Out Of Town Fans Unable to Watch The Visiting Team Take Batting Practice From The Field Level At The New Yankee Stadium

We thought this debate ended last week, when the Yankees announced revised batting practice policies, allowing fans close to the field during batting practice. Unfortunately, according to reports from the stadium, security guards have been instructed to kick fans out of the field level sections at 5:45 - Nearly an hour and a half before the game begins.

The policy is stated as follows according to the official fan guide:

Those fans who take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy batting practice and infield workouts from the Field Level and/or the Bleachers may remain until the players leave the field following the conclusion of the Yankees batting practice or 1 hour and 45 minutes after the Gates open. At that time, all fans will be asked to return their respective seats.

It is unbelievable that we didn't notice this when the new policy was announced last week. Allowing Yankees fans to see Yankees batting practice from the field level sections should have been a given, but it was still appreciated when the Yankees saw the error in their ways and changed the fan guide. However, we didn't even think about the fact that some people, unable to afford expensive seats, might want to see the visiting team take batting practice as well. Yes, even Yankees fans.

Nick is at the game right now and would love the opportunity to snag a batting practice home run hit by Ryan Howard or Chase Utley, or even just see superstars of that caliber up close. Unfortunately, 5:45 PM arrived and security swept the field level sections, rounding up people who belonged in the cheap seats and rudely telling them to leave.

It is a shame, because during the last few games we attended at the stadium, we really started feeling at home. Security guards seemed to be in better spirits, the overall flow of the building had improved, and of course the Yankees were winning.

It makes absolutely no sense that the Yankees would risk more bad PR and not just let fans stay in the field level sections until the conclusion of batting practice. At the old stadium, once batting practice was over, everyone knew that was the time to leave those sections and headed to their own seats. There was no need for overzealous security guards - everyone acted like mature adults and acted on their own volition. There was always plenty of time left before first pitch for those who belonged in the field level sections to get comfortable in their surroundings.

Once again, the people making the policies at the new Yankee Stadium can't get out of their own way. Is anyone surprised? Read the full post, after the jump

It Is Time To Stop Complaining About The Yankees And Their New Stadium, And Time To Start Acting

With the Yankees playing the Red Sox this week, it made us think. If fans in Boston were able to band together and prevent the Red Sox from tearing down Fenway, why can't Yankees fans join together and convince team executives to fix some of the glaring problems with the new Yankee Stadium in particular, and the Yankee franchise in general.

We won't pretend to have the solutions to these problems, but if the fans can all contribute, share stories and brainstorm, perhaps we can figure out some ways to enact change. Today, Ben Kabak of River Avenue Blues fame dug up an old expression from the 1950's likening rooting for the Yankees to rooting for U.S Steel in the title of a blog post. The purpose of this post was to reveal many of the ways that the Yankees have lost touch with reality and their fans since the opening of the new Yankee Stadium. It is very disheartening.

What follows is a list of some of the problems that people have brought up about the new Yankee Stadium since it has opened. There is also some general commentary about the direction that the franchise has been heading regarding fan treatment. Along with some of these issues are compelling quotes from fans, as collected from fellow Yankee blogs, the NSI comments section and also from the NYYFans.com message board. We have tried to link to the specific location of these quotes when possible.

Concession Prices and lack of local, specialty food at the new stadium

Disconnect from the game due to further recessed upper deck - no foul balls, less of a home field advantage

"The thing that's noticeable to me right away is when you walk out of the dugout, the upper deck is not on top of you."

- Terry Francona, Red Sox Manager (via Telegram.com)

Exhaust fans making noise and emitting food smells that affect fans in the grandstand

Atmosphere and fan involvement: too many distractions, not enough noise

But it sure seems that the new Yankee Stadium lacks any semblance of the atmosphere that made the original so special. When you saw a game at the old place, you felt like part of a community of fans. The prices were very high, and it wasn’t the kind of place the average working man could take his family very often. But if you got in, everyone was part of the event, no matter where you sat. There was buzz.

- Tyler Kepner, NY Times Bats Blog

Lack of counters in the standing room only areas on the concourses with views of the field (like they have at Citi Field and Citizen's Bank Park)

When I went to Citizens Bank Park, they actually had counters set up in the concourses so that you can stand there and watch the game while eating something. Not only is standing on the concourses welcomed, it's actually encouraged! At Yankee Stadium, while standing on the concourse to watch the game, I felt like I was breaking the law.

- NYY Fans Message Board member

Monument Cave

My main issue with the park is the location. It is tucked away behind the center field wall and underneath the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar. For a stadium that was built to honor the past, it's amazing how they essentially hid away the retired numbers in center field.

- Andrew Fletcher, Scott Proctor's Arm Blog

No Access To The Field During Batting Practice

Part of the fun of going to Yankee games was getting there early for batting practice and going down to the field level to try to catch home run balls. Now the Yankees have taken that away. The other thing that was fun was moving down to better seats in the 7th or 8th innings when the stadium started emptying out. The Yankees have taken that away too. So screw them. I'll watch every game on TV, and probably won't return all that much until they change that policy.

- NYY Fans message board member

No Preservation of the old Yankee Stadium

While the "Current Plan" fails to preserve any portion of the historic Yankee Stadium, it is possible to address the community's concerns by maintaining the modifications that were made in the Alternate Plan and still preserve a meaningful, recognizable and symbolic element of the Stadium, and do so in a very cost effective way.

- http://www.savetheyankeegate2.com

Obstructed Views, specifically in the bleachers

Out of touch team executives

Bottom line... I hate the Yankees front office. I think we all agree that Yankees fans are the best of any sport. Going to a game and knowing most of the fans have a great knowledge of the game and a love for the team was awesome.. This is not awesome...they've ruined this team...and maybe the franchise. I'm totally serious... I don't see any way they can come back from this year. Even if they slash prices 50% they're still over priced by a lot. The execs can eat their tickets... I'll be on stubhub looking for tickets upwards of 70% off.

- NSI Commenter JB413

Overzealous Security toward fans and media

"I don't mind if they have to check tickets but can't they mix in some common sense? They could at least be polite and not act like you are there for them. I walked to my seats 3 times, the third time before the game I stuck a printed ticket in my pocket. I was with my 7 year-old son and was coming back from the concessions. Both hands were full and was holding my drink with my mouth to fish out a ticket. The guy slowly opens my ticket, looking annoyed, then says, what about his ticket (meaning my son's)? I said to the guy, are really going to make me dig that out? He paused, looks at me and my son for about 5 seconds and says, make sure you have it ready next time. What was he going to do? Make a 7 year stay behind?"

- NYYFans.com message board member

Social Stratification in the new Stadium, perfectly illustrated by dividers between the urinals in the bathrooms on the field level, but not anywhere else in the new stadium, as well as warm water in the bathrooms on the lower levels, but not in the upper deck.

Is it a huge deal? Of course not, but could there be a better symbol of how much the Yankees have bent over backwards to cater to the wealthiest customers and how they could care less about the core fans? By installing the dividers at the field level, they are acknowledging that it matters, but only providing the "luxury" to those purchasing the most expensive seats. It's an issue of simple human decency, and they can't possibly cost that much to put them in.

- Jay, Fack Youk Blog

Terrible flow and poor formation of concession lines on the main level

Ticket Prices For The Best Seats

It used to be you would use ticketmaster to find the best available, but now thanks to the Yankees pricing, we need to petition TM to build in a cheapest available feature so we don't have to spend hours finding a game with seats for less than $100.

- NSI commenter, JSBogen

Too many ads in the outfield that take away from the atmosphere

Unfinished, steel and concrete look, as seen in the gray bleachers'

Oversights from the original list:

Poor use of the high-definition video board in center field

Viewers at home having to watch through a net

Wind tunnel that blows through the back of the Grandstand, causing fan discomfort during the colder months, and causing balls to rocket over the fences at an alarming pace.

Some of the items in the above list are nit-picky, but most are valid issues that should be addressed. We figured that we would list as many complaints as we have heard. Unlike the fans at Fenway, we did not do anything to prevent the new stadium from being built. Most of us were enamored by the idea of a fancy stadium and state of the art amenities. Regardless, community action attempting to stop the team likely would have failed - the Yankees had $1.6 billion to spend and nothing was standing in their way.

Hopefully the Yankees have some more money to spare since addressing the above problems will cost a pretty penny. More importantly, however, the Yankees need to invest some time and energy into researching what is most important to their fan base. Catering to a specific demographic is a great way for a powerful brand to maximize profits, but the Yankees need to be careful not to completely lose touch with the average, middle-class fan. Perhaps they just need someone to remind them of this, or perhaps they just don't care. We won't know until we try.

So now it is time for the New Stadium Insider community to act. What can we do to change things? Is there any hope? Let us know in the comments.
Read the full post, after the jump

Deciphering The Meaning Of The Strange Black Curtain, And Getting To The Bottom Of The Unfriendly Security Guards At The New Yankee Stadium

Andrew over at Scott Proctor's Arm was the first in the blogoverse to wonder about this strange choice of decoration for the field level concourse at the new Yankee Stadium around section 120a/120b:



Like many others who passed by, we just thought it was there to protect the best views in the house. After all, why would the Yankees offer the average fan, unable to afford the upscale "Legends" seats, the opportunity to see such a great view?

It turns out that the black obstruction affectionately known by some stadium workers as "Shaq's shower curtain," is actually there as a "fielder's eye" for the infielders. Apparently, the way that the field level concourse at the new Yankee Stadium was built causes the ball to get lost among the fans passing by, so the curtain had to be erected. As always, we are skeptical, and still think part of the reason is to prevent too much gawking.

Speaking of prevention, we got in touch with a security guard at the new Yankee Stadium who told us that a lot of the mistreatment of fans has to do with ambiguous instructions from supervisors. Apparently, one security guard in the vicinity of "Shaq's shower curtain," is responsible for guarding his section, but also for guarding the curtain, making sure that fans don't peek around it. This kind of double-duty in a brand new stadium can easily lead to worker frustration, which eventually leads to confrontations with fans. Add into the mix that these security guards aren't making very good money, and you have the recipe for some very unfriendly security.

That being said, as low paying of a job as is, it is still a highly desireable one. After all, if you could afford to, wouldn't you want to be able to stand around and watch baseball games for a living? We have all seen the ecurity guards who are into the game and cheer for the home team. These are the kinds of security guards that the Yankees need.

One Yankee Stadium ticket office employee wasn't too pleased with the attitude a Yankee Stadium security guard displayed during a stroll around the publicly attended park for the first time. Speaking about the awkward situation, this employee told us, "I had a I guy give me a hard time and I work here (if he's a problem again I'll certainly be taking his name, as I'm sure there's plenty of friendly folks that would love to have a job in security)."

Things might have to get worse before they get better at the new Yankee Stadium. It very well might take fan uproar for the Yankees to realize that they need to employ security guards who possess the proper balance of protection skills and human relations skills. Read the full post, after the jump

About Our Experience At The New Stadium This Weekend - Yankee Stadium Security Needs More Training

Nick and I ventured up to the new ballpark in the Bronx for both games this weekend. We'll just do this in bullets, in order to present the positives and negatives. There will be links to Friday night's videos from our Qik.com page throughout. Please click the links, as it will give you a much better idea of what we are writing about. We also have some photos up on Facebook, if you want to snoop around and see what we look like!

UPDATE (4/4 10:09 PM): Amazingly, Andrew from Scott Proctor's Arm managed to touch on many things that can be perceived as negative that I didn't even touch on below. Great job by Andrew. Check it out. Alex Belth over at Bronx Banter does what he does best and put the scene at the new stadium into better words than I ever could have.

Positives:

• Getting into the stadium is much easier than ever before. The lines are short and move fast. You scan your own ticket, and the voice of god, Bob Sheppard welcomes you to the stadium from a small speaker in the turnstile. Nice touch.

• The bleachers are the best bargain in the entire stadium. The views from the cheapest seats in the house are better than anywhere in the upper deck. We guarantee that those seats will see an increase from their $12 price come 2010.

• The Yankees Museum is amazing. It is like a mini Cooperstown and I can see going back multiple times because of all of the baseballs with Yankee players signatures on it. When you can find a ball with Wade Taylor's signature on it, the place has succeeded. It is a small space, but the Yankees have managed to encapsulate the entire history of their franchise in a representative manner. It is much more interesting than monument park.

• The Food Choices are better dispersed throughout the entire stadium than at Citi Field. There are the main "hubs" for places like Carl's Steaks on the lower level, but there are also smaller Carl's stands spread out through the other parts of the stadium (albeit with ridiculously long lines). It is the same with many of the other concessions stands. At Citi Field, if you want Shake Shack or Blue Smoke, you have to go to the main hub in center field.

• Speaking of food choices, the Hard Rock Cafe is small, but offers a very fun atmosphere. The prices are similar to any other theme restaurant, so it is actually a good value considering that you can sit down and escape the elements on a cold or hot day. Interestingly enough, you can enter the restaurant from the street, but also enter from the stadium. Therefore, the general public is mingling with the ticket holders. The entrance back to the stadium is guarded by multiple security guards who check if you have a ticket - but don't scan it, or check the date on it. We will let you draw your own conclusions on that.

• The views from the main level (200's section) are amazing. Even walking around behind the sections, where we assume standing room only tickets will be, there are great views of the field. This is definitely the best value after the $12 bleacher seats, in terms of cost and view of the actual game. Yes, the most expensive seats in the main level are a pretty unaffordable $95, but there are also $60 seats in the outfield area of the 200's level.

• Spicy tuna rolls for $9.75. The helping was generous and they were actually good. Healthier alternative to many of the other concessions, and affordable when considering the quality.

• More bathrooms, more space between urinals. 'Nuff said.

Negatives:

• The security guards employed at the new stadium are intent on taking all of the fun out of the entire experience. We are aware that these security guards are probably paid little above minimum wage, and are probably poorly trained. However, from the moment we walked into the stadium and rode the elevator upstairs, we were told by a deceivingly friendly security guard that we were not allowed to take video in the stadium - yea right. From there, we experienced a rigid security guard standing post at each and every entrance to the seats in the entire stadium. If you don't have a ticket for a section, don't even think about trying to sit there. As for viewing batting practice and player warm ups from close to the field, forget about that as well. The Yankees are apparently following the rules set forth in the A-Z Guide, contrary to our reports this week, and are not letting people anywhere close to the field before the game. They were also very confrontational, looking for an argument, and possibly an opportunity to utilize their power to eject. Do not try to question them on why they do things, because they will jump down your throat. The Yankees BADLY need to train these guards in how to communicate with other human beings before things get ugly. Utterly disappointing.

• Views from the entire Grandstand are terrible. Moving things back by 30 feet has made all of the difference in the world. The Grandstand evokes memories of Shea Stadium - don't count on a baseball, fair or foul, ever reaching there. This may be a positive for some who are scared of getting hit with a foul ball, but it also really removes you from the action. The seats in the outfield sections are far, far away. I would trade those $20 tickets for $12 tickets in the bleachers STRAIGHT UP - no questions asked. Any takers?

• The entire place has an industrial feel. Beyond the unfriendly security guards, the structure itself does not make you feel welcome. There is something very cold, and gray about it. In this regard, it is the complete opposite of Citi Field

• The flow in the concourses is easily slowed, and is at times impassable. The improved concourse size makes a difference on the field level, but on every other level the concession stands are built in a way that their lines block the entire walkway. We recognize that this was the first game and people were likely wandering around in sections they usually wouldn't be in. However, we just don't see how the Yankees can justify any standing room only in many of the sections of the stadium without first re-thinking the concession lines and working on getting people moving through the stadium. At times, we felt like we were in the concourses of the old Yankee Stadium, being bumped into from all angles

• Obstructed view seats are easy to find throughout the 1.6 billion dollar structure. Much has been said about the obstructed seats in the bleachers, and the poor attempt at supplementing the view with HDTVs. The Yankees also did not remove the seats that are obstructed by support beams in the 200's section. Finally, many seats in the Granstand are obstructed similarly to the upper promenade obstruction at Citi Field. Take a look at our video from section 428, Row 4, Seat 1 from Friday night:
  
  Luckily, our season seats in 428, row 10 are not obstructed. However, they are miles away.

• Friend of the blog and creator of the great baseball blog WalkoffWalk, Rob Iracane, wrote us an email, complaining about the lack of cellular service in the new stadium. He mentioned AT&T and Sprint being dysfunctional. We did notice that our live stream on Friday night was not as smooth as at Citi Field last weekend, which was disappointing. Rob points out that the Yankees had promised improved cellular network capacity at the new Yankee Stadium, but this does not seem to be the case. Also, public wi-fi is non-existent. The Yankees had mentioned wi-fi in many of the new tech announcements, but is not available yet. A systems engineer for the Yankees tells us that public wi-fi is not available yet, but eventually will be offered. Interestingly, we were able to pick up free wi-fi in the Hard Rock Cafe.

• Overpriced concessions were to be expected, but a 16 oz. can of Pabst Blue Ribbon for $9, and 3 chicken fingers and 22 fries for $10.50 are ridiculous. We know that the $3 hot dog at the Kids Cafe exists, but we couldn't find it for the life of us. Speaking of what we couldn't find, the butchers were cutting the Lobel's beef behind a glass window, but the cart to purchase fresh steak sandwiches was nowhere to be found.

• We had a hot dog on Friday night and the bun was stale. We had a pretzel on Saturday and it was stale. Total cost for stale food items? Over $10. This should not be acceptable, and there should be some recourse when fans are offered overpriced, stale food. Especially on the first and second days of a ballpark's existence.

• While security guards were busy doing their best KGB impression, angrily blocking off every section (even the $12 bleacher seats), many less traveled areas of the stadium were left completely unsecured. We found many nooks and crannies in random parts of the stadium that had no security and thus encouraged illicit activity. Many of these spots also featured open-air to the outside of the stadium, so people took the opportunity to smoke cigarettes. If they wanted to, they could have been smoking a sticky, green substance, or shooting heroin. Ok, perhaps that is a bit extreme, but the Yankees have some work to do in appropriately deploying their army of security.
  

• As we walked around the stadium, these unsecured zones got more and more "rapey". We really did get concerned for our safety in certain weird corners of the stadium. Our scariest moment came when we were trying to leave the stadium from the field level. Right after the Lobel's butcher window, there was a closed set of doors that had a large exit sign above them. There was no security guard blocking these doors, there was no sign on the door that prohibited anyone from going through them, and they were unlocked. We exited through the doors, along with about 5-7 other people, and that is when the nightmare began. We somehow found ourselves at the loading dock, near the players buses. Of course, the security in that area was not happy to see us. We asked them to direct us to the nearest exit of the stadium and they simply berated us, telling us that we were not allowed in the area. We tried to go back from where we came from, but we were locked in! It took 10 minutes of begging and convincing of the security guards/ policeman in the loading dock area to let us back out into the main part of the stadium. They refused to believe that we entered that area by legitimate means - even though there was 10 of us stuck in there like rats in a maze. Eventually someone came with a key and let us back out. It is very unfortunate that our phone battery was dead by the time this incident occurred preventing us from having video proof of the fiasco. On Saturday, this door was being guarded, so hopefully the Yankees have learned from this first day mistake.

• The Legends Premium Club on the lower level was built in poor taste. It features floor to ceiling glass windows, so the patrons are in a fishbowl. It is like that from outside of the stadium on the street as well. The Yankees are clearly trying to get everyone to see the exclusive restaurants/clubs and get overwhelmed by feelings of envy, thus paying whatever ridiculous fee that it will take to get in there. Not working on us - it just comes off elitist, furthering the "Titanic" feel of the entire stadium. At Citi Field, the Caesar's club on the exelcior level and the indoor concessions on the promenade level have the same exclusive feel to them, but everyone with a ticket to the stadium is allowed in. [UPDATE: We have received word that the Caesar's club is only for "Ebbets and Caesars Club seat holders and Sterling Suite holders"].
  

• On Friday night, the water in the bathrooms was ice cold, on Saturday, it was luke warm. The trend is our friend, but for now, score another one for Citi Field, which featured warm water.
  

The new stadium is quite an impressive sight, but we spent much of our weekend longing for the days of the old Yankee Stadium. Unlike Citi Field, the new Yankee Stadium is a no fun zone. Perhaps it is the attitude that the Yankee management instills upon all of their employees from top to bottom, but anyone wearing a security jacket except for one friendly security lady in section 320A was downright rude. Also, the NYPD presence in the seating areas was unnecessary and they were also very rude. In the past, if a baseball fan was unhappy with their experience at Yankee Stadium, the alternative was to go and see a game at Shea Stadium. With the beautiful and fun Citi Field now in Flushing, the Yankees need to re-think their policies fast -before they lose the more casual fans to the Mets.

All of the mistreatment by security aside, we just wanted to have a good view of the field. Unfortunately our season tickets in section 428 of the Grandstand don't really offer that. While unobstructed, they are so far away that we really feel like we are removed from the action on the field. Reading through the archives of this blog (and its predecessor, NYYStadiumInsider.com), we realize that we were often critical of the lack of amenities at the old Yankee Stadium. Perhaps the grass is always greener on the other side, but at this point we would trade our surprisingly good sushi and Lobel's steak for the amazing views from the upper deck of the old Yankee Stadium in a heartbeat. Read the full post, after the jump