"This is a chance to own a piece of history, a piece of Yankee Stadium," Yankees COO Lonn Trost told a news conference.
A pair of stadium seats is priced at $1,499. A single bleacher seat costs $399 with a pair priced at $699. A clump of freeze-dried grass in a small display case goes for $80, and sections of sod range from $120 to $280 depending on size.
Demolition of the old Yankee Stadium—the 1923 'House That Ruth Built', across the 161st Street from their new $1.5 billion home—is expected to begin next month, Trost said.
All pieces sold will be authenticated by the Yankees and Major League Baseball and are available through numerous websites, including yankees.com and mlb.com.
Many big ticket items will also be put up for sale including pieces of the ornate frieze, or facade, that was displayed over the bleacher wall, old-style ticket booths, turnstiles and items from the clubhouses.
There were roughly 56,000 seats in the old stadium, which also hosted papal visits, New York Giants football games and boxing title fights among other big events.
The Yankees' memorabilia partners, Steiner Sports, said only about 40,000 seats would probably be sold after they are treated to abate dangers of lead paint.
Some of the special objects will be included in an online auction (www.steinersports.com) that closes on July 24.
The Yankees and Steiner Sports paid New York City $11.5 million for the right to sell the memorabilia but no price tag was placed on the potential returns from the gutting of the ball park.
Steiner said effort would be made to offer cheaper items that the average fan could afford besides specialty pieces.
"Today is about saving, saving the moment," said Brandon Steiner, chief of the memorabilia firm. "This is one of the most famous venues ever and we want to give the average Joe fan something to remember it by."
