Today's debut of the new Yankee Stadium Metro North stop

Today marks the debut of the New Yankee Stadium Metro North stop. The stop is located at 153th Street near the old Yankee Stadium. Service will run on the New Haven, Harlem, and Hudson lines. The station cost $91 million to build -- a lot of money, but the question is, was it worth it?

Metro North expects "up to 10,000 fans to pass through the station on game days." I think that is a generous estimate. Consider that the New Yankee Stadium seats fewer than 50,000 fans. 30,000 or more fans will arrive from Manhattan and other boroughs via the B, D, or 4 subway trains. Perhaps another 8,000 fans will drive from New Jersey, Connecticut, Long Island, and Westchester/Rockland counties (cars/buses/limos/etc). And another few thousand fans will take alternate transportation to the B/D/4 subways, such as LIRR to Grand Central and NJ Transit to Port Authority/Penn Station.

My theory is this: why would fans want to use this decidedly consumer-unfriendly service? How is this not consumer-friendly, you ask? Allow me to explain...

First, the new Metro North stop is not near the New Yankee Stadium. It's near the Old Yankee Stadium, though MTS promises the walk is ten minutes or less. I repeat: unlike the subway platform, which runs directly adjacent to the NYS, the brand-new, $91 million Metro North stop is approximately 10 minutes from the NYS. It is unclear why they didn't build it closer.

Second, the Harlem and New Haven lines only offer direct service to the New Yankee Stadium on weekends and holidays. This means that on weekdays, New Haven line riders must still go to the 125th-Harlem stop and wait for a shuttle from Grand Central to the Stadium. Of course, shuttles returning to Manhattan after weekday games do not stop at 125th-Harlem, so fans wishing to return to Connecticut on the New Haven line must ride all the way to Grand Central after the game to return home on Metro North (H/T Scott Proctor's Arm). (Note: the Hudson line offers direct service to all games. Great for them, but why only the Hudson?)

Third, Metro North has increased fares. Connecticut travelers will pay $1 more than the ticket price of traveling to Grand Central Terminal during peak hours -- and 75 cents during off-peak periods, which includes weekends.

Fourth, there won't be many Metro North trains. Let's take weekend games (1:05 start) as an example. Following the game, there are 5 trains returning on the New Haven line. They leave at 4:27, 4:37, 4:42, 4:55, and 4:56. Only three of those trains travel beyond Stamford. Let's say a third of Metro-North's estimate of 10,000 fans using the service are traveling on this line. That's 3,000 fans for 5 trains. Could get pretty crowded, which is precisely the opposite of the intended result. What's the difference between a crowded 4-train and a crowded Metro-North train, really?

Here is what I imagine will happen. On days where direct service is not offered to the new Metro North stop, fans will take other Metro North trains to the 125th-Harlem stop. Rather than waiting for a shuttle from Grand Central to the New Yankee Stadium, fans will walk two blocks and take the 4 train, which drops passengers 100 feet from the Stadium. Think about it: why walk 10 minutes from the Metro North stop when you can walk 2 blocks from the 4 train?

And since there are many weekday games that will not offer direct service, this scenario will occur frequently. Too frequently, given the $91 million investment that was supposed to reduce the occurrence of this scenario. The 4 train is still the best option.

And even when there is direct service, how many fans will use it? Metro North tickets are more expensive to the new Stadium, there aren't many trains, and they will likely be crowded. After the game, for example, just take the 4-train to Harlem-125th and wait for a less-crowded Metro North train there. The cost of a subway ride will be halfway offset by the increased cost of a Metro North ticket, anyway.

Any thoughts about whether this $91 million station was worth it?