Going to a Yankees day game in the Bronx? At Yankee Stadium the coolest seats are behind home plate and down the third-base line. Our 3D model ray-traces every row, and those zones stay shaded roughly 80% of a midsummer 1 PM game. Here's the section-by-section breakdown, plus a free map that runs the sun for your exact date and first pitch.
No. Yankee Stadium is an open-air stadium: no dome, no full roof, and games are played under the open sky. How much sun your seat gets depends on the stands and the start time: for a day game, shade comes first to the third-base side and the seats behind home plate. For your exact game, the free shade map shows which sections sit in shade at first pitch and how the shade moves.
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▶ Hit Play to watch the shade sweep across the Yankee Stadium bowl. Want to set your exact game date & first pitch? Open the full map ↗
Home plate faces roughly north-northeast, so at a 1 PM first pitch the sun sits high to the south and swings toward the southwest through the afternoon. That progression loads the first-base side and the short-porch right field with sun, while the third-base side and the seats behind home plate fall into shade first. Yankee Stadium's three-tier bowl helps: the upper deck overhangs the rows behind it, so the back of each level shades earlier than the front.
These are the share of a typical early-afternoon game each zone holds shade in our 3D model, based on the seating-bowl geometry and the sun's real path, not a specific day's clouds:
| Section area | Level | Shaded for… |
|---|---|---|
| Behind home plate | Club (200s) & Lower (100s) | ~80% of the game |
| Third-base line | Club (200s) & Lower (100s) | ~79% |
| Third-base line | Field level | ~65% |
| First-base line | Club (200s) & Lower (100s) | ~59%, more sun |
| Bleachers & short-porch RF | Outfield | Mostly sun, avoid for shade |
Percentages are for a typical 1:10 PM start in midsummer; your exact game may differ. Plug your date and first pitch into the live map for a per-row read.
If shade is the priority, aim for the Club and Lower sections from behind home plate around to third base, those are the ~80% zones above. A few specifics:
| Seats | Why they're shaded |
|---|---|
| Behind home / 3B, back rows of the Lower & Club levels | Upper-deck overhang shades them from early in the game |
| Third-base line, field level (deeper rows) | NNE orientation puts the afternoon sun at their backs |
| Anywhere under the terrace / upper-deck overhang | The back of each tier is the reliable cool spot |
The bleachers and the famous short-porch right field (first-base side) are the sun traps, open to the sky and facing the afternoon sun, they stay exposed most of a day game. The first-base lower bowl bakes as the sun moves west, and front rows on every level sit in sun until late.
The third-base side and the seats behind home plate. They fall into shade first and hold it, roughly 80% of a typical midsummer 1 PM game in our model, because home plate faces about NNE and the afternoon sun loads the opposite (first-base) side.
The Club (200s) and Lower (100s) sections behind home and down the third-base line, about 80% shaded in the ray-traced model. Sit in the back rows under the upper-deck overhang to shade earliest.
The bleachers and the short-porch right-field sections on the first-base side, plus the front rows everywhere until late in the afternoon.
For afternoon starts, target the third-base and behind-home covered levels above. For a night game the sun sets low and the whole lower bowl shades within an inning or two, the last seats in sun are the upper deck on the first-base side. The interactive tool models any start time and the live weather.
Shade predictions come from a 3D ray-traced model of the seating bowl combined with the exact solar position for your date and time. The bowl geometry is a calibrated approximation, so use the map to pick a side, level and row range, then confirm the precise seat on a ticket map. Independent tool; not affiliated with MLB or the Yankees.
The rest of the AL East, same treatment:
Yankee Stadium ranks #17 of 30 for sun exposure in MLB: the average seat sits in direct sunlight for about 118 of a 190-minute day game, or 62.1% of it. Full ranking and method in the sunniest seats in baseball.