Field of Schemes
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May 18, 2009

New Yankee Stadium slam book, cont'd

It's official: Everybody and their sister has now chimed in with their thoughts on the Yankees' new stadium. The latest:

  • There are still lots of empty seats, according to the New York Times, though the ultra-pricey ones in camera range appear to be filling up some.
  • Bald Vinny likes it, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, though all he's actually quoted as saying is that he likes that bleacher tickets are still the same price and it's "sad to see" all the empty luxury seats.
  • Alan Schecter at Bleacher Report says, "I don't think they could have put together a less fan-friendly experience if they tried." He also reports that the new let the fans down to the field during batting practice rule isn't as generous as it appears: It only applies during Yankees batting practice, and fans are ordered to skedaddle as soon as the visiting team takes the field.
  • The Business Insider suggests the Yankees management could fix matters through the magic of the marketplace: "24 hours before each game starts, for example, remaining seats could be sold via an online auction in which prices drop 1% a minute until they're all gone." Though they also note that the risk that "people and corporations [would] stop buying tickets in advance so as to save money." Now there's an idea.
  • The Newark Star-Ledger thinks it's time for a fan boycott. It's never worked before, but you can't blame people for trying.
  • And finally, for a change of pace: Scott M.X. Turner's bad day at the Mets' new stadium, including reports that Citi Field is likewise beset by empty seats and bans on viewing batting practice from the field level.

COMMENTS

The Yankees need to announce that they will not bring back any aspect of this year's ticket plans. They need to lower all of their prices and allow all to have a REAL chance to get in locations closer to the field. Also, they should use the 2008 season ticket holder list and put the displaced back to the locations they were in at the old stadium. A must is to get rid of most of the advertisements on the outfield fences and condense the ones next to the scoreboards. They should fire at least one or two of the VP's who signed off on these prices. The Yankees are the ones who say "Our season is a failure if we don't win the World Series." When did it become a race to become the first Trillion Dollar Corporation!

Posted by Sad Yankee Fan on May 18, 2009 09:23 PM

"put the displaced back to the locations they were in at the old stadium"

If you did that to former Tier Box ticket holders, it'd look like Wile E. Coyote when he suddenly notices the cliff is 30 feet behind him...

Posted by Neil on May 18, 2009 09:37 PM

I think the tax code explains the overpricing of at least the most expensive tier of tickets at the new Yankee Stadium:

http://www.oscargamblesociety.com/yankee-stadium-empty-seats-are-the-most-precious-of-all/

If anyone has any knowledge to advance (or disprove) this thesis I'd be grateful for comments

Posted by Tank on May 19, 2009 04:18 PM

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