Ah, this is good food for thought on another entry. Thanks!

Can’t guess about the effect of a retractable roof in NYC.

What I am irritated about is that “new Yankee” would supposedly seat 7000-8000 fewer heinies that the current stadium.

I stopped attending weekend games after 1998 because it was becoming impossible to buy day-of tix without making a scalper’s day. And that was when attendance was still well under < 3M / season.

Anon – thanks for the link. I wonder if what Jay Weiner said would apply the same in NY as it does in Minny – considering the attendance and revenue differences?

Raf – I’ll gladly pay for it. Can I do the one-cent a day plan until it’s PIF?

you want a retractable roof, YOU pay for it

Seriously, I don’t see a problem with wanting a “traditional” open air stadium. Whatever keeps costs down; I think we’re still paying off the renovation.

The weather to me isn’t that big a deal.

You might find the following post at the Sports Economist interesting reading:

http://thesportseconomist.com/archive/2005_05_01__arch_file.htm#111520714014899891

Hey, I can tough it out with the best of them – just recently, I was there for the Matsui HR Opener in 2003, where it was so cold that I lost feeling in my feet by the 7th.

But, don’t forget the women, children, and elderly – they’re at games too. And, esp. the eldery, it’s most of our starting staff!

Eh, New Yorkers are tough. We don’t need no stinkin’ retractable roof…

What makes some of these games special *is* the weather – remember Leyritz in the 95 ALDS? Or how about the snow at the opener in ’96?

You want controlled weather? Go to the mall.

Excellent points – and, they suggest that the $350 mill might pay for itself in some time that way.

It’s not only the comfort of the fans to consider but the attendance as well. For games like these against the Tigers they probably get a decent amount of walk-ups. But I doubt you’ll get as many in the rain. And even many people with tickets won’t show up. Those missing people probably add up to quite a few hot dogs and cracker jacks.