The good news is, most people who were bumped for the weekends actually received nice locations within the stadium. The bad news is that most people who requested weekend plans did so for a reason - because they can't go to weekday games.
It is still unclear what this all means for the availability of single game tickets or upgrade opportunities for jilted former B Plan holders who were downgraded to 20 game plans. There are reports on the NYY Fans relocation thread that the waiting list calls have commenced for B Plan availability, but not in large numbers yet. As for single game 2009 Yankee tickets, all we can hang our hat on is the quote by Hal Steinbrenner on WFAN a few weeks ago, stating that tickets will be on sale at the beginning of March. I wouldn't hold my breath.
In other news, things are getting desperate for the Yankees ticket office while trying to sell the premium seats. Things are so bad that they had to take out a full page ad in today's Wall Street Journal and New York Times, as seen below.
I have said it before, but it is worth repeating - the YES production crew is going to earn their money making the Stadium look full on TV for some of those cold April games. The "Greatest Seats In The World just aren't selling, while the cheap seats are all but gone. A poorly timed economic downturn is mainly to blame for the excess of luxury seats, but completely pricing out the average fan is also to blame. The Yankees were banking on corporations to be fawning over the luxury boxes. Now, even the corporations that still have money are ashamed to spend it on anything extraneous, and there aren't any average fans who can afford $350 tickets. Short of the Yankees lowering the price of those expensive seats (which they will NEVER do), expect to see a lot of empty field level seats until the weather heats up.
Finally, if you want to see how nearly 2 billion dollars gets spent, check out this time-lapse video of the New Yankee Stadium being built.
Talk about it in the Stadium Insider Forums!
25 comments:
People we "told" to upgrade to full season. Those that didnt took the chance and lost
were "told"
Sorry, but I'm not going to let anyone "tell" me how to spend my money.
I agree, but people who didnt upgrade dont complain about "location or not a weekend plan". The yankees and MLB is a BUISNESS. And for all the masses who say how "bad" they treated their loyal customers they are wrong. In a buisness your "loyal" customers are your customers who spend the most money....period. If you had a Sat plan for 5 years that is not the equal of a person who bought FS in 2008. Who spend more money of the last 5 years? The FS tix holder not the sap who went to 12 games a year.
I agree that the smaller plan people have less to complain about. However, the Yankees offering weekend people weekday plans is kind of funny. It is obvious that they are just trying to hold up their end of the deal and offer them something.
Um, actually, some people weren't TOLD anything. I was TOLD in August that I'd be in terrace level seats similar to my B-plan tier boxes in the old ballpark, then got stuck in horrible seats in the back of the main level in fair territory in RF, feet from the bleachers. Had I been TOLD, I'd have teamed up with someone on full seasons, which I ended up doing two weeks ago, but likely gotten better seats.
Exactly, I teamed up with 2 buddies and upgraded to Full season. I called the box office and talked w/ someone who said they would be able to give me something but no guarentee of what type of seats.
After reading many blogs and sorting thru all the info provided, I did what you did and took the initative to find partners to ensure I would be happy w/ my seats.
Im so glad I did and I will be paying the same as if I would have kept my 41 game plan.
And I wasnt "told" it was more of a "hint" from the tix rep that I would get a MUCH better selection if I did upgrade
I didn't get any kind of hint. I had no idea how badly 41-game-plan holders were getting screwed until I got my relocation package. Had someone taken two seconds to call or e-mail, I'd have upgraded weeks earlier and probably gotten much better seats. But I guess my $ doesn't mean anything to the Yankees. Good luck selling those $350 seats.
As a season ticket holder since 1999, we had a 20 game flex plan which was great bc of ability to pick games. Thats gone and its fine but our seats were always upper deck (more reserve then mvp last few yrs) and we had requested somewhere in upper deck as our preference for a 20 game plan. So where do they put us?? $85 seats which is almost 3 times what we paid or expected to pay. How can this happen.
$85 seats? What section?
I also upgraded to a full plan. I got my brother to take 20 games and 20 more a friend took. After reading the relocation and only having a 2007 seniority date I wanted to get the best possible tix as possible. I could see what was coming.
Smartest thing I could have done
I was an E plan and upgreded to full season also. I got got section 206 row 2. I'm so happy I upgraded. It looks like I wasnt the only "smart" one
Kudos to you guys for having the spending power to be able to be held up by the Yankees for tickets you didn't really want to buy. I wasn't willing to become a ticket broker for the Yankees, and I am well aware that I am paying for it with my crappy location and crappy plan.
Im not going to be a ticket broker. I had a B plan last year so I had 46 games. I'm not scalping the other tickets I just found 2 partners for the other 40 games.
My spending power is based on recruiting 2 partners
Valid point - in this economy, I didn't have many options in that regard. Even so, adding more outside parties that aren't family always makes things a bit more hairy - controversy over who gets what game, etc. etc.
That being said, congrats on your tickets, and thanks for reading the blog - I'm planning on having some great features on here for the new season, including reviews of the new food vendors in the stadium.
I keeping my fingers crossed they have new vendors this year. It would be nice not to wait online for a beer and a dog waiting for the women behind the counter to stop looking at her cell phone. LOL
As for splitting up the tickets we used the Yankee model. I took the 41 game plan, my brother and wife took the 20 game #1 plan and my friend took the 20 game #2. Since I am getting opening day they each are taking a cubs game.
I bought a Full season tix plan so I would get the best possible seats available.
I will go to about 10-15 games. They rest I will sell for profit. Turning tickets over in this economy is a easy way to make some extra cash and is totally LEGAL. This is America and we are a capitalistic society. Their is no difference in flipping tickets ten their is flipping a house or car.
For all of you who say I'm taking tickets away from "real" fans your dead wrong. Are you saying the people who will be buying my tickets ARENT real fans??
Im just a middle man helping others get tickets to the team they love.
@the most recent Anon:
To be honest, I can't argue with a THING you have said, but it really goes back to the law change a few years ago legalizing scalping in New York. People like the you give the Yankees ALL the reason in the world to raise ticket prices higher and higher since they will say "people will pay above face value on the secondary market."
More power to you for having the spending power and time to be a broker. I don't, and because of that, I am stuck without opening day and playoffs, and I run a blog called New Stadium Insider. Egg on my face for not being able to afford the risk of upgrading and/or monetizing my blog enough to be able to cover the "business expense."
I'm not looking for one bit of pity, but the whole thing rubs me the wrong way. I can't lie - I hope it backfires on people like you. NO HARD FEELINGS INVOLVED! Anti-capitalistic? Perhaps, but I'm just letting my emotion show.
If you put a bid on a house and I outbid you for it and put it back on the market for 50 thousand more a month later...would you hope I failed to get my price? Would you hope that it backfired on me and I lost money?
@anon
We aren't talking about houses here, we are talking about ticket plans.
I was never straight up offered to outbid you on that "house." This was all done under the shady cover of the Yankees greedy relocation process. I'm not saying I would have upgraded to full season, but the Yankees never gave me that ultimatum - they just let everyone else jump on the bandwagon for full season without warning, and then downgraded my plan.
A house or ticket or couch it doesnt matter what the object was. I'm sure you knew you after reading stuff on many different sites you "could" upgrade and guarentee to get better seats. You chose not too. So chose to take a chance and take things in our own hands and jump on an opportunity.
You cant complain unless you were clueless and didnt read the relocation guide. You were given the right to upgrade and get into the FS pool and pick your seats before any other plan.
You could have bought a plan and like some on this blog find a partner/partners or just sell the extra seats. We took the initative to do so and if any of us decide to sell tickets legally dont give us the "moral" speach. It is as legal as selling a loaf of bread.
Sorry for ranting. I just dont like people judging me as a scalper. I did what I had to do to get the best seat possible to enjoy Yankee games w/ my son. I did nothing wrong and didnt "screw" over true yankee fans. What i did I think was a smart move
Like I said before, it was a smart move. This was caused by the Yankees greed - not by your decision to upgrade.
The Yankees specifically set a cut- off date for people to decide to upgrade to full season and then COMPLETELY disregarded the printed information. They allowed people to upgrade to full season in the upper deck until it was almost completely sold out.
I am another one who was not "told" to upgrade. My relocation took me to the 3rd to last row in the upper deck next to the left field foul pole and gave me the ever popular weekday plan (basically used to be $5 nights on these tickets) and I've had partials for three years. Not taking them.
Post a Comment