Contact Information For NOW OPEN Steakhouse At The New Yankee Stadium - NYY Steak

UPDATE (3/31 4:11 PM): The restaurant is NOW OPEN to the public. If you call the phone number below, a friendly young lady will call you back and you can make reservations. They are open until 11 PM every night, effective immediately. Be sure to let us know how it is!

Much has been made about the upscale steakhouse, NYY Steak, that calls the new Yankee Stadium its home. On the official website, the restaurant is touted as "an upscale dining experience" that will "feature USDA Prime dry-aged beef, fresh seafood and a variety of premium wines to complement your meal choice."

Unfortunately, the website does not contain any contact information, a menu, or any method for making reservations. We here at New Stadium Insider love a good steak, so we decided to do a little digging. Lo and behold, we were able to find the phone number for NYY Steak: (646) 977-8325, courtesy of the 2009 Yankees media guide. It is pretty sad that 1.3 billion dollars doesn't even get the Yankees a 718 number for their flagship steakhouse. They are stuck with the bastard step-child 646 area code. Awkward.

A Yankee Stadium systems engineer known as "StationA" on Twitter confirms that stadium employees have been given the opportunity to dine at the new establishment, but the average fan still does not have the opportunity. Upon calling to inquire about reservations, we received a recording asking us for callback information. For the record, "StationA" had a "ridiculously good" meal at NYY Steak and the lobster mac & cheese was "crazy good." Sign us up for some of that.

In other Yankee Stadium food news, Grub Street on NYMag.com reports on more exciting food options, sponsored by The Food Network - that are only for the rich people in the suites:

The Food Network stands will be located within the Delta Sky 360 Suite and in the Jim Beam Terrace Lounge, both premium areas located behind home plate, and will serve quality takes on classics like burgers, hot dogs, and fries, as well as dishes, such as Puerto Rican-style pork sandwiches, Chinese cold noodles, and soft tacos, incorporating the ethnic cuisines of New York City, Food Network's hometown.

In this economy, no amount of Chef Morimoto or Food Network are going to sell those luxury accommodations. Even with the ridiculously long lines, Citi Field has the right idea in offering their best food options to everyone in the house, and not just the suits in the suites. Read the full post, after the jump

Update On The Mohegan Sun Sports Bar Seats - Sometimes, Even Stadium Insiders Are Wrong

ATTENTION: NEW STADIUM INSIDER HAS MOVED TONYYSTADIUMINSIDER.COM. FOR ALL OF THE INFORMATION YOU COULD EVER WANT ABOUT YANKEE STADIUM MOHEGAN SUN SPORTS BAR, PLEASE VISIT OUR NEW AND IMPROVED WEBSITE!

Shame on us for not doing due diligence in verifying our earlier "membership only" news regarding the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar area in center field of the new Yankee Stadium. According to multiple sources within the Yankee ticket office (including one who claims to be a manager but really isn't), the seats will be sold on a single game basis, and will cost "around $100."

As of now, details are still being finalized, but rumor has it the Yankees will be allowing everyone in to check out the sports bar this weekend during the exhibition games. For once it seems that the Yankees are taking the right approach to try to sell premium seats.

According to our sources, numbered, bar stool seats will face the field for people with tickets in the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar. Remember, none of this is official until it appears on Yankees.com, so this information is all subject to change. We find it pretty unbelievable that the stadium opens in a couple of days and we are still relying on information from made up hospitality directors and random sources in the ticket office.

In regard to the actual seats, our opinion has certainly changed considering the above information. Why would someone pay upwards of $100 per game to sit behind glass over 500 feet away from home plate and be overcharged for drinks? Why not just go to ESPN Zone in Times Square if you want to watch the game from a sports bar? Read the full post, after the jump

Season Ticket Holders - Be On The Lookout For Your Tickets, And Some Interesting "My Yankees Account" Information

If you are a full season ticket holder, you have likely already received your season tickets. Congratulations to you. Everyone else is dealing with the yearly "cross our fingers and hope the tickets arrive in time for the first game" anxiety. Thankfully the Yankees have a link set up to track their season ticket shipment. It is important to note that the Yankees have switched shippers and are using FedEx this season instead of the usual UPS. That means you can leave the UPS guy alone, and keep your eyes on that shady FedEx deliveryman.

For those of you who have unloaded some of your tickets on Stubhub, Ebay, Craiglist, or plan on forwarding them to friends and family, you should be aware of some changes to the "My Yankees" account. The Dodgers' ticket holders experienced the same changes, and the following email was sent to their ticket holders:

UPDATES TO TICKET FORWARDING SERVICE

Dear Dodgers Plan Holders,
As we begin another exciting season of Dodger baseball, we would like to point out some changes to the ticket forwarding process available on MY DODGERS ACCOUNT.

When Forwarding Tickets:
1. An invitation will be sent to the recipient to accept or decline forwarded tickets.
2. You will have the option to set the time frame in which the tickets must be accepted.
o An email reminder will be sent to the recipient 24 hours from your selected cutoff time.
o If the tickets are not accepted within your time frame, the tickets will not be forwarded and the original tickets will still be valid.
o You may also cancel the pending invitation as long as the recipient has not yet accepted the tickets.
3. Select who pays the $2 per ticket forwarding fee.
o You now have the option to pass the fee on to the recipient of the tickets.

As the Recipient of Forwarded Tickets:
1. Open your email notification and click Accept Tickets.
2. Log in to MY DODGERS ACCOUNT.
o If you do not have an existing account, you must now create one.
3. Confirm your delivery selection and select Accept Offer.
o If the original ticket holder paid your forwarding fee, then you are done.
o If they have asked you to do so, then you'll be prompted to enter your credit card number.

The option to pass the e-ticket printing fee on to the recipient and to recall the tickets are welcome changes.

Another welcome change for Yankee season ticket holders are changes involving the connection between the"My Yankees" account and Stubhub. As we mentioned previously, Stubhub and the MLB have a ticket sales agreement. Now, the two have combined to make coughing up your 15% commission even easier. A new link has appeared in the "My Yankees" account that allows the season ticket holder to sell their tickets:



Clicking the sell button prompts you to link your Stubhub account to your "My Yankees" Ticketmaster account. It must really kill Ticketmaster to send potential customers over to the competition, but everyone is making tons of money and the egos are pushed to the side.

Remember, once you receive those tickets, BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR BARCODES! Read the full post, after the jump

New Yankee Stadium Tours to begin on May 4, Cost $20

Slowly, but surely, the Yankees are ironing out all of the details about the new Yankee Stadium. Sometime in the past day or so, the Yankees added their 2009 stadium tour information page on Yankees.com.

A new stadium means a higher price, of course. When we took the tour last March, it was only $15. Now, the tour will run you $20. For that $20, here is what you get:

The Classic Tour lasts 45 minutes to one hour and includes visits to the New York Yankees Museum, Monument Park and the dugout. Guests will pass through the batting cages and Yankees clubhouse area before ending the tour in the Great Hall near the team store.

And before you freak out about the higher cost:

Proceeds from the tours benefits the Yankees Foundation, a non-profit arm of the NY Yankees organization.

Isn't "non-profit" arm of the NY Yankees an oxymoron? Such a thing exists?

$20 would have been worth it to tour the old stadium because of the history involved. Will it be worth $20 for a tour of the new digs? Only you can answer that question. We'll probably take the plunge.

The tours commence on May 4 and run through September 25. Tickets are available directly from Yankees.com the tour obviously does not run when the Yankees are at home, so be aware of the following blacked out dates: May 7, 13, 16-17, 23-31, June 4, 6-7, 13-14, 18-19, 24-25, 30, July 3-6, 15, 18-19, 22, 25-26, August 4, 8-9, 12, 21, 27, 29-30, September 7, 12-13, 23. Also know that additional blacked out dates may arise during the course of the season. Read the full post, after the jump

A Little Bit More About The Mohegan Sun Sports Bar Seats At The New Yankee Stadium

UPDATE (3/30 6:56 PM): Apparently there is no such thing as the hospitality director for the Yankees, or they were making things up. The below information has been confirmed as false by multiple ticket office sources. Please see the updated post for most accurate information (as it stands currently).

Due to the extremely slow drip of information by the Yankees, fans are still wondering how they can enjoy the view from the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar, seen in the photo above. We have recently uncovered some information that while unconfirmed, may give us a better idea of what the Yankees have in store.

According to someone who has spoken to the New York Yankees' Hospitality Director, membership to the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar will cost $750 for the entire season. This does not include admission to the game, so you will have to obtain tickets elsewhere. No other details of what the $750 entitles members to are available. The Hospitality Director also revealed that Audi Club Memberships are $975, but we're not even sure where that club is.

At first glance, the Mohegan Sun membership seems like a great deal for one group of season ticket holders - the approximately 600 people who had full season plans in the bleachers and had their ticket prices lowered to $5 when the center field obstruction was announced. Those people were set to pay $972 for their 81 game package when the tickets were priced at $12. Upon the announcement of the "architecturally shadowed" seats, they were given the 81 games for a total of $405.

It would be a great way to make up for the obstructed view that the sports bar causes by throwing down the $750 for the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar membership. That would make the grand total out of pocket expense for full season ticket holders in the obstructed view bleacher seats with a Mohegan Sun Sports Bar membership $1155 per person. For $183 more than their initially planned investment, these previously obstructed bleacher dwellers can obtain access and crash the party in the climate-controlled sports bar intended for the rich folks.

On the downside, sources say that the memberships will be oversold, so the bar will likely experience extreme crowding during extreme weather conditions - the time that people will be most likely to use the membership. Depending on what else the $750 includes and what the policy on companions is, we would consider making the investment. However, we'll let the early adopters help to work out the kinks first. Read the full post, after the jump

First Impressions of The Mets New Stadium, Citi Field

Before I break down what I saw today, I must first thank all of the Mets fans for checking out the live stream and commenting both here, and on Metsblog.com. Yankees fans and Mets fans have many differences, but share one thing - a love for baseball.

The Citi Field surroundings were highly stimulating, but as a Yankee fan, I spent much of the day experiencing the sinking feeling that the new Yankee Stadium can't possibly top the new ballpark in Flushing. Right now, I can't make that call, but I can relay my first impressions of the Mets' new home.

The Good

• The Stadium feels huge while walking around the concourses, but tiny when you are in the seats. There can't be a better compliment for a baseball stadium. The intimacy in most seats is amazing.
  
• Speaking of the concourses, it seems like a simple addition, but the wider concourses really change the entire stadium experience. Walking from one place to another is no longer a chore - it is something to look forward to.
• There are long counters behind most seating areas which are an ingenious addition to a baseball stadium. It is now entirely possible to go to the concession stand, plop your food down on one of the standing room only "counters" and enjoy the great view. These counters are on every level of the stadium and spread throughout the stadium. If you have crappy seats, you can likely float over to one of those spots and get a much better view. You also never have to eat food on your lap if you don't want to.
• The Caesars Club, on the terribly named "Excelsior" level is one of the highlights of the Stadium. It can best be described as an extra-cushy airport terminal in the middle of a baseball stadium. That may not sound great, but there is ample and comfortable seating, concessions everywhere, and a generally fun atmosphere. There are no views of the field, but it is a great place to kill time, meet friends, warm up, cool down, or otherwise hang out. It really changes the ballpark experience.
• There is also a smaller version of the Ceasars Club on the Promenade level, right behind home plate. Once again, it offers a climate-controlled reprieve from the elements without demanding a membership fee. It felt very upscale, but still approachable for the average Joe. It also offers partial views of the field. I'll give the Mets a pass for the massive leak in this area that needed a large garbage can under it. I'm not sure how they never caught that leak during construction, but they will likely patch it up before opening day.
  
• The "Pepsi Porch" was my favorite spot in the new stadium. The view from section 303, Row 1 is great. If you are snagging Mets tickets on Stubhub, I highly recommend choosing seats in that vicinity.
• $5 beers. They inexplicably weren't available today, but they are on many of the menus on the field level. Beer prices are as follows as far as I could tell: $5 (12 oz.) and $6.25 (16 oz.) draft beers (Bud and Bud Light). There are also $7.50 cans of Bud (16 oz.) and $7.50 Brooklyn Brewery on draft (16 oz.).
  

The Not So Good

• Getting from section 334 to section 335 in the stadium is a big pain. You have to walk up to the upper deck on a ramp, and then back down a flight of stairs to section 335. The Acela Club stands in the way, and only special people are allowed through there. Membership has its privileges.
• The ramp up to the "Pepsi Porch" has drainage issues. There was some heavy rain overnight, but by 1 PM, there should not still have been a massive puddle taking up the entire walkway. The drainage system on that ramp was an epic fail and will need to be fixed quickly.
• Speaking of the drainage, it seemed like an issue all around the stadium. The bathroom stalls had a gross mixture of water, urine, dirt and a bunch of other stuff that pooled up below the toilet. Along those lines, the new waterless urinals are a strange experience and smell weird. The bathrooms creeped me out as much as any other stadium bathrooms, and they were brand new.
• The concession workers were absolutely clueless about everything. Most of them were friendly, but they didn't know how to use the registers, had absolutely no information about food offerings and generally represented a minimum wage workforce. This is probably something that will be fixed with time, when friendliness will be exchanged for competence. The one bonus here was the newbie concession worker who gave me a $6.25 beer for $5. Cha-ching!
• The food offerings are very repetitive and typical throughout much of the stadium. Items like hot dogs, sausages, ice cream and beer are everywhere. The good news is that you should not have to wait long for those items, but it also means you will have to walk further for some variety. The non-typical stadium food is reserved for the Shake Shack/Blue Smoke area (see "The Ugly" section below) beyond the center field scoreboard.
  
• Speaking of that area, views beyond center and right field of the 126th street area in Corona/Flushing is horrendous. Granted, Safeco in Seattle has crappy rail yards and Citizens Bank Park in Philly is just a bunch of parking lots, but the slummy garages are a real eyesore:
  
  View Larger Map
  At least now I know where to go when I need a muffler. How long until those garages are bought by fast food restaurants and sports bars?

The Ugly

• The view from at least a couple of seats in the Promenade are terrible. I won't speak for all of the seats, but you can see in my video that my ticketed seat was an obstructed view. I wouldn't pay more than $5 for that seat. Perhaps I had some bad karma left over from uncovering all of the obstructed views back in February.
• The lines at Shake Shack were ridiculous, and they were only offering an EXTREMELY limited menu (only the single shack burger, no shakes, etc). I can only imagine what the lines will be like when they have their full menu. Expect to spend 30 minutes on line for Shake Shack and 15-20 minutes for Blue Smoke.

For a more in depth look at my Citi Field experience, be sure to check out all of my videos on my Qik.com page. The video quality was grainy, but I was shocked at how well my HTC Touch Pro picked up my voice for narration. The battery on my HTC Touch Pro shockingly outperformed my expectations. I was on twitter, on the phone, and obviously taking and uploading live streaming video, and it lasted until I was on the subway ride home. However, if I plan to do this sort of thing every time I go to the ballpark, I will need to purchase an extended battery. Read the full post, after the jump

A Helpful Map Of The Area Surrounding Yankee Stadium, Now And In The Future

With all of the construction in the South Bronx over the past couple of years and all of the construction still to come, it is easier than ever to become disoriented while in the area.

Luckily for all of those who are easily lost, there is this helpful map:



People "meeting at the bat" are going to be in for a rude awakening when they end up meeting at Heritage Field. Its time to find a new place to meet that is adjacent to the Stadium. Any ideas? Read the full post, after the jump

Video From Obstructed View Seats at Citi Field. Horrendous View.

Firstly, thanks to everyone who has followed our live video streams today from Citi Field. It was an overwhelming success, and we hope we can do some more things to keep fans involved. Stadium Insider Ross will give you all of his thoughts on the Mets new park. He seemed to like the place a lot.

But of course, having been the obstructed-view police the past couple months, Ross' seat had an obstructed view of home plate. His seats were located in section 523, row 3 seat 1. Below is a video that Ross took from this seat:



Whoever has that seat is going to be pretty pissed when they find out that they'll be paying to watch people find their seats.

There were a lot of videos BEFORE Mets Blog linked to us, so please give Qik.com some love and head over to the Stadium Insider page over there:

http://qik.com/newstadiuminsider

Seeing the field of play for the first time was pretty cool:


Read the full post, after the jump

Live Stream Of What We See At Citi Field Today

Right now, all you will see above is an old video that we took on Madison Avenue. In a few hours, we will be at Citi Field for the first event there when St. Johns takes on Georgetown. We plan on trying out our newest foray as 21st century digital boys - live streaming from Citi Field via the "Qik" application for our HTC Touch Pro.

For more about Qik.com, you can head over to the site. We really think this can serve a great purpose for a blog like Stadium Insider . Of course, the video will be choppy at first, but as wi-fi networks expand and mobile internet speeds increase, the quality will continue to improve. We don't expect great things from this right away, but it will be fun to be able to stream what we are checking out at the new ballparks while our readers are at home watching on the web. The latest video will always be the one featured on the video player above, but if you put your cursor over the video, you will be able to choose previous videos. Feel free to check them all out.

Please feel free to leave comments on what you see, and tell us of any technical errors that you experience.

Meanwhile, here is some interesting information, courtesy of the Mets' Spring Training Game Notes:

College Baseball at Citi Field: This afternoon, St. Johns University and Georgetown University will play the first-ever game at Citi Field, the new home of the Mets. Citi Field - has has a seating capacity of 42,000 - could end up setting the Division I College Baseball record for single-game attendance. The current mark of 40,106 was set on March 11, 2004 at PETCO Park when San Diego took on the University of Houston. That game was also the first contest played at San Diego's ballpark.

So, today's game at Citi Field may take on even more historical significance. Should be fun. Read the full post, after the jump

Quick Weather Update For Those Heading Off To Citi Field For St. Johns vs. Georgetown

Taking a look at the radar, it looks as though the heavy rain has already pushed through the Tri-State area. There is another batch of precipitation near the Great Lakes that will head in later today, but for the most part the area should be dry during the late morning and early afternoon. There may be some lingering drizzle, but the Gates to Citi Field should open at their scheduled time of 10:40 AM. As Steve over at NYNJPAWeather.com points out, there is the potential for some embedded Thunderstorms this afternoon, so Citi Field may even get people lingering around the new park even longer if there is a rain delay:

While rain is racing through the forecast area via the warm front, the significantly heavy steady rainfall ahead of the cold front will not materialize due to the lack of moisture which is bottled up over the Southeast coast. This also means the atmosphere is more stable and lacking the “high octane” moisture which would have made strong to severe thunderstorms possible over the southern Philadelphia metro and central/southern New Jersey. So what can we expect for today?

Well, showers and thunderstorms will impact the forecast area as the cold front moves through the region this afternoon, generally around 12 PM to 4 PM from west to east. The thunderstorms will be capable of heavy downpours, isolated lightning, and strong wind gusts up to 40 mph

So, it may be a long day at the new ball park in Flushing.

Speaking of Citi Field, their A-Z Guide takes a completely different tone than the Yankees does about batting practice:

Fans are welcome to arrive to Citi Field early to watch players take batting practice. Fans can enter the Left Field Gate 2 ½ hours prior to the scheduled game time. Please note that batting practice does not take place prior to every game. If batting practice is in fact scheduled to take place the following is a pre-game timeline:

Gate entry times for batting practice at Citi Field.

	1:10 p.m. game	4:10 p.m. game	7:10 p.m. game
Mets BP	10:40 a.m.	1:40 p.m.	4:40 p.m.
Visitor BP	11:30 a.m.	2:30 p.m.	5:30 p.m.

We hate to pile on the Yankees, especially as Yankee fans, but we can't help but wonder if going to baseball games at Citi Field is going to be a much more pleasant experience than doing so in the Bronx. Today, Stadium Insider will get a first look at Citi Field and we'll report back later. Read the full post, after the jump

Will Stan's Survive The Yankee Stadium Move? What Stopped Us From Going To Find Out?

An article just published by the NY Times reminds us why we're a blog, and the NY Times is, well, the NY Times.

The article, chronicling the move of Yankee Stadium by one city block, examines the uncertainty that the owners of popular sports bar "Stan's" are facing now that the old stadium is no more.

“It’s really a big mystery,” said Mr. Dene, who bought the bar from his father, Stan Martucci, 11 years ago. “You can ask 10 people, and eight will tell you that the tradition and uniqueness of Stan’s will live on. And the other two will tell you you’ve got all this corporate competition and people will have to come to Stan’s with intent instead of stumbling upon it.”

The quote does a great job of encapsulating the feeling of defiant anxiety that the owner of the bar is feeling right now. It is also a quote that anyone could have gotten. This may just be a human interest story, but it is a human interest story that is only reported on by the mainstream media. So is this one that was also just published by the NY Times.

While reading the stories, we realized that there was absolutely no access required to gather the quotes and information. Is there any reason that articles like the ones linked above can't originate from this very blog? Katherine Bindly and Rebecca Flynt Marx did excellent work on the stories, and we try to stay humble. However, there are certain times when the journalism degree starts to rear its ugly head and we realize that perhaps we have the opportunity to help change the way people receive their news.

Blogs are hobbies - nobody is making a career out of it, not even Fake Steve Jobs - but what if we spent less time perusing our addictive RSS Feed and more time actually going out to find the news. Stadium Insider headquarters is just minutes from the 161 st. stop on the 4 train. What if some of those Google Reader hours were spent speaking to Louis Dene? A lot of us feel like in order to do something productive, we need to receive immediate compensation for it. Perhaps if more of us tested our limits more often, we really could change the world, one fluff piece at a time. Read the full post, after the jump

How Many Stadiums In The US?

Lately, I've been keeping an eye on the search queries people use to find this site. I stumbled across one today that actually made me curious.

The search term was "how many stadiums in US". To let you know, we were on page 3 of google's results for that search.

It seems this guy dug around a little bit. I hope our new reader found the answer. And if he didn't, I did. There are 1813 stadiums in the U.S., according to this site. It was the first result when I searched "stadiums in the U.S."

Okay, so maybe I'm a little bit bored, but I learned something today. And that means I learned more on the internet during the weekend than I did this past week at my college classes. Sad, really.

UPDATE (3/27 10:20 PM): We just have to post this map, linked to in the comments section by its creator, Craig. There is something spectacular, and also kind of sad about the illustration of how few baseball diamonds there are in Manhattan. See for yourself:


(click over to Craig's site to see it larger)

Read the full post, after the jump

Will Weather Be A Factor For The Opening Of New York's New Stadiums?

UPDATE (3/28 9:51 PM): Steve over at NYNJPAWeather.com paints an ugly picture of the weather for the next 12 hours:

Meanwhile, locations to the north of the warm front will have very heavy rain. The process of lifting the low level jet stream, which will supply the forecast area with plenty of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic, along with significant lifting via upper level dynamics will support wide spread heavy rainfall over the northern Philadelphia metro and almost all of the New York City metro. Small river and urban flooding will be an issue in these areas and caution will need to be taken when driving tomorrow morning.

So while cloudy to partly cloudy skies can be expected through the rest of the day, a very active period of weather can be expected late tonight through early tomorrow morning with the potential for flooding, severe thunderstorms, wind damage, and even an isolated tornado.

Luckily, he is still referring to the active weather as "through early tomorrow morning." That means it still could be over before the first event at Citi Field is set to occur.

------
Anyone who has read this blog for the past two years knows that we have a strange interest in the weather. Weather isn't anything we can control. but it is extremely interesting to watch weather patterns unfold and see how they affect people.

Unfortunately for fans holding tickets to the first exhibition games at Citi Field on Sunday and Yankee Stadium on Friday, the weather seems to have some interesting things in store for us this week. For analysis of this evolving weather pattern, we will defer to Steve DiMartino, the talented independent meteorologist in charge of NYNJPAWeather.com. Lets first see what Steve has to say about how the weather will affect the first game at Citi Field on Sunday March 29, featuring the college teams of St. Johns and Georgetown:

Obviously, this should all lead to some impressive rainfall by Sunday morning. Combine these factors with the evolution of an occluded front (discussed last night in this post), and the set up is prime to produce heavy rainfall over the forecast area with the potential for some minor small stream and urban flooding. Rainfall amounts of an inch to two inches will be possible by Sunday afternoon as the cold front clears the forecast area. The heaviest rainfall is expected tomorrow morning between the hours of 4 AM and 11 AM as the cold front enhances the lifting over the entire region which will be seen as an elevated line of heavy showers and thunderstorms. Wind damage may be an isolated threat with these storms.

While that certainly is not good news for people planning to arrive early at Citi Field when gates open, it does give some hope that the game will actually be played. That being said, most people probably don't even care about the game on the field - they just want to roam around the new ballpark. One thing to keep an eye on is whether or not the Mets protect their new field and call the game early. They probably don't want college kids running around, tearing up their brand new field, if they can at all avoid it. If you are like us and plan on checking out the new park tomorrow morning, be sure to check Mets.com for any cancelation information before heading out.

For the majority of our readers who don't care about the Mets or their fancy new ballpark, we also have some early news about how the weather will affect the first events at the new Yankee Stadium. We recognize that the first real event at Yankee Stadium is the workout day on Thursday, April 2. That being said, the open workout is during a workday and most of the tickets were unattainable to the public. Therefore we will focus mainly on the early indications for the weather next Friday, April 3. For the record, Thursday's weather looks like it will be sunny with seasonable temperatures. Now, lets see what Steve DiMartino has to say about the weather for the first exhibition game - Yankees vs. Cubs on Friday, April 3:

The pattern that is going to unfold through this weekend is a typical spring time pattern as the trough that has been positioned over the East the past few months continues to retrograde to the West.

Another disturbance will move through on Friday with scattered showers and a period of steady rain, but will also move quickly through the forecast area.

It is important not to get too worked up about weather more than five days out. As Steve points out at the top of his website "Focus on 5 days at a time and you won't go nuts." Everyone should recognize that this time of year is the rainy season in the Northeast, and weather is likely to affect many of the events scheduled at the new stadiums in New York City.

Just keep an eye on reputable Tri-State weather sources such as Steve's afformentioned site, and the National Weather Service forecasts (found at great websites such as wunderground.com). If possible, avoid Accu-Weather and The Weather Channel as their model is dependent upon making money and not on giving the most accurate weather forecasts. Read the full post, after the jump

Stadium Memories: My early experiences as a kid

I can recall my earliest memory at the old stadium. We had tickets to see the Yankees play the Mariners in the 1995 playoffs. I was only 8 years old then, but grew up around baseball. I remember looking around and seeing how excited everyone was, noticing the way the bright lights set atop the tier reserved seats were almost blinding. The atmosphere was special, much different than the little league fields I often frequented. Having the Yankees return to the playoffs that season was emotional for many fans.

The emotion I experienced just sitting among 56,000 passionate fans actually turned me into one of those passionate fans. It happened to me the way baseball has captured the hearts of millions over the last century.

As much as I love the sport, my most fond memories have little to do with baseball. I can recall arriving at the stadium hours early in search of tickets back in the 90's when far fewer people would attend games. My brother Ross, co-editor of this site, found someone who worked in one of those isolated ticket booths in front of gate 6. Every game, the man who worked in the booth would sell us two tier reserved tickets for the price of one, helping us out because we were kids. These acts of kindness made me fall in love with the fan experience, especially the one at the old stadium.

Through the 90's and into the next decade, I noticed things changing, as Yankee attendance increased. There was increased security, no more half price tickets, and less and less access to players on the field.

During this time, when Ross was in high school, he would always bring a glove to games. One day during batting practice, an opposing player was warming up down the left field line and had no catch-partner. When Ross asked the player for the ball in his hand, the player said "Only if you throw it back". The player, whose name I can't remember, then proceeded to have a catch with Ross from the stands. Of course, the player made his final throw and let us keep the ball. These types of memories are unique and special, and are exactly what make fans truly enjoy going to games.

If fans do not have access to areas close to the field for batting practice at the new stadium, the youngsters will lose out, more than anyone else. Seeing these pros up close, and sometimes even getting to talk to them, is what made so many of us love baseball when we were kids.

Either way the new stadium will be filled with new memories, ones made by fans and their family/friends. For me the stadium experience wasn't always about baseball. It was about being with my best friend, the person I TRULY idolized, my brother Ross. I only hope young people still have access to the type of experiences we had, so they too can form lifelong bonds through the beautiful game of baseball. Read the full post, after the jump

If You Have 2009 Yankee Tickets, Protect Your Barcodes!

Whether you have 2009 Yankee tickets in hand already, or you plan on receiving them soon, this post contains very important information about protecting your assets. Stubhub has quietly introduced a new feature for selling 2009 Major League Baseball tickets that allows people to sell their tickets by simply entering the bar code on the site.

So what does this mean for you, the casual ticketholder who doesn't plan to sell your tickets? It means that your tickets are no longer just physical assets that are safe as long as they are within your possession. If you leave your tickets in public view prior to the event, they are at risk of being stolen, even if they don't move an inch.

This all sounds very paranoid, but we have entered a new age of ticketing where hard tickets are no longer required to enter sporting events. If someone wants to sell a ticket for 29 of the 30 MLB stadiums on Stubhub this year (Boston excluded - they didn't sign the deal), all they have to do is enter the barcode from their tickets and Stubhub takes care of the rest. They are able to hold on to the original ticket as a keepsake,or just throw it away - a buyer of MLB tickets on Stubhub will never see the hard copy.

This also affects sellers of tickets. Many times, people post photos of their tickets on internet forums, or more likely on websites such as Craigslist and Ebay. Most savvy ticket sellers will understand the importance of barcode protection, but there are also many casual ticket salesman, ignorant to the new Stubhub policies. Below is an example of what you need to do to protect your tickets, if you do post a photo of them in a public domain:



It is obvious from the above photo that you do not need any graphic design skills in order to do what is necessary. You simply need to open the .jpeg in "Paint" or any simple drawing program located on your computer. It is important to blur out the barcode and scratch out the numbers below the barcode. We also recommend blocking out your ticket account number and your seat location as well. This will protect the privacy of your account, and the privacy of the seat location for whoever purchases the tickets.

There are plenty of scammers lurking the internet, just waiting for the next get rich quick scheme. Especially in these times of economic upheaval, it is important to be vigilant and protect your assets. Read the full post, after the jump