Plenty of Yankee season tickets up for grabs

Could see more games when teh attendance is like this.

Compared to past years the Yankees put season plans on sale much earlier this year. Before the holidays you could actually purchase some plans. It was a sign then that even the Yankees realized they are going to be spending alot of time this year pushing tickets.

Right now you can grab seats for almost any type of plan, any place in the stadium. This is a sign unseen for the past few seasons, especially since the new stadium opened. This is great for partial plan holders like myself who were able to upgrade to seats they wanted, but could never get (Moved from 12 game plan to Saturday plan). But for the Yankees it shows a problem that has been brewing the past few seasons. The Yankees have made the playoff each season since the new house has opened but yet they are still losing ticker holders. The easy answer is the prices, sure the Yankees still had the second highest attendance in baseball last year but it won't be the case this year. With the economy still a mess, the bombers chose to raise prices on the cheap seats, thus causing more fans to drop out.

It could be the price of winning, the price of a superstar players, and the price of living in New York but the Steinbrenners and the ticket office have also out priced the market. Last season, tickets for undesirable games could be had for one dollar or even less. What is the point of buying tickets if they can't even be sold for face value back. Of course if you plan to attend the games and like your seat location it makes sense but otherwise its doesn't make sense. The Yankees have built themselves quite a mess, this could be the first season at the new stadium, that the wings of the upper deck may be empty just like at the old place.

Yankee Stadium Expierences: Yankees vs White Sox 4/28/2011

$20 for parking near Yankee Stadium!

Rain was in the forecast, but that couldn't stop me from going to the first game in close to a month. In fact this was the first game in my plan I was going to all season, since I sold off the other games. After exiting the Major Deegan via exit 4, my friend and I found parking for $20. The lot is a pretty far walk from Yankee Stadium, but it beats paying the extra $15 and is close to the Gateway center which charges $30.

As the promotion they were giving away grass seed, the irony was that across the street where the old Yankee Stadium once stood, grass was being put down. Its a strange yet nice site to the old stadium that way, I just keep reminding myself that it's better that its turned into a park than them making its a parking lot.

Tough to see, but grass is back on
the old Yankee Stadium site.

After arriving inside the new structure I checked out what was new, the answer is nothing really. At gate two they were having some sort of group outing, and part of the area was roped off, their was no batting practice and the tarp was on the field, so instead it was time to indulge in nachos from Wholly Guacamole.

Eduardo Nunez started at shortstop instead of Jeter, he made a pair of errors in the night and my new name for him is now Error Nunez, but let it be known I like him much better then Ramiro Pena.

The game itself was exactly what you want to see as a Yankee fan. CC Sabathia was dealing and the Yanks bats came alive without Jeter or Tex. Surprisingly the crowd looked pretty good from section 235, sure their were some empty sections but nothing that would make me think that it would be the lowest attended game in new stadiums history (40,081).

The sky looked really cool after it a quick shower.
But the stupid metal side was in the way.

The game eventually turned into a blowout and some dummy's began to do the wave, I don't care that it is 8-0, I still hate it. After that the most exciting then was the Yankees scoring a few more runs and some kid accidentally tossed a Yankees hulk hand over the upper deck and it landed a few rows in front of me.

Final score: Yankees 12 White Sox 3

Yankee Stadium has become Stubhub central

Behind Soriano are some seats that didn't sell.

Doesn't seem like long ago that the Yankees were selling out every night of the old Yankee Stadium. Ticket prices were high, but fairly priced for a team that was making the playoffs each season and tickets on the secondary market were going for a premium.

Flash forward to 2011. The prices at the new Yankee Stadium are much higher then they were just four seasons ago, yet they have still sold 3.3 million tickets this season. But it seems as if nobody is going to these games early in the season. Opening Day had 48,000 plus fans, but plenty of seats were available but that could be easily blamed on weather. The next game was a Saturday, against the Tigers again, and the stadium was barley at 40,000 and it looked like much less. The crowds around 40,000 have become a mini trend here, with each of the Twins games along with the other Tigers games attendance all falling short of a sell out.

Even Opening Day could be had on Stubhub for less
then face value.

Ticket prices on the secondary market are now laughable. For all the Twins games tickets could be had for less then $1, yes you are reading that correct ONE DOLLAR! The all inclusive Legend seats that were once prices at $2,500 big ones were going for $200. Field Level seats that ran as much as $325 were going for $30, and majority of regular seats in the Main, Terrace, Grandstand and Bleachers could be had for less then $20.

So why suddenly did the secondary market crash? Some say its because the Yankees are the ones who are putting up tons of seats on Stubhub themselves. I don't understand that logic, but I could see where people begin to believe that when blocks of 20 seats are available together. But what is most likely is that supply and demand are simply down, and add that with a weak economy and over priced tickets. The new Yankee Stadium pricing was set before the economy really crashed, and at the time it looked like a great idea. But since the economy took a turn for the worse, fans can no longer afford to go to a ball game. That includes season ticket holders, how have to sell off a ton of games to break even or make a small profit. You look on Stubhub and majority of the seats that are listed are likely from season ticket holders and plan holder who can not make it to all the games they own and would like to make back some money on their seats.

But why is it that season ticket holders can no longer attend all the games? Well most season ticket holders don't attend every single game, but everything that goes with attending a ball game cost money. Transportation can cost alot especially if you are not taking the subway. The metro north, LIRR, PATH all can be expensive and a hassle at times. You must run on their schedule not your own. If you want to run on your own schedule then you try and drive, but gas prices are sky rocketing, tolls are very high and parking not costs a whopping $35! Add in some food and drinks for the trip and suddenly your spending a small fortune.

Stubhub has ruined the secondary market for season ticket holders and brokers, but for the average fan who attends just the occasional game its a great feature. For attendance at the stadium, well it might be too early to judge. 2007-2010 was unique since it was the final seasons of the original Yankee Stadium and then the opening of the new one, but prior to that the stadium didn't sell out each night. If the trend continues then the Yanks should worry.

Yankees 2011 ticket package breakdown

Tons of April games for the 12 and 11 game plans may cause for alot of people to drop those plans. Plus many of those games can be had for $5 right from the Yankees and even cheaper on Stubhub. With so many April and May games in my 12 game package it makes me hope that I can get a weekend plan even more.

No big suprise here : Yankees lead the majors in attendence so far this season

This season has been more about the Yankees and their on the field play then it has been about the new stadium and the empty seats. Sure you can tune in at any time during a Yankees home game and still see empty seats but for the most part the Yankees either found people to pony up more cash or slashed the price. This season on the secondary market (Stubhub) prices to see a game at Yankee Stadium are down compared to in 2008 and 2009. But that hasnt kept the Yankees from leading the majors in attendence at home through 64 games.

The Yankees have the highest overall total attendance number so far through the season at 2,971,446. The Dodgers are just behind the bombers but they have played two more games at home. The Dodgers still could pass the Yankees in home attendance since Dodger Stadium has a higher capacity.

The Bronx bombers also lead the majors in averager attendance per game at 46,429, which is slightly up from last season (45,364). Since the new Yankee Stadium has opened the capacity of the park has been debated by some. It was orginally listed as 52,325 which was suppose to include standing room, but the seating capacity is 50,086. Either way the capacity at the new stadium is smaller then the ballpark that once stood across the street that held 56,936, so gone are the days of the Yanks drawing four million fans.

As the Yankees head down the stretch they have just 17 games remaining at home this season. This season almost every game has been a sell out and even the ones that arent a sell out the only seats avaliable are north of $150.