A Monument To Greed

May 23, 2009 8:44 AM

A new stadium, paid for with public money, that is far too expensive (even after prices were slashed) for most members of the public to visit, especially during a recession. Bomber Bucks. $5 bottles of water and $48 for a lousy steak. Have the New York Yankees finally pushed their fans too far?
posted by Stonewall Jackson (99 comments total)

Obligatory link to the Onion on the expensive ticket prices.
ESPN's Bill Gammons calls the new park a joke.
posted by NoMich at 8:53 AM on May 23

The food looks good (if a little ballpark expensive) and I couldn't find the $48 steaks.
posted by KokuRyu at 8:56 AM on May 23

The Yankee fans I know are pretty unhappy about the whole mess. Crybabies.
posted by R. Mutt at 8:58 AM on May 23 [1 favorite]

From the NY Post via Kottke:

Option 1: Two tickets to Tuesday night, June 30, Mariners at Yanks, cost for just the tickets, $5,000.

Option 2: Two round-trip airline tickets to Seattle, Friday, Aug. 14, return Sunday the 16th, rental car for three days, two-night double occupancy stay in four-star hotel, two top tickets to both the Saturday and Sunday Yanks-Mariners games, two best-restaurant-in-town dinners for two. Total cost, $2,800. Plus-frequent flyer miles.
posted by splatta at 9:03 AM on May 23 [23 favorites]

I'm not big on baseball, but will go when the tickets are free. I believe Colorado Rockies sundaes and dogs and so forth cost exactly the same as this OMG New YAWK! food and have for years.

I've gone to a few Colorado Avalanche games (also free) and still felt ripped off after a couple of beers and dinner. At least I'm into relatively "obscure" metal bands so the concerts I go to are pretty reasonable for the most part.

The prices for everything at these events are outrageous, and it's even more frustrating when you bring your dad and all he can do is bitch bitch bitch about the cost of everything and it's like dude, I know, just enjoy it 'cause this is your first Avs game for cryin' out loud :|

This is just supply and demand 101. The tragedy is of course the use of public money...
posted by aydeejones at 9:03 AM on May 23

Oops! This should be the "$48 for a lousy steak" link. Mods?
posted by Stonewall Jackson at 9:04 AM on May 23

that is far too expensive (even after prices were slashed) for most members of the public to visit

It's far too expensive for most members of the public to buy the most expensive seats. There are plenty of things where that is the case: are we going to be railing against airlines offering first-class for a few grand next?
posted by smackfu at 9:06 AM on May 23

ESPN's Peter Gammons, that is.
posted by xmutex at 9:06 AM on May 23

And yet they're still third in their division.

(Disclaimer: The above was written by a Tigers fan.)
posted by HostBryan at 9:07 AM on May 23 [3 favorites]

And further, Gammons's comment was not about the expensive nature of the park, prices, or concessions- it was a baseball-related comment about the homer-friendly aspect of the park and its engineering.
posted by xmutex at 9:07 AM on May 23

your favorite baseball team sucks*

*money out of your wallet like a vacuum cleaner
posted by pyramid termite at 9:07 AM on May 23 [4 favorites]

Gammons predicted 16 home runs in the Phils series. Last night was the first game; 7 HRs. Looks like the overs might have it.
posted by ibmcginty at 9:11 AM on May 23

The Bomber Bucks are especially slimy.
posted by EatTheWeak at 9:11 AM on May 23

mmm, ballpark steak.
posted by porn in the woods at 9:12 AM on May 23 [1 favorite]

> It's far too expensive for most members of the public to buy the most expensive seats. There are plenty of things where that is the case: are we going to be railing against airlines offering first-class for a few grand next?

That's all well and good, but check out the photos in the second-last link; the luxury suites and premium seats aren't selling, either.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:16 AM on May 23

If $5 bottles of water "pushed fans too far", many stadiums and concert venues would be out of business. And who the fuck buys a steak at a baseball game? The kind of person that doesn't give a shit it costs $48.
posted by inigo2 at 9:18 AM on May 23 [3 favorites]

Does it have a nickname yet? How about The House that ARod built? If so it will disappear mid September.
posted by rakish_yet_centered at 9:19 AM on May 23 [7 favorites]

are we going to be railing against airlines offering first-class for a few grand next?

Considering how crowded and frequently overbooked the peon seats are, yes. It's stupid and wasteful to devote 1/3 of the plane to 1/10 of the passengers.
posted by hermitosis at 9:19 AM on May 23 [2 favorites]

At least it's not a food court surrounding a baseball field- as all of those new little cookie cutter bandboxes are these days. Sit down, shut up and watch the game.

I hear the new Mets' foodcourt/bandbox pays tribute to Brooklyn Dodger players. Talk about a disaster.
posted by Zambrano at 9:20 AM on May 23

"According to Newsday, they get a stadium charging the highest ticket prices in baseball -- $2,500 for "premium" views (since reduced to "just" $1,250) and $410 for a family of four in the cheap seats."

I take it those are prices per game and not series or season ticket prices. Geesh.
posted by ericb at 9:21 AM on May 23 [1 favorite]

I love the idea of a dining review of a ballpark. And why not? Why shouldn't ballpark food be good?
posted by Nelson at 9:21 AM on May 23

Screw the majors. Go to a minor league game. Watching AAA ball isn't bad baseball. Plus, you can get as many hot dogs and beers as you like, you can sit right above the dugout, and you don't have to wait 10 minutes to pee. And all that for under $25.
posted by billysumday at 9:22 AM on May 23 [13 favorites]

Considering how crowded and frequently overbooked the peon seats are, yes. It's stupid and wasteful to devote 1/3 of the plane to 1/10 of the passengers.

I don't know about you, but I like having my coach seat subsidized by first class.
posted by b1tr0t at 9:26 AM on May 23 [9 favorites]

"Steinbrenner could not have anticipated the empty swaths of blue seats that were supposed to be filled with people willing to pay $500, $600, $850, $1,250 or $2,500 a game for a premium seat."
posted by ericb at 9:26 AM on May 23

Go to a minor league game.

The Newark Bears tickets are $10. Walk up, day of the game, great seats.
posted by R. Mutt at 9:27 AM on May 23 [1 favorite]

"I hear the new Mets' foodcourt/bandbox pays tribute to Brooklyn Dodger players. Talk about a disaster."

You sound JUST LIKE my mother. She still went to opening day (and is still a Mets die-hard).
posted by Eideteker at 9:29 AM on May 23

I don't know about you, but I like having my coach seat subsidized by first class.

This just in ...

British Airways ditch first class in new planes as age of austerity bites

"The review of seating layouts is taking place against the backdrop of a decline in business travel that poses a serious threat to long-haul airlines. BA relies on premium passengers for more than 50% of its revenues, more than any other major European airline. In an indication of the current mood of austerity, Walsh announced yesterday that he will work for no pay in July, and urged BA's 40,000 staff to take unpaid leave or work part-time. 'This is no stunt. I do not easily give up anything I have earned,' he said.

BA has seen premium bookings decline by 13% over the past six months with its north Atlantic routes, BA's main source of profits, badly hit by the crisis in the banking sector. Its rivals have fared just as badly, with premium travel since the start of the year slumping by nearly 20% across the industry. The International Air Transport Association expects business class bookings to recover once global trade picks up, but it is gloomier about the prospect of bankers flying again in the droves that have boosted BA's profits in recent years."

posted by ericb at 9:29 AM on May 23

Note that Yankee Stadium terrace seats (middle-deck) are $50-$85, grandstand (upper-deck) are $23-30, and bleacher seats are $14.

Newsday saying that it's "$410 for a family of four in the cheap seats" is pretty dishonest. I am shocked that a NY tabloid would distort the facts!
posted by smackfu at 9:29 AM on May 23

British Airways ditch first class in new planes as age of austerity bites

Like that article says, business class is the new first class. Most of the luxury touches, still 4x the cost of economy, but somewhat more palatable to the higher-ups approving the expense reports.
posted by smackfu at 9:31 AM on May 23

Just wait until this monstrosity opens. I have a feeling it's going to make the new Yankee Stadium look downright humble and austere.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:33 AM on May 23 [1 favorite]

I always hear, when some giant stadium is about to be built under the guise of public works, about how much money it will make everyone, and what a great investment it is.

Afterwards, I never hear any studies comparing measurable results with the predictions made. I would love it if all of these projects came with measurable promises, and penalties for failure, rather than the usual "oops, I guess we were too optimistic, sorry about that twenty million dollars" routine.
posted by adipocere at 9:33 AM on May 23 [5 favorites]

adipocere: This is a bit old, but I doubt the conclusions would be much different today;

"Sports economist Robert Baade at Lake Forest College studied 48 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) over a 30-year period, and found "of the 32 MSAs where there was a change in the number of sports teams, 30 MSAs showed no significant relationship between the presence of the teams and real, trend-adjusted, per-capita personal income growth. In the remaining two cases, the presence of sports teams was significantly positive once (in Indianapolis) and significantly negative once (in Baltimore)."
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:37 AM on May 23 [2 favorites]

Come to Camden Yards. We have crab cakes.

uh, and a last place team.
posted by HumanComplex at 9:42 AM on May 23 [2 favorites]

Whoa! Check out the Card Cheat's link to the website for the new Dallas Cowboys' stadium above. The first thing you read is: "Welcome to the new Dallas Cowboys' Stadium. This site will give you a feel for the enormity of the place..." Enormity indeed! The rest of this obnoxious site is equally clueless.
posted by Faze at 9:42 AM on May 23 [2 favorites]

And further, Gammons's comment was not about the expensive nature of the park, prices, or concessions- it was a baseball-related comment about the homer-friendly aspect of the park and its engineering.

Thanks, I should've made that clear with my comment. Thanks also for catch on my "Bill" Gammons. Where da heck did the "Bill" come from?
posted by NoMich at 9:48 AM on May 23

I've gotta say, as much of an enormity as that Cowboys Stadium is, it is also exactly what the fans in Dallas want for that sort of thing (coming from a family with all of their roots in Dallas).
posted by Navelgazer at 9:59 AM on May 23

Yeah, I'm fine with either first class or business class passengers helping to pay for my steerage seat.
posted by b1tr0t at 10:03 AM on May 23

As a Red Sox fan I'm both glad and unsurprised that the Yankees botched this. A billion dollars worth of empty seats and a third place team. That's marvelous. I think they should try to move back next door, or did they knock the old toilet down already?
posted by dirtdirt at 10:04 AM on May 23 [1 favorite]

The Yankee organization first went "too far" in the 1970s. It's become their hallmark.

Bankruptcy would be too good for them.
posted by fourcheesemac at 10:05 AM on May 23

About Cowboys stadium, I'm not sure about the enormous tv hanging from the roof - can't wait for kickers footballs to get lost in there. Reminds me of the random speakers hanging from the seattle kingdome - I saw a hit baseball bounce back into the infield when it was on track to leave the field.
posted by uni verse at 10:06 AM on May 23 [1 favorite]

This is so awesome. Stupid Yankees.
posted by dopamine at 10:11 AM on May 23

I went to look at that Dallas Cowboys stadium link The Card Cheat posted, and the insanity of that voiceover from the owner was so great I had to transcribe it for posterity. I would bold the most hilarious parts, but it is all hilarious parts.

I've never felt that I own the Dallas Cowboys. I know what a feeling of ownership feels like, if you own a car or a house or some land. My role with the Cowboys has always been to run with the ball while I have an opportunity to use whatever skills I've got to best make and stay in step with the great people and the great constituency that have made this franchise what it is today.

I feel fortunate for that opportunity but I also feel a great responsibility to those people; the past, coaches, fans that have contributed to not only what the Cowboys are today but what they will be in the future.

What we have been designing these last few years with some of the finest architects at HKS, some great builders at Manhattan Construction, our own family in Cowboys management, a team of people who understand the significance of the task at hand. This will become one of the most visible buildings in the world.

NFL programming is the number one programming in television, and the Dallas Cowboys games consistently draw the highest TV ratings. What we have designed is a structure we feel is architecturally significant but yet reflects the emotion and competition that goes on not in the venue, but in the minds of the people that see the venue, almost a living entity.

posted by winna at 10:16 AM on May 23 [2 favorites]

Yeah, I'm fine with either first class or business class passengers helping to pay for my steerage seat.

Me too. I'd rather spend my money being somewhere than getting there. Heck, I'd sleep in the cargo hold if they'd give me a bigger discount.

I have blankets.
posted by rokusan at 10:17 AM on May 23

Stupid Yankees indeed. They lost a fan (me) when I found out about the public money being used to build the stadium. Granted, I know this happens all the time, and I don't live there anymore, but hell - they're the richest team in the history of professional sports - they should build their own effing stadium.
posted by slackdog at 10:26 AM on May 23 [1 favorite]

I hear the new Mets' foodcourt/bandbox pays tribute to Brooklyn Dodger players. Talk about a disaster.

I guess this is just chagrined-Yankee-fan trolling (especially given the "bandbox" bit, which shows a lack of even cursory familiarity with how Taxpayer Field plays), but even so – this attitude totally mystifies me. The Mets were created to continue the legacy of New York National League baseball after the O'Malley and Stoneham betrayals. The team colors are Dodger blue and Giant orange. Every single one of the people I know who rooted for the Dodgers in the '55 World Series later became an ardent Mets fan. Why shouldn't the Mets explicitly honor their predecessors, the NL teams that New Yorkers still remember? The memory of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants belongs to the New Yorkers who rooted for them, not to the owners who moved them.
posted by RogerB at 10:28 AM on May 23 [6 favorites]

This is the FedEx Forum, home to one of the best college basketball teams in the country, the University of Memphis Tigers, and the worst professional basketball team in the country, the Memphis Grizzlies. The city of Memphis issued $250 million in bonds to build this facility for the Grizzlies, who not only take all of the profits from not only their games but also the Tigers games and then charge such outrageous fees for use of the facility that concerts there are rare in the off season. And not only that, but their original contract gave the Grizzlies the power to stop any event held Downtown or in any city-affiliated facility that they thought might potentially interfere with their profits. And the kicker is that somebody defrauded the state of Tennessee of between $6 and $20 million (depending on who you believe) in order to build the parking garage that the Grizzlies then charge those same taxpayers $20 a pop to park in. And this is for one of the worst professional sports franchises in the country.
posted by vibrotronica at 10:32 AM on May 23 [2 favorites]

Not to mention the Memphis Pyramid Arena, which was only used for 13 years before being replaced.
posted by smackfu at 10:38 AM on May 23

Go Red Sox!
posted by grounded at 10:42 AM on May 23

This is just supply and demand 101. The tragedy is of course the use of public money...
posted by aydeejones

No one is sitting in those seats. Do you get that? They're empty game after game. So this isn't supply and demand 101, it's FAILING supply and demand 101.
posted by Dennis Murphy at 10:43 AM on May 23 [3 favorites]

Don't get me started on the Pyramid.
posted by vibrotronica at 10:44 AM on May 23

Thank you, The Card Cheat. I had always suspected this, but it was nice to see it in print. Now, if we can just develop a workable policy around it involving the loss of a finger for every misspent $100,000.
posted by adipocere at 10:45 AM on May 23 [1 favorite]

Eh. I just looked on StubHub and saw $9 seats to see them play Texas.

That said... it can get a little pricey.

Still, why should people pay a premium to see the third best team in their division.

So... what are you New Yorkers doing with the real Yankee Stadium? The actual historic one?!
posted by markkraft at 10:50 AM on May 23

Sorry, cowboys stadium again.. "The entire [70 ft]video board assembly weighs in at 1.2 million pounds.." held by 8 3-inch cables. Really? Whoo-boy!
posted by uni verse at 10:53 AM on May 23

In this link he describes the food options in two stadiums. I feel like I have been out of the ordinary-food loop for a while because absolutely everything he described was meat-based.. or just solid slabs of meat.

I don't go to sporting events, but based on that link I'm willing to guess they have very little vegetable-based foods to offer. Maybe deep-fried potatoes.. unless it's lard they were fried in.

I'd wheez just from sitting next to someone eating something like that.
posted by Malice at 10:54 AM on May 23

the real Yankee Stadium? The actual historic one?

They tore that one down in the early '70s.
posted by RogerB at 11:01 AM on May 23 [1 favorite]

As a member of Red Sox Nation, I would to quote the great philosopher Nelson Muntz and say "Ha-ha."
posted by grapefruitmoon at 11:03 AM on May 23 [2 favorites]

Food prices are always inflated, especially if it has a "special" name. For example when I worked at Fenway Park we sold 3 different types of hot dogs. We had the well known Fenway Franks, Foot long Hot Dogs and Monster Dogs. The Fenway Franks were $4.50 each and were about 5 inches long, typical hot dog size, so you order two its $8.50, Foot longs were well a foot long and cost $5.00 so you could get a little less meat with two Fenway Franks for $8. The monster dogs were about 6 inches long and an inch thick and cost $6.75.

But then again as a warning to anybody going to stadiums, don't eat the food unless its pre-packaged. I wouldn't eat any raw meat that's cooked at a ball park.
posted by lilkeith07 at 11:06 AM on May 23

I hear it's a hitter's park. Too bad for the Yankees that the other teams hit better.

/saw nothing but the first pitch of last night's game
posted by oaf at 11:08 AM on May 23

> And yet they're still third in their division.

(Disclaimer: The above was written by a Tigers fan.)

This Mets fan supports that comment, and hopes this extravagance sinks the Yanks for a generation to come.
posted by languagehat at 11:10 AM on May 23

Heck, I'd sleep in the cargo hold if they'd give me a bigger discount.

Just get yourself a crate!
posted by ericb at 11:31 AM on May 23

We had the well known Fenway Franks...

The news ones are now made locally in Chelsea by Kayem.
posted by ericb at 11:33 AM on May 23

I feel like I have been out of the ordinary-food loop for a while because absolutely everything he described was meat-based.. or just solid slabs of meat.

You may also be shocked to learn that baseball food is also unhealthy.

The nachos are meat-free though.
posted by smackfu at 11:35 AM on May 23

Glad to hear from you Red Sox fans. You're so important! Hey, do you miss the torture flights? And are you still enjoying the prison food?
posted by Superfrankenstein at 11:47 AM on May 23 [1 favorite]

Go to a minor league game.

The Newark Bears tickets are $10. Walk up, day of the game, great seats.

Ditto with the Washington Nationals.

And as for the food, the guys who work at the Ben's Chili Bowl at the stadium are the same guys who run the real one. In this new era of taxpayer- and corporation-sponsored ballparks, the overpriced food is way better. The worst cup of coffee I've ever had in my life cost me like $4 at Wrigley Field on Opening Day like ten years ago.
posted by ibmcginty at 11:50 AM on May 23

Hey Superfrankenstein: "Year two-thou-sand!" (clap, clap, clap-clap-clap).
posted by ibmcginty at 11:52 AM on May 23 [3 favorites]

I don't go to sporting events, but based on that link I'm willing to guess they have very little vegetable-based foods to offer.

Actually, you'd be surprised how much vegetarian and vegan food you can get at most MLB parks, especially in the West.
posted by dw at 11:55 AM on May 23 [1 favorite]

The new stadium must really suck. Neither Google Maps or Google Earth show it. Still just views of the old stadium and the field to the north where the new stadium is supposed to be.
That's kind of...odd.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:56 AM on May 23

In this new era of taxpayer- and corporation-sponsored ballparks, the overpriced food is way better.

I'd definitely concur on that. The food at Safeco is miles ahead of the dreck at the Kingdome. Even the hot dogs are better -- they grill them now rather than boil them.

$9 for a microbrew, though? Meh.
posted by dw at 11:59 AM on May 23

Someone please explain how the new stadium can be so much better for hitters (particularly the homers) than the old stadium when they have the same dimensions? I'm not doubting it, the numbers don't lie. But what changed? Can the stadium cause freaky wind currents or something? That seems dubious.
posted by Justinian at 12:00 PM on May 23

And $7 for a Bud Light. Makes $9 for something decent seem reasonable. Although Blue Moon is not a microbrew, ballparks! And who is supposed to be buying those $11 Guinesses?
posted by smackfu at 12:00 PM on May 23

Justinian: Five Theories on Why the Yankees Are on a Home-run Streak at Their New Stadium
posted by smackfu at 12:02 PM on May 23

Reminds me of a quote from this great NY Times article on Fenway:

David Surabian of Providence, R.I., wanted to know if all the Yankee Stadium seats were cushioned, or "is it just the empty ones?"
posted by Rhaomi at 12:08 PM on May 23

Someone please explain how the new stadium can be so much better for hitters (particularly the homers) than the old stadium when they have the same dimensions? I'm not doubting it, the numbers don't lie. But what changed? Can the stadium cause freaky wind currents or something? That seems dubious.

Here's a little information around the theory.
posted by xmutex at 12:09 PM on May 23

Someone please explain how the new stadium can be so much better for hitters...

ESPN: "The New York Yankees might have a serious problem on their hands: Beautiful new Yankee Stadium appears to be a veritable wind tunnel that is rocketing balls over the fences."

Yankee Stadium wind theory.

Yanks monitoring wind patterns at Stadium.
posted by ericb at 12:18 PM on May 23

As much as I'll be disappointed if the Bucks* ever leave Milwaukee, if they were replaced by a D-league team with reasonably priced tickets, I won't be that disappointed. I love baseball, but in terms of local value, there's nothing like paying $10 to sit up against the boards and watch our minor league hockey team.
posted by drezdn at 12:43 PM on May 23

>> I don't go to sporting events, but based on that link I'm willing to guess they have very little vegetable-based foods to offer.

> Actually, you'd be surprised how much vegetarian and vegan food you can get at most MLB parks, especially in the West.

When I was a kid, I went to a Dodger's game with my dad and they had a sushi stand in the stadium. Coming from Chicago, I found that to be incredibly weird.
posted by nooneyouknow at 12:51 PM on May 23

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA Fuck the Yankees.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 12:59 PM on May 23 [9 favorites]

Someone please explain how the new stadium can be so much better for hitters

There's a water cooler marked "The Clear" right in the home dugout.
posted by Nelson at 1:51 PM on May 23

Note that Yankee Stadium terrace seats (middle-deck) are $50-$85, grandstand (upper-deck) are $23-30, and bleacher seats are $14.

Not only that, but there are frequent promotions that give discounts on various games throughout the season. Some down to as little as $5. With fees, those $5 tickets are still under $10 a ticket if you use will-call. And they're not merely bleacher seats either.

There wasn't foresight to predict the financial meltdowns that prevented many Wall Street and other corporate ticketholders from the premium boxes this season, but once the economy improves, they may be back.
posted by cmgonzalez at 1:57 PM on May 23

"The entire [70 ft]video board assembly weighs in at 1.2 million pounds..' held by 8 3-inch cables. Really? Whoo-boy!"

A plain 3" improved steel wire rope has a breaking strength of 828,000 pounds so two more than handle the mass and eight give a 5X+ safety factor.
posted by Mitheral at 2:39 PM on May 23 [2 favorites]

OP must be Boston fan. Love to hear Yankee haters hate. Keep it up! Go Yanks! Greedy corporate bullshit has nothing to do with just the Yankees, rater with every popular sport franchise in this greedy nation. Yankee haters just like to hate the Yanks, so whatever. I'm not at all surprised that there aren't too many Yankee fans piping up here. Are you all on the other coast or something?
posted by ChickenringNYC at 2:57 PM on May 23

Yankees Suck! AMIRITE?
posted by ericb at 3:32 PM on May 23

Yankees fans, Cowboys fans, Celtics fans (or Lakers), they're all so much fun. They will, reliably, after their team is criticized, pipe up with "Go ahead, hate on my team because of (reason which is entirely legitimate, yet they haven't actually grasped that), my team is above reproach. You all like to hate my team, that's all."

If sooo many people hate your team, mayhap it has something to do with your team, and the people on it, or the people who run it, rather than just it's record.
posted by Ghidorah at 4:03 PM on May 23

Sirota doesn't mention it, but you can't put the stadium (or at least its financing) into context without Michael Bloomberg's galactic ego and little entitlement.
posted by psyche7 at 4:06 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]

I've said it before, I'll say it again: Gaelic Football is fantastic, as a specific sport, and as an example for how I think sports should be run. Amateur events, focusing on local levels and no need for billion-dollar fiascos left and right. Sports are for entertainment, and shouldn't be all about the money, but the players and the communities. Instead, cities invest huge sums with the hopes of drawing huge crowds, cutting taxes on the development. But that's just me.
posted by filthy light thief at 4:14 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]

Beautiful new Yankee Stadium appears to be a veritable wind tunnel

When they built Pac Bell Park in San Francisco they used a wind tunnel and 1/50th scale model of downtown San Francisco when they designed the stadium, and did a great job. There can be strong winds outside but it'll be calm inside.

When it was built in 1997 it was the first privately financed major league stadium since Dodger Stadium was built in 1962.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:23 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]

Hah! Those websites explain it. It appears that while the distance markers are just as far away in the new stadium the walls travel a slightly different path between the distance markers, making the right field wall effectively between five and nine feet closer. It says that some guy calculated that eight of the home runs in the Cleveland series would have been just inside the wall and catchable in the old stadium.

No wacky wind tunnel theories needed!
posted by Justinian at 4:36 PM on May 23

No one is sitting in those seats. Do you get that? They're empty game after game. So this isn't supply and demand 101, it's FAILING supply and demand 101.

Sorry dude, guess you didn't notice my entire comment was oblivious towards ticket prices (I never pay, because yeah, they're so high it doesn't even register) and focused more on the concessions. But don't let that stop you from teaching Snark 101.

Clearly they're trying to find out what the market will bear, and certainly at some point, once they've realized they've burned through enough money (including the public investment) the same ol' rules will kick in. Or maybe they're already working and you're just not as savvy as you think. I don't know.
posted by aydeejones at 4:56 PM on May 23

The first class subsidy mentions are especially relevant here; yeah, they stadiums catering to a more expensive crowd and might be willing to have a lower turnout for awhile until they've tuned the knobs just right, shocker!

I had a great experience awhile back that involved a big ol' sales pitch from an Avaya reseller in the VIP section with box seats. I definitely picked up a "we like you more than the general riff-raff that embody the romantic ideal of sports" vibe (speaking from their perspective, of course).

I was just along for the ride, and sure, it's frustrating when you actually want to take your family out for a good time, and all we can do is vote with our dollars. The problem involves that pesky public funding which truly does blow goats. Maybe it can be demonstrated that people who don't go to the games themselves indirectly benefit from the sales taxes raised since they aren't personally suckered in. :(
posted by aydeejones at 5:06 PM on May 23

...THE stadiums are catering...
posted by aydeejones at 5:07 PM on May 23

Those are not 'lousy' steaks, they look like usda prime and thats what they cost most anyplace.
posted by Osmanthus at 5:42 PM on May 23

Come watch a professional baseball game in Korea. Really enthusiastic fans, cheerleaders for both teams, choreographed songs and chants, and while there's a slight gouge on in-stadium food and beer, you can just bring in whatever the hell you want from outside. Little old women stand outside the stadium selling all kinds of good stuff.

No hot dogs though. Plenty of gimbap and fried chicken, however. And the beer guys wear kegs on their back.

But yeah, fuck the Yankees. I'm an Orioles fan so I haven't really needed to pay attention to ML baseball since 1983.
posted by bardic at 10:43 PM on May 23

Public money for the stadiums is a disgrace.

But whoring out your foodservice to franchise and chain conglomerates is a violation of the food geneva convention.

We're talking full-bore culinary war-crimes.

Johnny rockets for your burgers?

Drag their sorry asses straight to the Hague, put them in line in front of the Riblets jackass from Applebees.
posted by Lord_Pall at 10:45 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]

"Reminds me of the random speakers hanging from the seattle kingdome - I saw a hit baseball bounce back into the infield when it was on track to leave the field."

Heck, I saw one get stuck in one of those speakers. Pop foul near first base, the fielder set up to catch it, and waited... and waited... and waited... then everyone started laughing.

Shortly after that they moved the speakers up and back a bit more.
posted by litlnemo at 5:40 AM on May 24 [1 favorite]

* stands up, raises hands, sits down while eyeballing nearest neighbors *
* realizes that nearest neighbors are too far away to continue the wave *
posted by philomathoholic at 10:40 AM on May 24

"There wasn't foresight to predict the financial meltdowns that prevented many Wall Street and other corporate ticketholders from the premium boxes this season, but once the economy improves, they may be back."

I don't know. I think that their original prices reflected an economy on the brink. It will probably be the top of another bubble before we see that kind of money being thrown around again.

Our farm-league Dukes were sold off to Portland, OR, some years ago, but now my hometown has replaced them with The Isotopes in a bit of political kabuki - there was an effort by the city to get a new stadium, and the opportunity became ripe when the Dukes left and we needed a team, and there were some interesting moves involved to make it happen. Yes, the name is a deliberate reference to The Simpsons, as well as the history the state has with nuclear research and weaponry (we do not have a nuclear power plant with an evil autocrat at the helm). Actually, the stadium is pretty cool. There's an outfield seating area on a grass slope which is completely free, and the bench seats are pretty reasonable the last time I went a few years ago. The food is outrageously expensive, but I think I felt savvy being a non-drinker and getting a soda at $4, because the domestic beer was $7 and anything fancier than a Bud was $9+.

I still miss the Dukes, though. The team had an incredibly long history for a city with no major sports teams, going back to 1915 (although that was a one-off season and they didn't play again until 1942), and the games in my memories were more like a social event than an intense competitive event with rabid fans, although the team did produce many pros over the years, as well as Tommy Lasorda. I dated a woman years ago who liked to sneak up to the box seats behind the catcher and heckle the hell out of the opposing teams batters. My favorite regular event was funny nose-and-glasses night, where the first X number of customers get a Groucho-style nose and glasses. Looking back into the crowd from one of the lower areas and seeing a sea of faces with those glasses on was hilarious, no matter how many times I saw it. Someone must have an old, dusty web page out there somewhere with a picture ...
posted by krinklyfig at 1:16 PM on May 24

Glad to hear from you Red Sox fans. You're so important! Hey, do you miss the torture flights? And are you still enjoying the prison food?

Really? Torture flights? That's like saying "Hey Red Sox fans, you're all plagiarists!" You know, because the Globe, I mean New York Times, owns a stake in the team.

Oh the irony that Aramark provides both the food for my our company cafeteria and also prisons.
posted by jerseygirl at 2:36 PM on May 24

"This Mets fan supports that comment, and hopes this extravagance sinks the Yanks for a generation to come."

And even then the Yankees would have more world titles than the next six contenders combined.

Didn't RTFA

Didn't do the math on number of titles, either
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 6:07 PM on May 25

And yet they're still third in their division.

Luckily they're gonna play all 162 games this season, instead of just calling it now.
posted by inigo2 at 1:24 PM on May 28 [1 favorite]