Friday, January 30, 2009

First casualties reported in the 41 game plan relocation process...

Word from an anonymous commenter on a previous post (usually not too reliable of a source, but I get a good vibe from this guy) is that the 41 game plan relocation isn't off to a very good start - for him at least.

Mr Anon previously sat in box 611 of the Tier Box MVP at the Old Yankee Stadium (around section 5, on the first base side of home plate). With a seniority date of 1999, you can imagine the horror when he received his relocation invoice today had been assigned seats in section 407,row 7 - almost in FAIR territory in the right field upper deck, just a few rows from the top. Here are a couple of seating charts illustrating just how bad it is for Anon:

OYS:




New Yankee Stadium:


UPDATE 11:33 PM: Fresh from the comments section is more bad news:
Checked my account. I was in 442 last season, now have 334 ROW 7 offered to me. Two words: THIS SUCKS.
If this is any indication of things to come, the author of this blog might not be such a "new Stadium Insider." As I have mentioned before, I have a seniority date of 2005 and my seats used to be in section 1 of the Tier Reserved MVP in Row M. Even I'll admit that it is unfair if I am assigned better seats than Mr. Anon from the comments section.

The major issue that is going to arise from this relocation program is the utterly greedy stance the Yankees took in allowing anyone the possibility of upgrading to a full season plan, leaving the partials in the dust.

They used scare tactics and lack of information to drive people into fear-based financial decisions such as upgrading to a full season plan from partial season plans. Because of that, the Yankees are guaranteed more money, but the average Joe is left sitting in the REALLY cheap seats or even worse - at home. People who upgraded to full season plans are looking smart to some right now since they were assigned the best seat locations. They're also looking like people with a lot of disposable income in a bad economy - a luxury that most people don't have right now. Either that or they let poor and impulsive financial decisions - utilizing credit cards - control their lives. Not so coincidentally, this same type of impulsive decision-maker has been a contributing factor toward our Country's massive national debt and foreclosure crisis.

Not the news I wanted to hear heading into the weekend...

Talk about it in the Stadium Insider Forums!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well Here is my story.. After reading this blog and checking the thread over at NYYFANS I started to get concerned about my former B plan with 2004 senority. I kept checking my account and I had a decline letter there but no invoice. So I decided to call the relocation office. I then explained the problem to the person at relocation. They said that they could not check my account due to computer problems and switched me to the main ticket office. I then spoke to John in the office and he explained to me that they were unable to offer me a 41 game plan and I Have been assigned A 20 GAME PLAN in section 106. Last year I had B plan in Section 321. I then went into panic mode. I then asked the rep what my alternatives were and he then began to check inventory. The guy was great, he found me a full season in Section 309 3rd row.($40 seats). He even looked around in other locations for me. This guy John was GREAT.SO I bit the bullet and upgraded to a full season. The only other seats that were availible in full season were way out of my price range. Also, he told me if I kept my 20 game assignment that maybee I would be upgraded to the 41 after the assignment process was over. I wasn't too optimistic about that so 81 games here I come. SO the moral of the story is if you have 2004 or later senority I would get on the phone ASAP

Anonymous said...

I had the B plan in box 611, as well, but I've had it since 1997. Consider yourself lucky you were offered tickets upstairs, because the seats I was assigned were disgusting -- section 205, row 16. They're in the back of the loge, under the overhang, in fair territory in RF, and about 10 feet from the bleachers. I'd much rather have bleacher seats at $12 than this crap for $50, but the Yankees won't budge. This entire process is a disgrace.

Billy J. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Billy J. said...

Lets try this again. I had a pair of B Plan Bleacher seats since 2004. One more year of seniority and apparently I wouldn't have a problem. Instead I'm staring at an invoice for $2025 for Main Level seats right next to the bleachers at $50 a seat for 20 games. Last year I had 46 games at $12 a seat making the grand total just under a $1000. I feel so devastated cause not only can't I afford this new seat assignment I have no chance at getting back into the bleachers for that many games until say Jeter retires and demand for tickets comes down. I wanna give a big Thank You to Randy Leviene and all those in the Marketing Department that undersold so many fans who got priced out of their box seats that little guys like me are just out of luck. Affordable Licensee Plans ... What a Joke

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately all the trouble with the 41 game plan is also trickling over into the smaller plans. I've had the Saturday game plan since '04 and was just informed yesterday that it was full and all they could offer me was a weeknight plan (which I can't do because of work). Maybe with the money I won't be spending on season tickets this year I'll buy an HDTV since that's how I'll be watching the games this season.

Anonymous said...

I have had a 13 game Friday Plan (F) since 1999. I opted for the 15 game plan and actually got my first choice, section 311 down the right field line. Its sad that I will no longer be behind home plate, but my ticket price actually went down, something I never expected to happen. That said, when I got my tickets in 1999, they were $18 a seat. Last year they were $70. I'm looking at this as a trial year. Hopefully the team will give us a descent season.

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