Legendary Yankees owner George Steinbrenner will be laid to rest tomorrow after a private service in Florida attended by The Boss’ closest family and friends, sources said yesterday.
Although details of the funeral were closely guarded, including the exact location in the Tampa area, the team did announce plans to celebrate Steinbrenner’s life and career before tonight’s game in the gleaming new ballpark that is part of his legacy.
Steinbrenner, who died Tuesday, will be honored in a pregame ceremony before his beloved Bronx Bombers take the field at 7:05 p.m. against the Tampa Bay Rays.
WHERE TO MAKE A DONATION IN THE BOSS’ MEMORY
The observance will include a video tribute to The Boss and a special moment of silence honoring both Steinbrenner and longtime “Voice of God” announcer Bob Sheppard, who died Sunday at 99.
The team will take the field wearing a memorial patch with Steinbrenner’s initials — GMS — above the interlocking “NY” logo on the left breast of their pinstriped jerseys.
When they hit the road at the end of the month, the players will wear the patch over the word “York” on their away jerseys.
A commemorative patch for Sheppard, which features a microphone in a baseball diamond, will be worn on the left sleeve of the home and away jerseys.
The Yankees also will place a wreath in front of a statue of Steinbrenner tonight in the Executive Lobby at Yankee Stadium. Another wreath will be placed in front of Sheppard’s plaque in Monument Park.
Additional tributes for both will be held tomorrow at Old-Timers’ Day.
The average asking price of tickets on the resale market for tonight’s game have gone up 85 percent, to $173, since Steinbrenner’s death, according to FanSnap.com. Since Tuesday, the asking price of available Yankees tickets for the rest of the season has gone up 10 percent.
Steinbrenner, 80, died in Tampa after suffering a massive heart attack in his home.
In the days since his passing, he’s been remembered almost as much for his charity work as he has for his raging Yankees reign.
In lieu of flowers, his family has asked that donations be sent to charities, including the Silver Shield Foundation, which Steinbrenner launched to support the education of children of firefighters and police officers from the tristate area who were killed in the line of duty.
Last night, the Nederlander family dimmed the lights for one minute at all nine of its theaters in honor of Steinbrenner, who had invested in six Broadway shows.
Steinbrenner and Sheppard also were remembered at Boston’s Fenway Park, where the bitter-rival Red Sox held a moment of silence before their game against the Rangers.