As the Mets and Yankees battle for a playoff berth and the chance at a world championship, another race is taking place in Queens and the Bronx to complete the teams’ new stadiums, and indicators show the Mets have the early lead.

Using steel and concrete in place of wood and leather, the clubs are competing to build two of the most expensive stadiums in the history of American sports, just more than six miles apart. Both are scheduled to open their doors to fans in time for the April start of the 2009 season, and as can be expected in virtually all aspects of the epic crosstown rivalry, the stadiums’ merits and shortcomings will be scrutinized closely and debated endlessly.

In the shadow of the House That Ruth Built, the new Yankee Stadium is now rising, and the shell of the proto-ballpark is visible above the park’s famous white façade. At a cost $1.2 billion, it will cover a vast area of 1.35 million square feet of the Bronx with parks, garages, and a state-of-the-art ballpark that will seat 50,000 roaring fans. To the southeast in Flushing Meadows, the Mets are spending $800 million to build Citi Field, a 42,500-seat stadium that draws its design from the long demolished and storied home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Ebbets Field.

At the moment, the Mets sit in first place in the National League East with a strong young roster and a farm system loaded with talent. The Yankees are clawing their way back into the American League wild card race and struggling to make up ground on the Boston Red Sox. It also appears as if the Yankees are falling behind the Mets in the construction of their new stadiums.

The Mets have built most of the concrete shell for the open-air concourse that will surround Citi Field and give fans 360 degrees of field views. The steel framework for the three levels of seating is already completed behind home plate and along the first base line, and steel is being installed for the upper decks along the third base line. Four light towers, installed last week, soar above the seats that lead to right field.

Standing outside Citi Field on Wednesday, the chief operating officer of the Mets, Jeffrey Wilpon, said the builders are hitting milestones each week. “Fans see it happening quickly,” he said. “I see it happening slowly, but overall we’re on time.”

On the other side of town, at the new Yankee Stadium, the heavy metal extending skyward, toward the baseball gods, is less visible. The concrete façade that will form the exterior of the stadium is constructed behind home plate, and workers are expanding it along both base lines. However, it extends just a short distance toward left and right field, and the steel framework for the upper deck is constructed only in the area behind home plate.

An ironworker who was working at the stadium this weekend and did not give his name said the construction of the concrete façade is three months behind schedule. He also said the portion of façade he was working on yesterday was supposed to be up by April.

The Yankees organization refused to participate in this article. A spokeswoman for the Yankees, Alice McGillion, denied that the concrete façade is behind schedule.

“We are not behind. Absolutely not,” she said. “We are different than the Mets. We are not following the Mets’ way of doing things. We are doing it our own way.”

Sources close to the organization say the Yankees are planning to roll out an extensive marketing campaign soon.

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Both new stadiums will seat substantially fewer fans than their aging counterparts, following a trend in baseball to create more intimate spaces.

“There is something to be said about intimacy,” the vice president of a sports marketing company, Premier Partnerships, Todd Walker, said. “People are willing to pay more for that experience.”

Intimate stadiums also allow management to capitalize on ancillary revenue from special events such as concerts, Mr. Parker said. Both the Yankees and Mets management has said the teams plan on making the stadiums available for private events, as well.

The chief operating officer of the Yankees, Lonn Trost, told the Sports Business Journal that the new stadium would be available for weddings, bar mitzvahs, conferences, and meetings. “Pretty much everything, from our biggest meeting rooms, to the press box, to the smallest spaces, is going to be convertible for this kind of use,” he said.

While the stadiums will seat fewer people, both will be substantially larger in total size. At 1.35 million square feet, the new Yankee Stadium will be 60% larger than the existing facility, making it one of the largest in the country.

A professor of architecture at Notre Dame University who also runs a stadium-consulting firm, Philip Bess, said new baseball stadiums across the board are substantially larger than those of the past to provide more space for player facilities and concessions. “Right now, there aren’t a lot of fiscal constraints,” he added.

Luxury will also be the name of the game. The Yankees plan to build 67 luxury suites at the new stadium; currently, Yankee Stadium has 19.

The Mets will open 54 luxury suites at Citi Field, 10 of which, called the Sterling Suites, will be 18 rows from home plate. At Shea Stadium, the Mets’ brass has constructed a preview room where prospective suite buyers can get a feel for what will be in store at Citi Field. The suites will have outdoor seats sectioned off by sliding glass doors. Inside, they will come complete with luxury amenities: flat screen televisions, leather sofas, Sub Zero refrigerators, and a touch-button remote that will control electronics and allow fans to order food.

Most suites at baseball parks are situated in the middle levels of stadiums. By placing the new suites 114 feet from home plate, the Mets are bringing to baseball a popular trend in indoor arenas that Mr. Parker called “bunker suites.” The bunker suite concept, which has been popular at National Basketball Association and National Hockey League arenas, creates a better vantage point for luxury seating.

While executives lose revenue by displacing a glut of valuable seats, it has been proved that more money can be made with high-priced luxury suites, Mr. Parker said.

“There doesn’t seem to be any cap for the best seats in the house,” he said. “There is an insatiable appetite to have behind-the-ropes access.”