Yankees’ new home befits a king

The place is majestic. The place is imposing. You can feel all $1.5 billion. As the April sun shone brightly Thursday for the official opening of the new Yankee Stadium, you sensed you were walking into the imperial palace of some 19th century archduke.

“You know George will go first class,” Yogi Berra said.

“It’s George Steinbrenner style,” Reggie Jackson said. “Forget the cost, just do it right.”

The 31,000-square foot Grand Hall is, well, grand.

From Thurman Munson’s locker, to the statues that commemorate Don Larsen’s pitching and Berra’s catching the perfect World Series game to a wall of Yankees autographed baseballs, the Yankee Museum is worthy of Cooperstown.

Everything is expensive. The notion of a $2,600 seat to a baseball game blows this mind. From the limestone exterior to the revered monuments beyond the center-field fence to the familiar frieze lining the roof to NYY Steak and the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar, every effort was made to link the “sporting experience” of today to an unparalleled past. Such effort obviously does not come cheap.

“Everything has changed,” said Berra as only Berra could before pointing out how many of the features from the old ballpark have been retained. And that’s why there even is a sign in the new stadium that puts “Yogisms” on display.

The Yankees brought back so many old-timers, more than 40, on this day. Reggie, Larsen, Winfield, Whitey, Goose, Yogi, Rickey Being Rickey, Tino, O’Neill and, hey, Tommy John is always good to write without the word surgery next to it. Bernie Williams played a mellow version of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” on his guitar. Berra, the 83-year-old wonder, bounced the ceremonial first pitch, kidding that he found out about his duties at the last minute and didn’t have time to warm up like Tom Seaver did before throwing a strike at the Mets’ opening of Citi Field.

The West Point Marching Band performed “Washington Post March” and “Stars and Stripes Forever” in tribute to John Philips Sousa’s performance at the opening of the original stadium on April 18, 1923.

And when the bat used by Babe Ruth to hit the first home run of that first game was laid across home plate in a sweeping ceremonial gesture before Derek Jeter led off the bottom half of the first inning, wow, the message was loud and clear.

This place was built for memories.

“I’m going to miss everything about the [old] stadium,” Jeter said. “But you move on and you hope there will be new memories.”

New ones to be placed alongside old ones of 26 World Series championships. As the aging Steinbrenner, who missed the closing of the old gray ghost across 161st street last September, was introduced, he waved from his owner’s box.

And he cried. Yes, the 19th century archduke was in the house.

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jjacobs@courant.com