Visits to iconic sports venues have become almost the norm for Wrexham in the Hollywood era.Tackling Chelsea at Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, on the 2024 tour of the West Coast was a genuine ‘pinch-me moment’ for long-standing supporters whose previous pre-seasons largely extended to going no further than Bangor or Aberystwyth.Likewise, last year’s appearance at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium, and BC Place — Vancouver’s host venue in the recent World Cup — 12 months before that.Players and fans alike have enjoyed ticking off visits to other legendary sporting cathedrals, too, even when not scheduled to play there, such as the 2025 look around the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) when midfielders Matty James and George Dobson were among those given an impromptu catching session on the pitch by Australia international Aaron Finch.Yankee Stadium, New York, can now be added to that list, perhaps as the most awe-inspiring of the lot thanks to a design that stayed appealingly true to the original ‘House That Ruth Built’ from more than a century ago.Yankee Stadium is one of the world’s most iconic sporting venues (Al Bello/Getty Images)In front of watching co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, Wrexham lost 1-0 to Premier League side Liverpool. But from the moment the Welsh club and their followers pitched up in the Bronx on Wednesday, it felt like a special evening.“We’re very fortunate to have experienced all these great occasions,” says Phil Parkinson, the Wrexham manager. “Creating memories we’ll never forget and this year’s trip has been no different, with Yankee Stadium one of the most iconic around.“The experience of being at the stadium tonight was something we’ll always remember. A great atmosphere, a great arena and very special.”First up, a confession: I know very little about baseball. But I do love visiting a new stadium, an obsession that back home has led to joining the Ninety Two Club, a hardy band of football fans who have watched a competitive first-team match at every current Premier League and EFL ground.Having also visited some of the finest sporting venues Europe has to offer, the Yankee Stadium has been on the wish list for some time, even allowing for the aforementioned lack of baseball knowledge that two years ago led to my colleague Grant Brisbee and I attempt to explain to the other the respective virtues of baseball and cricket in the wake of the USA beating Pakistan at the T20 World Cup in one of the sport’s greatest ever upsets. (By the end of our chat, neither had truly grasped the ‘alien’ sport.)Despite my limited baseball expertise, Yankee Stadium is on an altogether different level. Built straight across the street from the original stadium that had opened in 1923, the current facility houses around 47,00 fans.Liverpool and Wrexham in action at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday evening (Mike Stobe/Getty Images)A crowd of 42,204 turned out for what was Liverpool’s third visit to this ballpark, their previous pre-season outings having finished in 2-2 draws against Manchester City (2014) and Sporting Lisbon (2019).New head coach Andoni Iraola also boasts previous experience in the city and stadium after finishing his playing career at New York City FC. Half of the Spaniard’s 40 appearances for City came at Yankee Stadium, which might explain why his Liverpool side looked so at home on a warm evening.Wrexham were given something of a runaround in the opening exchanges before finally settling into a rhythm. They were unlucky with the game’s only goal, Rio Ngumoha’s shot taking a deflection to loop over the helpless Callum Burton. Kieffer Moore then missed a great chance to equalise late on when he blasted over from close range.The result may have gone against Wrexham, but there was still plenty for their supporters to enjoy about this first visit to the Bronx for a club who have already beaten Manchester United in pre-season. Not least their surroundings.Liverpool keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili is forced into a save at Yankee Stadium (Angela Weiss/Getty Images)There’s a grandeur to Yankee Stadium that is only added to by its firm identity, with no one left in any doubt on Wednesday as to who this place belongs to, even when the pitch markings were for a different sport being played between two teams from across the Atlantic.Contrast that with some of the football stadia back home built in the last 15-20 years where, beyond the spelling out of a club’s name on the appropriately coloured seats, there’s precious little hint as to who resides there.West Ham are perhaps not the best example, considering how the London Stadium was built for the 2012 Olympics and the football club only moved in a few years later. But there are plenty of others, such as Cardiff City and Everton, that, unlike their distinctive previous homes Ninian Park and Goodison Park, possess a uniformity of design inside that barely makes them stand out.This most certainly can’t be said of Yankee Stadium. From the Great Hall draped in banners honouring legends from the past that welcomes fans through to the exhaustive Yankee Museum, reminders of the team’s glorious past are everywhere.Same with a stadium design that, most intriguingly from a Wrexham perspective, is the work of Populous, the same firm behind the new £69.1 million Kop stand currently going up at The Racecourse Ground.There are nods throughout to the old Yankee Stadium that stood across the road for 85 years before being demolished in 2010. These include replicating not only the imposing stone arch gates that welcomed generations of fans but also ensuring the field has exactly the same dimensions as the one where Babe Ruth made his name. The replica white frieze that lines the roof of the upper decks is a nice touch, too, along with the gold leaf lettering on the outside.Even hosting “soccer” matches such as Wednesday’s friendly continues a well-established tradition, with all manner of the sport’s greats having graced the old stadium, including Pele and Eusebio.Those names — together with more recent stars to have played at the new Yankee Stadium, including a Spain side featuring Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets that beat the Republic of Ireland 2-0 here in 2013 as World Cup holders — only add to the allure for those following in their footsteps.A strong Spain side played Ireland at Yankee Stadium in 2013 (Don Emmert/Getty Images)“To play here tonight was a great occasion,” says goalkeeper Danny Ward, who along with his team-mates will face Sunderland on Sunday in Philadelphia before flying home for the start of the EFL season.“Even just being around the city. We went for a walk in Central Park, and there were all these Wrexham tops. And people who had all watched the documentary.”This being a venue designed for a totally different sport, there are problems. Squeezing a football pitch into the space available makes for an awkward and unusual look, particularly in terms of the pitch’s narrow width.This can also lead to some seats feeling too far from the action, certainly in comparison to others that almost hug the touchline. Covering areas that are usually home to another sport isn’t easy, either, as was shown by the patches of darker grass that again lent the pitch an unorthodox feel.Unorthodox, though, doesn’t mean bad, with Yankee Stadium certainly worthy of joining Levi’s Stadium, BC Place and Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium on Wrexham’s growing list of memorable sporting venues visited since the 2021 takeover that changed everything.