central Station and the 4 subway line, making it easy for you to get out there. Also, Hyatt is offering 20 percent off room rates. So we found rooms available for $207 this weekend.

New York Mets

Not to be outdone by their cross-town brothers, the New York Mets look to not blow it again, when the debut their team at Citi Field. Named way before the financial meltdown, the stadium was also designed by HOK Sport—again the go-to-guys for this kind of thing.

The price tag here was less than a billion, but pretty close, and we’ll get to see how it looks on Friday as well when the Boston Red Sox play an exhibition game. The regular season will start on April 13 against the San Diego Padres—which should be an easy win for the Mets. For those who miss Shea Stadium, you’ll be able to park right on top of its former location.

Seats: As soon as you grab your seat you’ll know you’re at the Mets’ stadium. Orange foul poles replace the usual yellow, in a nod to the team’s awesome color scheme of orange and blue. The home run “big apple” will be back, but it’s totally new, and four times the size as the one it replaces. The cheapest tickets here are $15 which you can book through the Mets' official site.
Delta Sponsorship: Delta paid out a lot of cash to get the naming rights to the Delta Sky360 Club, which is a restaurant-slash-lounge thing that houses a lot of the good seats behind home plate. Although painting “Go Mets” underneath some of their planes, to cheer on the team when they land at nearby JFK, would have been a better idea—too bad they didn't ask us. These Delta Club ones will set you back $300 a piece.
Restaurants: Just behind the center field wall sits NYC's newest Shake Shack. We expect this to be the place to go during the game, but we pray the lines aren't as long as the city's other locations. If you want a sit down meal, try The Acela Club. We don't know what they'll be offering, but their owner also owns a little place called Nobu. Best of all, Mets officials are promising that food prices will be about six percent less than they were at Shea.
Getting There: Take the 7 to Mets/Willets Point Station. But if you must drive, parking is $18.
Where to Stay: In the past the Milford Plaza in Times Square has offered special fan packages to Mets fans (and Yankees fans too) which involve club room upgrades and a VIP kit for your team. Rates for April 13th start around $130 for a regular room, $160 for a club room and just $209 for a one-bedroom Milford suite.

Related Stories:
·Yankee Stadium [Official Site]
·Citi Field [Official Site]
·There's Even More Baseball And Cacti Out West [Jaunted]
·Baseball coverage [Jaunted]

[Photos of Yankee and Citifield Stadiums: MLB.com]