1. We all know there's issues with New Yankee Stadium (NYS). But what a lot of people don't understand is that all ballparks are works in progress. When Comerica Park opened in Detroit, they realized the walls were too far back and moved it in. Coors Field in Colorado had too many homeruns and now you have the humidor. So to think that the problems with Yankee Stadium will haunt them forever is really overstating the problem. But there are some changes that need to be made. I like Peter Abraham's suggestions and I want to expand on them below.
2. Paul Katcher shows the biggest problem for me. There is a concrete wall separating the rich from the poor and, more importantly the full seats from the empty seats. Because of this, the stadium looks horrendous on camera as all those seats behind home and down the baselines seem empty.
3. The New York Times points out this isn't just in the new Yankee Stadium but Citi/Taxpayer Field as well (Speaking of C/T Field, this NY Post cover from their opening night was a classic). So it may not be about price. And if it is, well the Yankees say they are going to RAISE them next year according to this Mouthpiece post as well as this NBC article. Bud Selig says not so fast to the Yankees and Mets (though he also says he can't make them do anything).
4.The problem, though, may not be that the seats are not sold. It may be that people who have them are not going. As IIATMS quotes: A few weeks back, we went to a friends' house for an afternoon. While watching the Masters with my friend (a Wall Streeter), we were discussing this and he made an interesting point. He said to me: "Jason, even if I had those great seats that cost $2500 a ticket, I can't take a client there. It's not worth the risk." I asked him about what risk he was talking about and his answer surprised me as I hadn't thought of that: "If someone recognizes me sitting behind the dugout and it comes out that I used my Firm's resources for those seats, and we've taken TARP money from the government, I don't want that sort of publicity or getting calls from The Post." He's not a famous guy at all, but there's a fear that someone might see him and he'll get "outted" for using Firm money to attend a game. He also told me that he's not alone with this fear. Jason's article is worth reading all the way through multiple times, but that point is one I didn't think of until he mentioned it.
5. Shysterball quotes Jason's post but also says that the Yankees might do a do-over on pricing for some of those tickets. I have no clue how they'd do this. None. Especially if Jason's post is true and the tickets are sold but not used. But even if they're sold, how do you tell people who paid $2600 for the seats that you've just sold the ones next to them for a third of the price? Doesn't seem fair. Rob Neyer thinks they'll absolutely lower them.
6. I can't tell you how upset this New York Post article (and this subsequent Deadspin post) got me about Freddy not being allowed into NYS. Him and Yogi are going to turn 85 next year. The Yankees finally did a mea culpa a few years ago with Yogi and treated him correctly--they need to do the same with Freddy and have them both celebrate their time with the Yankees together. Part of the fan experience is hearing that pan and spoon every game.
7. The other problem is the homer-happy-ness of NYS. Brian Cashman says the Yankees are monitoring the home runs and Jayson Stark has some of the unbelievable numbers. Deadspin picks it up as well and quotes both Buster Olney's column and Hit Tracker's view of how shallow the walls of the new stadium really are to put "Coors Field East" in perspective. Though Greg Rybarczyk of Was Watching thinks it's because the balls are juiced.
8. Other Yankees news: Jerry Crasnick has a good look at two new New York outfielders (Brett Gardner and Daniel Murphy), Peter Abraham looks at Melky vs. Gardner, George King looks at some possible replacements if Xavier Nady has to have surgery (he mentions Jason Repko and Austin Kearns) and Ken Davidoff has a great blog post on the rollercoaster Yankee career of Jason Giambi.
9. Lastly, Fack Youk finds class division in NYS...in the men's bathroom stalls. Now this is really an exposé. Also, New Stadium Insider on the cookout that went on at the old, very sad looking, partially demolished old Yankee Stadium. Not for the faint of heart/nostalgic.
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