Video from outside the stadium showed massive crowds gathering at the entrances as concertgoers waited to enter. A police source told Eyewitness News that a large group breached security, pushing and shoving their way through checkpoints, prompting authorities to lock down the stadium.
"It just looked like once one person got in, it was just like, yeah, like and other people just started to join in, and people were coming back to get their people, and it was it was crazy," said eyewitness Frederick Prince.
Video circulating across social media platforms showed what Prince saw from the inside looking out: the security breach at the stadium.
"I saw it breached, like the door that was open," he said. "I saw that part, but I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know how that door got open. I had no idea."
The 41-year-old Bronx native had already gained entry when fans started pushing through the security checkpoint before 8 p.m.
At one point, no one was allowed to enter or leave the venue as officials worked to regain control of the situation. Fans were eventually allowed inside beginning around 10 p.m. through what sources described as a slow and methodical screening process. Security remained heightened throughout the night, with officers stationed at every entrance.
The concert was originally scheduled to begin at 8 p.m., but Jay-Z did not take the stage until about 12:20 a.m.
"For your guys' safety and everybody's safety outside, there's 10,000 people outside and I didn't want to start music and people get trampled," Jay-Z said. "So really sorry for the inconvenience but I just wanted to make sure everybody was OK."
It was a wise decision learned from painful lessons of the past.
Back in 1991, nine people were killed during a stampede at a Sean "Diddy" Combs charity basketball game in Harlem.
"It was poorly deployed as far as resources, and that pushed again to stores, killed all those young people," said former NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce.
Two years ago, 30,000 fans stormed the gates at the Copa America final in Miami, but for this year's World Cup, ticketholders are being screened at Penn Station and aren't allowed in the parking lot.
The Knicks' championship finals had checkpoints at a perimeter established well around the arena, but at Yankee Stadium on Sunday night, there was one checkpoint at the stadium entrances.
"Yankee Stadium is a different thing," Boyce said. "It's right in the middle of the Bronx. The South Bronx, and the lot in those streets are fairly close to the curb where Yankee Stadium starts. You would have to shut down River Avenue and also shut down Jerome Avenue. You can do it with enough people. You would need a full deployment by the NYPD, which you're not going to have in a private event like this."
Once the show finally began, the Brooklyn-born rapper delivered a star-studded finale, bringing out a series of surprise guests that included Beyoncé, Rihanna, Usher, Fat Joe, Jeezy, Pusha T, Pharrell and Jadakiss.
The marathon performance continued until just before 3 a.m., concluding Jay-Z's final night at Yankee Stadium. Despite the hours-long delay and security concerns, authorities reported no arrests.
The first two concerts of the three-show run were held without major incident, but now the massive security breach is under investigation.
"Last night is something that we're going to follow up on because I know that there were many New Yorkers who were delayed after there was a breach of security by those that didn't have tickets, and then it resulted in a multiple hour delay for many others, so that's something we'll follow up," Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.
Roc Nation and Yankee Stadium released a joint statement after the show: "The Yankees, Roc Nation and Live Nation express our deep gratitude to the NYPD and to Yankee Stadium security personnel for their leadership and direction throughout the evening, putting the welfare of attendees above all other considerations."
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