Relocation News: We Are Back In The B Plan

We would love to believe the company line that "some cancellations were processed and the seats became available." Maybe the ticket office finally did reach our name on the waiting list. Perhaps we would even give credence to the idea that all of our emails and phone calls to the Yankees had finally paid dividends. We just sincerely hope that our repeated and public venting about the botched relocation on this blog had absolutely no affect on the call we received today, offering us a 41 game plan in section 428.

This signifies a happy ending to our long and frustrating relocation journey and hopefully many others enjoy the same fate. This weekend, we received word that fellow Yankee season ticket holder and Baseball Prospectus writer Jay Jaffe has had his relocation reconsidered and got seats more to his liking. He made sure to point out that his friend's name is on the account and there is no way the Yankees could link him to his article taking advantage of his prominent position at Baseball Prospectus . It just seems a bit suspicious that the two most public and vocal opponents to the Yankee relocation program were silenced within days of each other.

At the end of the day, we're just happy fans who finally feel like we have had a say in our relationship with the team that we dole out plenty of money to support. We can finally look forward to watching our favorite team play our favorite sport, and not have to worry about what games we don't have tickets to. One thing is for sure, getting back on our B plan will make us no less critical of the Yankees and their employees when it is warranted.

For example, today some unlucky fans with 2008 seniority received the bad news that the Yankees were changing their mind about the relocation guide and they would not be receiving partial plans in 2009. Taken directly from the relocation guide on the Yankee website, it is clear that these people were mislead:

If you licensed and maintained a Partial Season Plan for the 2008 Season, you will be assigned the same number of seats in the new Yankee Stadium as are included in your Partial Season Plan at the end of the 2008 Season. In making assignments under the Relocation Program, the Yankees will, among other things, consider your seating preferences as indicated on your Relocation Program Questionnaire. Please note, however, that your assigned seat location will not likely be comparable to your current seat location in Yankee Stadium. Further, since the Partial Season Plans being offered for the 2009 Season in the new Yankee Stadium are not identical to the current Partial Season Plans, you will be given an opportunity on the Relocation Program Questionnaire to indicate the 2009 Partial Season Plan that you believe works best for you.

The Yankees had overwhelming demand for their larger plans, especially full season, and someone had to pay the price. It is understandable that people with the least seniorty should have the last shot at tickets. What is unfathomable is printing an official relocation correspondence and not even considering the idea of lowering expectations in case things really didn't go as planned.

A little bit of warning would have gone a long way in keeping these jilted ticket holders from revolt. Most of those with 2008 seniority and small partial plans understand their place in the Yankee ticket pecking order. When the official documentation outlining the relocation was blatantly ignored, however, these people suffered an immense Yankee-induced disappointment.

Confidence in the competency of the higher-ups in the Yankee ticket office lowers with each day's blunder. Today, the ticket office sent out an official announcement about ticket pre-sale dates. Unfortunately, the dates on the correspondence were a week later than the actual dates - a blatant typo that was somehow overlooked. Of course, mass confusion among ticket holders ensued, and the Yankees quickly sent out another email acknowledging the error in the earlier email. This sort of correspondence is essentially a form letter. How could they get wrong the one detail that the document was centered on? Incompetence defined.

We even coaxed some information out of our ticket representative regarding some seats in row 14 of the Grandstand that needed to be pulled due to obstructed views. This ticket representative has just dealt with the awakward situation of having to tell a season ticket holder that their seat wasn't exactly a viable option. It obviously doesn't reflect too well on the Yankee organization when major flaws are being discovered in 1.3 billion dollar stadium just weeks before opening. They deserve credit for recognizing the row 14 flaw before the season commenced, but also deserve any criticism they receive due to the design flaw ever occuring. Apparently, there will still be 14 rows in the Grandstand, but some more construction needs to take place before the Yankees include them in season ticket plans and not as single-game obstructed view seats.

Apparently all season ticket packets should be received via FedEx (they have switched shipping providers for 2009) no later than April 10. Many of the tickets are already at the printer. As a matter of fact, the tickets for our previously invoiced 20 game plan have been at the printer since March 3, and we will have to return them to the Yankees before being refunded for the price of that plan. Even though the Yankees have not yet completed the relocation process, rest assured that your tickets are being printed. As for us, we won't truly believe this saga is over until we have the reassuring feel of rectangular slices of cardboard between our fingers. Read the full post, after the jump

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! Read the full post, after the jump

B-Plan season ticket holders - check your mailbox tomorrow!

The day of reckoning is finally upon us - B-plan season ticket assignments for the new Yankee Stadium in 2009 are in the mail.

Early signs are not promising for B-Plan holders. We were welcomed with this message on Yankees.com today:

Overwhelming Demand for 41-Game Plans:

Due to overwhelming demand for 41-Game Plans, we strongly suggest that Licensees accept their initial seat assignment. The demand for 41-Game Plans will definitely exceed the available 41-Game Plan seat locations. Accordingly, any 2008 “B” Plan Licensees who have requested a 41-Game Plan seat assignment, but who do not receive one initially due to the current lack of availability, will be assigned a 41-Game Plan seat location, if any inventory remains, prior to the commencement of the 41-Game Plan pool process.

41 game assignment letter

I have a feeling there are going to be some disappointed Yankee fans tomorrow. Hopefully we here at New Stadium Insider make the cut.

Talk about it in the Stadium Insider Forums! Read the full post, after the jump

What seats are left for partial plan season ticket holders?

As most people are aware, the Yankees are running behind in the season ticket holder relocation process. We are now entering the 2nd half of January and Full Season ticket holders and upgrades just finished the relocation process. 41 game and 20 game plans are next in line, but are there any decent seats left in the Grandstand? (Please note, this post is only referring to Grandstand relocation. I am speaking from personal experience and knowledge of my own situation, which is obviously in the Grandstand/Upper Deck - sorry to anyone reading this looking for information about relocation in other sections of the New Stadium).

There have been rumors that the last 3 rows in all Grandstand sections are being held back for partial plans. The Yankees ticket office has not gone on the record about this, but a quick look at RipOff StubHub should give partial plan holders some hope. If you take a look at the "odd number" games (first game of the season, third game of the season, etc.) which are the ones that 41 game plan holders receive, you will notice that StubHub has no inventory above row 11. Further, there is no inventory at ALL in sections 405,406, 407a/b, 408, 409, 432, 434a/b on StubHub - not a surprise considering outfield upper deck seats are the worst in any Stadium.

Don't just believe me - take a look for yourself at the Yankees 2009 ticket inventory on StubHub.

Also of note - it appears that all Bleacher seats are up for grabs on StubHub, so it appears those won't be available for partial plan season ticket holders.

Talk about it in the Stadium Insider Forums! Read the full post, after the jump

Season Ticket Holders: Easily check the status of your relocation at Yankees.com!

Can't believe I didn't catch this sooner. The Yankees have a section of their website that provides periodic updates on the status of the season ticket holder relocation process for the new stadium.

The ticket office is currently making phone calls/sending packages out to FULL SEASON holders with a seniority date of August 2004. If you are a full-season ticket holder with a seniority date before August 2004 and you haven't received a call, you should probably initiate contact with the Yankees.

The long wait continues for B Plan holders like myself. This late in the game, installment payments are highly unlikely, so start saving that money!

Talk about it in the NYYSI Forums! Read the full post, after the jump

Deciphering the relocation guide - what it means for former "B" plan (half season) licensees

I just finished my first pass through the relocation guide for season ticket holders, and here are some quick highlights (and lowlights) for fellow former "B" plan holders:

- The "B" plan will no longer be named the "B" plan. It is the 41 game plan. Those 41 games are 5 fewer games than this year's 46 game weekday "B" plan.

- The former B planners will be second fiddle in the highly complicated pool process for determining new seat locations. Full season and "A" plan holders will get first priority.

- The Yankees essentially guarantee that former B planners will NOT have reasonable comparable tickets in the new Stadium. Basically, they will sit us wherever they can after considering the questionnaire that must be filled out by September 10.

- Once you fill out the questionnaire, your invoice will be generated based on your responses. The seat location on your first invoice will likely be the best seats you will get.

- From what I can gather from the materials, it seems that the invoice will be paid in installments, instead of all up front. This is likely due to invoices being sent out way earlier than the usual December time frame.

- The 41 game will be VERY different from the former B plan. This plan will now include opening day (FANTASTIC NEWS) and will alternate every other game from then on. So, you will have game 1, game 3, game 5, game 7, game 9, etc. etc. This is actually an improvement since it includes weekends as well. So, what we will almost definitely lose in seat location (I am currently RIGHT behind home plate in section 1) we will gain in better games.

- Prices are the same this year, meaning that what was Tier Reserved MVP tickets will be a season ticket holder price of $25 per ticket. The former Tier Reserve seats (upper deck in the outfield) remain at $20. The good news is, if you get bumped all the way into the outfield, at least you will be paying less.

All of the above information is my interpretation of the very detailed and confusing relocation guide (also sent to season ticket holders by mail). If it seems like something I wrote above doesn't make sense, that is very much a possibility. Feel free to leave a comment on this post letting me know how much this blog sucks or how much I suck. I love to see the friendly remarks.


Talk about it in the NYYSI Forums! Read the full post, after the jump