NEW YORK - No tears were shed Wednesday for the historic stadium where Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio played out their storied careers.

Politicians and baseball officials who gathered to break ground on a new Yankee Stadium shared memories of the old ballpark but said the new one would be even better.

“Yankee Stadium is an iconic stadium, a place where Ruth and (Lou) Gehrig played, where popes and presidents have spoken,” Gov. George Pataki said. “But so, too, will the new Yankee Stadium be an iconic stadium.”

Pataki joined team owner George Steinbrenner, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others for the groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the new stadium, just north of the existing 1923 ballpark.

The billion-dollar Bronx stadium is set to open in 2009.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said he remembered going to Yankee Stadium as a teenager.

“I can still feel the joy and excitement as I stared in wonder at the field, perfect in every way,” he said. “And there in center field stood the hero of my boyhood, the great Joe DiMaggio. ... Yankee Stadium is an American monument that has endured for 84 years. Today we are breaking ground on a new Yankee Stadium, a new monument and new memories for the coming generations of fans.”

Steinbrenner, who complained of the heat, was brief.

“It’s a pleasure to give this to you people,” he said. “Enjoy the new stadium. I hope it’s wonderful.”

The Yankees displayed a congratulatory message from President Bush on the center-field scoreboard during the second inning of Wednesday night’s game against Baltimore. There were some boos from the crowd.

Before the game, Yankees manager Joe Torre talked about the old ballpark, and the one being built.

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“This is a special place. There’s no question. But all the renderings I’ve seen of that new ballpark, it’s going to be exciting,” he said. “The guys who are going to play in these next couple years and go over there, I’m sure it’s going to be a big change for them.”

Yankees legend Yogi Berra, superfan Billy Crystal and 81-year-old stadium fixture Freddy Schuman, who patrols the stands with homemade signs, attended the 90-minute ceremony but did not speak.

Schuman, who banged on his trademark frying pan during applause, said later he approved of the new ballpark.

“I feel about the old stadium, but this is progress,” he said.

The groundbreaking came a day after a state Supreme Court judge denied opponents a temporary restraining order that would have blocked construction. He found there was no legal bar to cutting down trees to permit a project that benefits the city and the local community.

A few dozen demonstrators carried signs and chanted, “Save our parks,” during Wednesday’s ceremony, but police kept them far enough away that they could not be heard by the participants.

In Mullaly Park, most of which will be lost to the new ballpark, tennis instructor Sam Fumi said he hoped the politicians would keep their promise to move the tennis courts to a new park nearby.

“We will relocate somewhere, but right now we don’t know,” he said. “It’s sad.”