June 16, 2005 -- The Yankees unveiled plans for their dazzling new ballpark yesterday, vowing to foot the $800 million price tag and keep ticket prices "affordable" — and ending years of talk that the team might leave its storied home turf in The Bronx.

"We have had a lot of different things in progress — whether we'd go over there, or here, or where we'd build," said Yankees boss George Steinbrenner, flanked by Mayor Bloomberg, Gov. Pataki and other local officials.

"We decided we wanted to stay in The Bronx, and do the job for The Bronx," Steinbrenner said.

The blockbuster new stadium will feature some details from the original 1923 House That Ruth Built, including a limestone façade, the return of the bullpens to right field and improved sight lines that will even make the action visible from the concession stands.

"You'll never miss a pitch. You'll be able to see the playing field from wherever you are," team president Randy Levine said.

The new park will also roughly triple the number of luxury boxes to 50 or 60 — a big revenue booster for the team. Total seating will range from 50,800 to 54,000, with the majority of seats — 30,000 — at field level. Currently, 20,000 of the 56,000 seats are at field level.

"The Yankees, and not the taxpayers, will construct and fund this project," Levine said.

The new park, expected to open by 2009, would have improved parking and transportation — with the number of parking spots jumping from 7,000 to about 11,000.

"It's going to be much more easy to get to the park and much more easy to leave," Levine said.

Bloomberg said the city will only spend $135 million to rebuild and spruce up 28 acres of nearby park land — giving new amenities to the neighborhood like a softball field, a Little League field in the shell of the current stadium, a soccer field, a running track, as well as basketball and tennis courts. The shift in park lands will require approval of the state Legislature.

As for the state government, Pataki said Albany would pony up about $70 million for the new parking facility — but would own revenue-producing garages.

Bloomberg noted that the city, which actually owns the current Yankee Stadium, had spent $30 million over the past five years for its upkeep — and would have been obliged to spend up to $350 million over the next 30 years to maintain and renovate it.

"This new agreement relieves us of that burden," Bloomberg said. "Any way you look at it, this deal makes sense for the city."

Borough President Adolfo Carrión also praised the agreement that keeps the Bronx in the Bronx Bombers.

"I think we have won today," he said. "This is not simply about the ballpark. It is about the ballpark in its community."

How the cost of the new stadium will affect ticket prices is unclear, Levine said — but he promised a trip to the new ballpark would remain reasonable.

"We pledge to all our fans that this stadium will be affordable," he said, adding: "I think affordable means not overwhelmingly expensive to come to watch a game."

He said the Yankees would be responsible for any stadium construction cost overruns as well as all interest and principal payments on tax-exempt bonds to be used for the construction — and that he expects the team will come out ahead.

"We think we're going to do OK here," he said.

Asked if the team considered asking for public financing, he said, "It was obvious it wasn't going to happen . . . It became evident that if we wanted a new stadium, we would have to fund it ourselves."

The name will remain "Yankee Stadium," Levine said — but some corporate naming rights might be available for parts of the project.

For example, the projected plaza area between the façade and the entrance to the park could be "Yankee Stadium X Plaza" — with X paying for that privilege, Levine said.

Levine said the new stadium was necessary because "this building, as great and glorious as it is, is in fact becoming non-functional." Only Boston's Fenway Park and Chicago's Wrigley Field are older than the existing 82-year-old Yankee Stadium.

Levine said when it was renovated some 30 years ago "it lost much of the great character of the original House That Ruth Built."

Bloomberg cited the stadium plan as one of several economic development projects in the area, and called the new ballpark "an excellent investment for the people of the South Bronx and the people of New York."