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I don't mean empty seats in the upper deck, like the ones at every other ballpark; I mean the primo tickets, the Glengarry leads, the "luxury suite boxes" just down the first and third base lines. Every seat in Yankee Stadium is full except for the best seats in the house. It looks awful on television: It looks like the Yankees can't fill their stadium.
They can, of course. They're the Yankees. But they can't sell these seats—because even in New York, which apparently was once the financial capital of the world, nobody wants to pay $2,500 for one baseball game. And that's what they're charging. (Or at least what they were charging, before coming to their senses.) These seats are amazing, and the ballpark is breathtaking, but they're not worth $2,500. They're not worth the $1,250 they're charging now. Trust me, I sat in one.
Thanks to a "friend of a friend"—who I swear does not fit debtors with cement shoes—I ended up with the golden tickets for the first Sunday afternoon game at the new park, a 7-3 Yankees win over the Indians.
I was so close to the field I could actually see the TV screens the umpires use for replays. (Which is funny because I think they still got a home run call wrong.) And there were only two other people in my row. It was the fourth home game of the season.
The Yankees, obviously, have drastically overpriced these seats, but because they're the Yankees, they were slow to admit it. Thus, they were doing the hard sell. The minute my friend and I walked into our section, a nice woman who works for the Yankees corralled us, without our asking, and took us on a half-hour tour of the stadium. She was as aggressive as the ballpark barkers who try to sign you up for credit cards, except we ended up with swag far superior to some crappy beach towel. All our food was free, the nice woman told us, along with non-alcoholic beverages. (Because I'm the type of guy who drinks margaritas at baseball games, each one ran me $20.) We could push a button at our seats if we wanted anything brought to us, including sushi. (For the record, I'd recommend you stick with the hot dog.) "And if you need anything else, please don't hesitate to ask the girls," she finished, pointing to three stunning nymphs wearing pinstripes, Yankees caps and convincingly fake smiles. It was a rather ideal way to watch a sporting event. All we were missing was a sofa or a spot pinch-hitting in the seventh.
But it wasn't worth $2,500—because no regular season game is worth $2,500. No matter how much sushi, how many clubhouse tours you give me or how many lovely lasses wink at me on the way to the restroom, it's wildly out of whack with how humans live now. Which is why the seats are empty; if Derek Jeter sprinted into the stands to make a catch today, he'd land on upholstery, not flesh. Yet the Yankees have to try to sell them, using gravitas, sex appeal and sushi. They're hucksters desperate to unload product. If there's a better example of why this economic crisis has everyone terrified, I don't want to see it.
This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
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The probably won’t have to raise the ticket prices too much to chase away those last few black guys, after which like 10-15 whites will flock to the front row seatings.
by Raisin' up off the cot on May 15, 2009 1:37 PM EDT reply actions
the yankees just don’t get it. I was at the second game of the sox series last week, and had pretty good seats (3b side, just in the outfield, 12 rows up from the "exclusive section")
The game was rainy, the score was 7-3, and most had left by the 8th inning, so my friend and I went to do the traditional 9th inning move up front to get some pictures. Got totally blocked. not a soul was sitting in the seats and the game was almost over. One of the best parts of a baseball game is moving down near the end of the game.
oh…and the next night, went to the mets, and was sitting behind the dugout by the 9th inning.
by golfnooch on May 15, 2009 2:24 PM EDT reply actions
I think SomeEcards says it best - http://d3gkbha1s7sr56.cloudfront.net/someecards/filestorage/spo_85.jpg
by PackFan on May 15, 2009 2:44 PM EDT reply actions
Even the rich have to save in this economy so how about you Yankee fans sitting in the seats that cost four figures (and surrounded by a “riff-raff barrier”) flying up to Toronto to watch this pitching matchup? The cost of air fare, hotel, meals and field level tickets will save you a bundle, not even counting the exchange rate!
In fact, for those of you who don’t want to spend $2500 U.S. a pair, here’s what front row seats behind the Yankees dugout cost at the Rogers Centre.
This is from Razorgator.com as the Jays have sold them all, so this is even at a premium!
$202.00 Canadian (roughly $160 US) for two.
Hotel: Deluxe Room at the Four Seasons
Roughly $950 for the most expensive deluxe rooms (two). That’s about $750 US
Air Fare New York-Toronto-New (purchased day of flight, most expensive rate) on Air Canada is $522 for two people. That’s roughly $400 U.S.
Air fare is as low as $134 if booked in advance,
So let’s add it up by throwing in some food, taxi, entertainment $500 more. Roughly this would be $1850 USD for TWO PEOPLE!
P.S. Prices were obtained from the websites of Air Canada, The Four Seasons Toronto, and Razorgator.com
The Blue Jays website lists Premium Dugout seats at $73.00, so purchased in advance would be $146 CDN or roughly $112 US for two.
Even season tickets in Premium Dugout is only $8600, roughly $6500 U.S. so you could go to 81 games behind the dugout for what it costs at Yankee Stadium for four games!
I am assuming Yankee fans would want to sit behind the dugout and not “In the Action” (whatever that is) just to be closer to their players but even so at $210 a ticket each it’s only $420 CDN, roughly $325 USD. So livin’ large in the Jays’ crib still saves them roughly $400-500 USD.
Prices were obtained from the websites of Air Canada, The Four Seasons Toronto, and Razorgator.com
The Blue Jays website lists Premium Dugout seats at $73.00, so purchased in advance would be $146 CDN or roughly $112 US for two.
Even season tickets in Premium Dugout is only $8600, roughly $6500 U.S. so you could go to 81 games behind the dugout for what it costs at Yankee Stadium for four games!
I am assuming Yankee fans would want to sit behind the dugout and not “In the Action” (whatever that is) just to be closer to their players but even so at $210 a ticket each it’s only $420 CDN, roughly $325 USD. So livin’ large in the Jays’ crib still saves them roughly $400-500 USD.
by joebodolai on May 15, 2009 4:34 PM EDT reply actions
how can you charge that much for Baseball tix i mean there is 81 home games a season… thats BONKERS!! i would understand for NFL tix because of the short season and like 8 homegames or w.e. but baseball?? you’ve got to be kidding!
by walker131 on May 15, 2009 7:49 PM EDT reply actions
Unless the seat you’re sitting into is actually Carmen Electra’s lap, it’s not worth $1,250 for it.
by volchkov on May 15, 2009 9:51 PM EDT reply actions
It’s great to see sports fans coming to their senses. For years the owners have raised the prices and the fans have kept paying more and more for tickets, parking, and concessions. Finally, someone’s saying "Maybe there are better things to do with this money." If the fans refuse to pay that much for a ticket, the price will continue to come down. It’s simple economics. A sports fan in Kansas City
by Mocary on May 15, 2009 10:03 PM EDT reply actions
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