PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner is looking forward to the upcoming season. He's also eager to unveil the fan-friendly enhancements that have been made to both Steinbrenner Field and Yankee Stadium, which includes more social gathering spaces and a children's area.
"A lot of our fans, particularly the millennials, want to be standing up, they want to be talking to friends. They want to have that experience along with what [happens] on the field," Steinbrenner said. "What we're doing is creating non-membership clubs. Social gathering places where anybody can go and watch the game.
"And the other thing I wanted to do was create a really nice kids area, because that's something we didn't have and that's the other thing we heard from our fans. So we created a really cool space where parents with young children can go and relax and the kids can play."
Steinbrenner added that Alexander Rodriguez will probably make two trips to Tampa this spring, working with both Major and Minor Leaguers but that plans for the regular season have not been finalized. Steinbrenner also laid out his rationale behind bringing back closer Albertin Chapman on a five-year, $86 million free-agent deal.
"That's a lot of money for a reliever," Steinbrenner said. "A lot of money for a hard-throwing pitcher, given injury histories and all that. But he doesn't have an injury history and he's about as strong a guy as you'll come across. He's a special player."