Team officials, politicians and fans gathered for a ceremony Wednesday to help the New York Yankees mark the start of construction on a new ballpark.
The stadium, being built adjacent to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, is expected to be ready for the 2009 baseball season.
Team owner George Steinbrenner, Gov. George Pataki, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other civic officials sported Yankees hard hats as they thrust shovels into the ground to mark the start of construction.
"It's a pleasure to give this to you people," Steinbrenner said. "Enjoy the new stadium. I hope it's wonderful."
The 53,000-seat facility is expected to cost $800 million US.
The Yankees have played in Yankee Stadium since 1923. It's the third-oldest ballpark in the major leagues, after Boston's Fenway Park (1912) and Chicago's Wrigley Field (1914).
Dubbed The House That Ruth Built, Yankee Stadium was constructed so fans could have a venue big enough to seat the thousands of spectators who wanted to see the wildly popular Babe Ruth during the 1920s.
The new stadium will have a smaller capacity than Yankee Stadium's 57,478 seats. However, like most new ballparks, it will include more luxury boxes.
With files from The Associated Press
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