Away weekend: The new Yankee Stadium, New York, from 16 April
The place: New York
The date: From 16 April
The event After 86 years, more than 6,500 home games and three Papal masses, the most famous venue in baseball, the home of the New York Yankees, is no more. As the new season starts, the pressure will be on the 26-time "world champions": not only do they have to justify their $1.6bn new stadium, the most expensive ever built, but they spent $500m in the off-season on new players, to supplement what was already the world's priciest sports roster. Can they win their first World Series since 2000? The first official home game is against the Cleveland Indians on 16 April.
The place The new Yankee Stadium, across the street from the old one in the Bronx, will actually have a smaller capacity (53,325). This is despite the fact that the new complex is 63% larger - extra space that has mostly gone to retail and corporate entertainment. To the casual observer, the new stadium will look very similar, and the dimensions of the field are identical.
The locals Yankees fans are notoriously volatile. "They don't come to the ball park to see you play in New York, they come to see you win," says Buck Showalter, who has been both a player and a manager of the team, and is now a commentator for ESPN America. "They are a very accountable group - as quick as they are to boo you, they are just as quick to applaud you."
Where to stay The stadium is easily reached by the subway (161st Street - Yankee Stadium), so you will probably want to stay in Manhattan. The most interesting new hotel in the city is The Standard (standardhotels.com; 001 212 645 4646) in the Meatpacking District.
Where to eat and drink The food at the old Yankee Stadium was famous for many of the wrong reasons - but there is still something about having a beer and hot dog in your seat. Outside the stadium, go to Stan's (stanssportsbar.com), a shrine to the Pinstripers.
What else to do It might be easier and cheaper to see the Yankees' New York rivals the Mets, whose first game is against the Boston Red Sox on 3 April.
How to get there Check in with Virgin Atlantic (virgin-atlantic.com) and British Airways (britishairways.com) for best rates.
What not to do Don't expect to see the Yankees' third baseman A-Rod, above - the world's most expensive player, steroid abuser, sometime companion of Madonna - if you go in April. He's just had hip surgery and will be out for a couple of months.