On Second Thought, I’m O.K. With The New Yankee Stadium Legends Suite Moat
Via the AP -
Those empty seats near the field at the new Yankee Stadium are likely to remain unfilled – especially during batting practice.
Yankees chief operating officer Lonn Trost said Tuesday no changes were planned to the policy preventing fans with tickets in other parts of the stadium from getting close to the field during BP. Seats in the first nine rows, called the Legends Suite, cost $500 to $2,625.
“If you purchase a suite, do you want somebody in your suite?” Trost said Tuesday. “If you purchase a home, do you want somebody in your home?”
Because of the way the new stadium is structured, it is virtually impossible for fans to get player autographs unless they purchase tickets costing at least $500.
I’m not a Lonn Trost fan. To me, he’s a Steinbrenner sycophant who has managed to out live the king. And, as such, now Lonn is a tenured official in the Swelled-Head Senate of Yankees. I see Trost as the Yankees Mr. Tudball. (Say, does that make Brian Cashman to be Mrs. Wiggins? Hmm..food for thought…albeit somewhat dyspepsia inducing.)
That all said, I get what Lonn Trost is saying here. Shocking, huh?
To be candid, at first, I thought the Yankees were sticking it to the fans with this new Stadium policy of not allowing them down by the field during BP and such. I remember that happening, once upon a time, at the old Stadium – where fans could use that access as a chance to get a ball, or an autograph, or just talk to a player.
But, now, seeing Trost’s statement on this, the Yankees policy makes sense to me. If I were the one who paid beaucoup denaro to have those seats/suite, it would bug the heck out of me to be sitting there, during batting practice, and having an uninvited semi-throng in my personal space.
Put it this way: Say you have a ticket to a Yankees game. The seat could be anywhere – down on the field level, in the upper-upper-deck, or somewhere in between.
You get to the game about 90 minutes before the first pitch because you want to watch BP, shoot the bull with your friend, or just chill and soak in the Stadium experience while you enjoy a hotdog and a cool beverage. However, when you arrive at your seat, there’s some dude standing in the leg-room space directly in front of your seat. He’s stationed there like a Windsor Castle Guard.
Seeing this, you politely say to them: “Excuse me, but, this is my seat. I bought a ticket to sit there and you’re in my space.”
To this, they answer you with: “It’s O.K., I’m going to leave as soon as the game starts. I’m just here in case a ball from batting practice lands in this spot. Or, in case, someone from the team wanders by – so maybe I could get their autograph.”
At this moment, how are you going to feel? Personally, at this junction, the membranes in my eyes would turn white and my skin would begin to take on a nice shade of green.
Now, of course, some may want to say, here: “This is different. If someone pulled this stunt and my seats were far from the field, they would have no right to be there 90 minutes before the game started – or any time, for that matter.”
Really? Just because someone else’s seats are right on the edge of the field, it’s permissible for a strange party to invade their space and ruin their right to be there without intrusion? Come again? You get a buddy-pass on this because you have mediocre seats whereas they don’t because they have great seats? Huh?
Again, I know, in “the old days,” this stuff (meaning fans congregating in other people’s box seats by the field before the game) used to happen and it was not an issue. Nonetheless, today, with more and more fans getting to the game early, times are different. And, while I never thought I would utter these words, I can understand Lonn Trost’s position on this matter.
File this under: Strange but true.
I totally agree, I never did until something that happened last year, but I came around.
If anything, this is one time where the Yanks are actually applying good customer service, if your going to price gouge customers, you should at least have the decency to let them use and enjoy what they paid for, instead of taking as much of their money as you can, and then also telling them there is an additional penalty for having been gouged.
Two points.
1. When does this — “It’s O.K., I’m going to leave as soon as the game starts. I’m just here in case a ball from batting practice lands in this spot. Or, in case, someone from the team wanders by – so maybe I could get their autograph.” — ever happen? Ten times out of ten, if someone’s in my seat or standing near my seat, and I ask them politely to move, they will happily oblige.
2. The next time I go to a game early, I’m going to make sure to keep track of when the people in this $1800-$2500 seats arrive. I’m guessing it’s not going to be anywhere close to 60 minutes before game time. The vast majority of those seats remain empty until the game nearly starts, and it would inconvenience few, if any, were fans allowed closer to the field for batting practice.
3. There’s also the issue of simply being able to walk through the concourses on the lower level. I’ve gone three times to the stadium and haven’t gotten closer than the the outside of the main level seating bowl because the security guards won’t let anyone in just to walk through the so-called moat literally 150 minutes before the game starts. That, to me, is going out of the way to push out the fans who want to see the stadium.
There is a bigger issue here: ballparks never had such a defined line between social status. All people mixed together. No caste system. The Yankees decided to cross that line. It remains to be seen how it impacts the team. Every visiting club this year has been quoted as saying that the atmosphere is less intimidating. Not only are there empty seats near the field but the fans there are much less passionate.
Oh, and yet another late inning comeback by the Sox last night.
I can see Trost’s point as well. Not only could it be an inconvenience to have a crowd of autograph seekers in your seats (and if you are near the walls, there is no way you are going to ask hundreds of people to move), but I’ve also noticed people who set up camp in the lower section, have a meal and then leave a mess behind. I can recall a time or two getting to seats I had in the boxes only to find the refuse from someone’s meal under my seat.
There’s probably a happy middle ground here, but like most other Stadium issues, this seems to be blown way out of proportion.
Also, it’s incorrect to suggest the Yankees are introducing a caste system when all big market teams have long had more expensive seats that usually wind up in the hands of corporations. It’s not like Joe Family of Four was buying 4 box seats behind the plate in the old place.
Every visiting club this year has been quoted as saying that the atmosphere is less intimidating.
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Maybe because the Yanks are only 6-7 at home and more or less no longer intimidate anyone?
williamnyy wrote:
I’m sorry but I could not disagree more. Yes indeed the Yankees have created a caste system. In the old ballpark, the field level seats between the bases (and I had the fortune to sit there many times) had a mix of ordinary fans and elites, VIPs, etc. Somehow, there was a mix of ‘Joe Fan’ and those who did not want to sit next to Joe Fan. And the atmosphere was intense and ‘into the game’.
Ownership has chosen to cater to elites at the expense of the average fan’s experience. And they have done so to a far, far greater extent than any other baseall stadium. What other ‘big market team’ has anything close to the prime seating arrangement in the new YS?
I see a shift of the city’s baseball fans to Queens over the next 5-10 years. Let’s go Mets!
I see a shift of the city’s baseball fans to Queens over the next 5-10 years. Let’s go Mets!
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Mets inferiority syndrome at it’s finest. Forget hoping that fans will make a shift for the chances that the team may be good, or the players worth rooting for…it’s the Yankees high ticket prices that will save the lovable losers in Queens! Hooray!
The biggest problem with this is that as some have noted here, and Abraham keeps pointing out on his blog, the rich folks who bought these seats, all couple of thousand of them, do not show up for batting practice. Its a fact that from all reports, virtually no one would be inconvenienced if the team allowed the riff-raff, the unwashed masses, into the club for 45 minutes time. And for those who bought tickets in the front row, all you do is station some security people to make sure their access to their seats and their legroom isn’t impeded.
As for the Yankees record at home, MJ, isn’t it a chicken and egg question? Maybe the Yanks would have a better record if the atmosphere was as intimidating as it used to be. Unfortunately, that atmosphere is never going to improve because of the choices the club made in the design and pricing of the new stadium.
Maybe the Yanks would have a better record if the atmosphere was as intimidating as it used to be.
Their record would be better if they got better pitching…
For me, this “the rich people aren’t there during BP, so, why not let the regular fans use their space during that time” logic doesn’t float.
When you’re not at home, and you’re at work, if one of your neighbors wanted to use your swimming pool – because the day-time is the best time to use a pool during the summer, and, besides “you’re not there, so, what’s the difference?”- would you be OK with that? How is that any different from some fans using your suite during BP just because you haven’t shown up yet?
If you parked your car on the street, at night, and then went home to bed, and then it started to rain – very hard – and some stranger walking down the street (at that time) noticed that you had forgotten to lock your car doors – and then they elected to sit in your car until the rain stopped, would you be OK with that? After all, what’s the big deal? You’re not using the car at that time? The person using it is being respectful and not messing with your car seat, etc. And, they are using the car as shelter during a time when it makes the most sense, right?
Me? I’d be pretty pissed if someone was using my pool or sitting in my car – and thought it was OK “because you weren’t there and using it at the time.” Can you honestly say that you would not feel the same way? And, I believe that’s what Trost’s point here is, no?
Maybe the Yanks would have a better record if the atmosphere was as intimidating as it used to be.
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Ridiculous. 56,000 screaming fans at the old ballpark wouldn’t have erased the reality that Chien-Ming Wang got rocked in his first home start against the Indians or any of the other cruddy pitching performances thus far. Give me a break.
Unfortunately, that atmosphere is never going to improve because of the choices the club made in the design and pricing of the new stadium.
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Equally ridiculous for reasons I shouldn’t have to explain.
Steve,
This discussion is secondary to the question: is it desireable and appropriate to have exclusive, high-end luxury boxes on the field level seats between the bases? If you do then of course you should be able to exclude non-invitees. The real issue is to what extent this arrangement is appropriate for a baseball stadium.
Just because Trost’s argument is logical doesn’t mean it’s the best thing for the stadium and this fanbase. I’ve been to the stadium 8 times this year and the stadium is absolutely lifeless and in my opinion alot of it has to do with the self-imposed caste system. It shouldn’t be a big deal for people to come down and check out BP, especially someone with little kids. If Legends Seat ticket holders are so urked by people coming down for BP they can ask them to move, get one of those Nazi ushers to move them, or go chill out in the Legends Suite like they do anyway instead of actually sitting in there ridiculously overpriced seats. My father used to bring me down to BP at Yankee Stadium when I was a child and his father before him. White collar, blue collar, we were all there to support the Bombers. That’s part of the magic of baseball, no?
G.I. Joey wrote:
I have also noticed this on TV. Where is the crowd noise supporting a rally in the late innings?
@ G.I. Joey:
I tend to agree here. No harm would be done to the value of those premium seats. Harm would only come to their value if people were permitted to sit in those seats without paying full price for them. Simply being allowed to pass through, even for 30 minutes before the game starts, doesn’t dilute value since those people wouldn’t have access to the amenities that gives those suites part of their value.
Terry Francona, upon his first trip to (as Michael Kay calls it) “The New House!” said that the first thing he noticed was how bar back the upper deck was…and, he said, with the old Stadium, it was intimidating to have those huge upper decks, full of fans, right on top of you when you were on the field.
So, if anything, perhaps, the issue of the fans not being a factor, and the noise not being there, etc., is more a product of the upper deck being further back from the field – due to the sloping nature of the seats and the fact that there’s less seats in the upper deck in the new Stadium than the old one?
It makes just as much sense, to me, as the case that the joint is quiet because there’s no one sitting around home plate on the field level.
Without a doubt, the reason the noise level has been more subdued is because of the Stadium design. Not only are the Upper Decks pushed back, but the whole Stadium is now open. There are just too many places for noise to escape.
said that the first thing he noticed was how bar back the upper deck was…and, he said, with the old Stadium, it was intimidating to have those huge upper decks, full of fans, right on top of you when you were on the field.
So, if anything, perhaps, the issue of the fans not being a factor, and the noise not being there, etc., is more a product of the upper deck being further back from the field – due to the sloping nature of the seats and the fact that there’s less seats in the upper deck in the new Stadium than the old one?
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Possibly. But our upper deck is built the same way at Citizen’s Bank Park in Philly and that place was going nuts during last year’s World Series.
Two other issues at hand are the Yankees have played a lot of crappy games in the new place and the weather has been awful.
Buck Showalter said it best…the fans don’t come to see the Yankees…they come to see them win. As long as this team seems to be in a malaise, the fans likely will as well.
Buck Showalter said it best…the fans don’t come to see the Yankees…they come to see them win.
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True of every team, not just the Yanks. There’s a horrendous misconception that Yankee fans are all front-runners and all other cities have loyal fans that support their team through thick and thin. Winning brings more fans to the park — Buck is essentially pointing out the obvious — but never in my lifetime has a losing team enjoyed robust attendance.
@ YankCrank: Quality of teams aside, how about the Mets actually having a pretty cool ballpark, with better amenites, and lots more for kids to do? For example, the Mets have Kiddie Field/FanFest, with a whole lot of great stuff for kids, including a batting cage and a dunk tank. What do the Yankees have in comparison, other than them metaphorically telling the kids to get off their lawn by banning them from batting practice?
And the thing that bugs me most about BP is that the Yankees won’t even let fans congregate in the main outfield area (non-luxury seats) for batting practice. Why is it every other team can figure out a way to accommodate fans for this, except for the Yankees? Good grief.
the weather has been awful.
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Now that’s 100% true. Other than that lousy Saturday game where Wang got rocked by the Indians and the last Saturday home game when Sabathia tired in the 7th inning vs the Angels, every other home game has been cold and damp at best or played in a steady rain at worst.
I have to admit it is a little amusing to see so many people lash out against the greedy Yankees when it is their ability to make money that has allowed them to continually field a winning team. After all, I am sure parks like PNC in Pittsburgh are extremely fan friendly and affordable. Heck, you could probably take a family of 40 to a game. Why, then, doesn’t anyone go to the games? If you offered a Pirates fan the chance to be a perennial contender, but at the price of access to BP and affordability of prime seats, I wonder if they’d take it. I know what I would prefer.
Why, then, doesn’t anyone go to the games? If you offered a Pirates fan the chance to be a perennial contender, but at the price of access to BP and affordability of prime seats, I wonder if they’d take it. I know what I would prefer.
The Pirates weren’t drawing when they were good, they were middle of the pack attendancewise, so I’m not sure if that would be the case.
@ williamnyy:
I have no problem shelling out the money for my season tickets or even the ridiculously priced concessions. I understand that the money I spend on the team along with hunderds of thousands of fans is what allows them to have their large payroll.
I do have a problem with being treated like a second-class citizen in the stadium. I attend 30-40 games per season, but the guy who attends one or two games with $600+ seats is “entitled” to BP and not me.
@ williamnyy: “I have to admit it is a little amusing to see so many people lash out against the greedy Yankees when it is their ability to make money that has allowed them to continually field a winning team.” The Phillies, Cardinals, and Red Sox – teams who have actually won World Series in this decade – manage to do both, without gouging the fans the way the Yankees do. Or making those fans who spend only two digits on their tickets feel like second-class citizens.
I thought the Red Sox tickets were very expensive?
Steve Lombardi wrote:
They are, and they’re tough to get in my experience. I’ve pretty much given up, I haven’t attended a ML game there since Yanks-Sox in 97.
I do manage to make the “Futures @ Fenway” doubleheader when I can. 20 bucks to sit up close, can’t really go wrong with that
Steve,
You have bought into an analogy that has no basis in logic. Fans who have paid for those seats do not own them in the way that a homeowner owns the pool he had built in his backyard. They take possession of the seats by showing up. You have bought hook line and sinker Trosts rationale for not only defending the policy of keeping the riff raff on the other side of the moat, but also his unspoken message: these are the prices, you want access, pay for it. Don’t look for the price to come down any further ever.
Put it to you this way – if you had tickets to a game but didn’t use them and didn’t give them away, and you watched the broadcast and lo and behold, there’s a long lingering shot of a segment of seats and you realize, hey, that’s where I got my tickets. And what the hell, that looks like a group of guys IN MY SEATS! How do you react? Are you ticked off because someone is sitting in your seats? Or do you say, “oh well, I wasn’t there, guess they aren’t checking tickets so closely and someone sat in my seats. Big deal.” And my example is during the game, not before, when no one is sitting down yet.
The fact remains that these people who bought the tickets don’t show for BP. There is no cost to allowing fans, particularly fans with kids, from entering the exclusive island to get access to players during BP. And if Daddy Rich shows up to claim his seats, its an easy matter to move the riff raff out of his way.
I’ve been wondering whether any Yankee players will take the intiative to go to where the fans are to sign some autographs. Does the moat stretch from foul pole to foul pole? I was under the impression it didn’t, but if it does, why not go to the outfield and sign baseballs there? That would be a great way to point out to the club how wrongheaded this class-ism is.
Does the moat stretch from foul pole to foul pole?
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It does not, but the ushers won’t let you into those sections without a ticket during BP. In my experience, it doesn’t matter if it is before, during, or after a game, they will not let you into sections that you don’t have tickets for no matter what the section (terrace, main, field, bleachers, etc.)
I’ve been wondering whether any Yankee players will take the intiative to go to where the fans are to sign some autographs. That would be a great way to point out to the club how wrongheaded this class-ism is.
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Why would they do that? I don’t think players particularly care about this issue, nor should they as it doesn’t impact them or concern them.
OnceIWasAYankeeFan wrote:
Actually, the Yankees “own” the seats – and the fan who bought the tickets is “renting” them from the team.
As such, the Yankees have the right to only allow the “renter” to use that area – and, by allowing someone else to use the area “rent-free” (until the person shows up) sort of flies in the face of the whole owner-renter relationship, no? Unless, of course, you believe that “squatting” is a legit entitlement?
Because, under your suggestion, that’s what you’re supporting…allowing a fan to “squat” in a space that someone else has “rented” from the “owner” (meaning the Yankees) until the person with the legal right (the renter) shows up.
For the record, Red Sox ticket top out at $325.
@ MJ:
Agreed. All the players need to do is focus on winning games. They can let the fans and management duke it out over the problems with the stadium. I’m willing to accept a lifetime ban from BP as long as they bring home a championship.
In my experience, it doesn’t matter if it is before, during, or after a game, they will not let you into sections that you don’t have tickets for no matter what the section (terrace, main, field, bleachers, etc.)
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That was my experience also, as there was an usher of sorts stationed in the aisle of my section (I’m a season ticket holder) and made me show my ticket each and every time I got up.
Nobody is “squatting” unless they let them in to take seats they didn’t pay for while the game is on – but the team is, IMHO, squatting and defecating on fans with the prices and the treatment of their non-affluent fans. Sorry if that’s a little to graphic, but I think I’m just saying out loud what a lot of people think.
And MJ, you may be right but there are some players who care about fans and want to interact with them. Do they not find it weird that no one is down in front asking for autographs? Maybe its a welcome break but I’d bet guys like Swisher have a little more appreciation for the fans and might just take it upon himself to do something. Then again, the last thing club officials want is video of players giving out autographs at the OF wall because that is where the fans are asking for them.
This is good old fashioned inferiority complexes and jealousy.
If you pay more, you get more, and there is a feeling that those who did, should get less.
These are the seats that had the most price gouging. I can’t blame any of them for want to enjoy their seats. I’ve been lucky enough to have gone to a couple of games down in the legends section (and yes, I watched batting practice).
I used to feel different, but last year, after having been very lucky to have landed a couple of nice seats in the first couple of rows, my opinion changed.
Its annoying to go to your seat, and have people, or worse a crowd there, to have a mess made (drinks spilled, garbage left behind, etc).
Now imagine that the team price gouged the crap out of you. Is it to much, to ask that you get what you pay for, (actually at these prices, thats already not happening) and not have to deal with people using your seats, making a mess, etc.
Personally, I think maybe every stadium should do this. The folks who sit in those seats now, have the moral high ground, they paid for it, its theirs, they shouldn’t have to make “sacrifices” because someone who didn’t pay for it, and has no right to that area, feels entitled.
And Steve, I am not proposing anyone be allowed to stay in seats they haven’t paid for – just that they have access to the area to get that experience of seeing players up close and perhaps getting some interaction time with them.
Nevertheless, the team would do a great thing if they did give people upgrades to those seats from anywhere in the stadium, on game day, for whatever seats aren’t sold. It may smack of Queen for a Day, let them eat cake attitude but the team would finally get some good press out of it.
OnceIWasAYankeeFan wrote:
FWIW, during the game, there are a couple of promos done where they take some fans from the upper deck (IIRC) and give them a seat upgrade to a nicer section. But, that’s maybe just 4 or so fans per game.
but the team is, IMHO, squatting and defecating on fans with the prices and the treatment of their non-affluent fans.
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Perhaps with their treatment, since Yankee Stadium customer service is rather famous for being lacking.
I totally disagree that the team is “squatting and defecating with the prices” of their non-affluent fans. Are the non-premium sections of the ballpark filled? Are the bleachers filled? The upper deck seats and the non-premium seats in the middle deck? I’d say they are. As a result, it is obvious that THOSE sections of the ballpark are appropriately priced and therefore affordable to the “non-affluent.”
Its annoying to go to your seat, and have people, or worse a crowd there, to have a mess made (drinks spilled, garbage left behind, etc).
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It’s one thing if people with Legends seats complained about this, but that is not the case to my knowledge. The team put this policy into effect before the season started. If there’s a mess, I’m sure someone in that over-staffed stadium can clean it up. Personally I don’t give a crap about going down to BP, so I am not jealous nor do I have an inferiority complex. I just think it’s messed up that a guy or gal can’t take their kid down to field level before the game.
MJ wrote:
Gotta say, I’ve been to 3 games this year so far – and this has never happened to me. Then again, with a mug like mine, maybe the usher just remembers me?
BTW, did I ever mention my diet pepsi story, from the last time I went to a game, on the blog so far? Maybe I should do a search on that…and add it, if I haven’t shared it so far.
PS – it’s a pro-new Stadium story.
@ Steve Lombardi: Believe it or not, the Sox tickets are a bargain, comparatively speaking, to the Yanks: http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/bos/ballpark/seating.jsp .
@MJ: You wrote, “Are the non-premium sections of the ballpark filled? Are the bleachers filled? The upper deck seats and the non-premium seats in the middle deck? I’d say they are. As a result, it is obvious that THOSE sections of the ballpark are appropriately priced and therefore affordable to the “non-affluent.””
Yes and no. I got a terrace seat for half price for Yankees-Red Sox, and a main outfield seat, which retails for $60, for $12 for an Oakland game. There is a huge glut of tickets on the secondary market, which means that prices are going for way below cost. Many fans don’t seem to want to pay even face value for Main Outfield, Field Outfield, or Terrace seats, not even for Yankees-Red Sox games.
And a lot of fans who bought season tickets with the expectation of selling the tix they can’t use at a profit, or even at face value, are taking a bath this year. My guess is that there will be a lot fewer season ticket holders next season.
It’s completely unfair to say the Sox’ tickets are a bargain when the Yankees over 10,000 more to sell. A Yankee fan can still go to just about any Yankee game this season, while a Red Sox fan has been sold out of attending games.
Besides, what you are describing indicates that attending Yankee games is very affordable this season.
@ williamnyy: “It’s completely unfair to say the Sox’ tickets are a bargain when the Yankees over 10,000 more to sell.” Then shouldn’t the Sox tix be more expensive, due to the scarcity? They’re not.
“Besides, what you are describing indicates that attending Yankee games is very affordable this season.”
That was certainly not the Yankees’ intention, that’s for sure.
For starters, you need to compare the average (or better the median ticket price), not the top ticket. Forbes lists the avg. Yankee ticket at $41 and the average Red Sox ticket at $50. The reason that’s the case is because while the Yankees have a select number of very expensive seats, the Red Sox price more aggressively in areas frequented by the common fan. For example, a Yankee bleacher seat is $12, while one at Fenway is $26. Behind the plate in the grandstand is $25 for the Yankees, while at Fenway it is $50.
If the Yankees wanted to really max out their revenue, they could probably raise the bleachers and Grandstand once the economy recovers.
G.I. Joey wrote:
The policy may have kicked in this year, but I’m sure its been a past complaint. I lucked out to a couple of games last year, and it was frustrating getting to my seat, and having a crowd there, that didn’t want to move, and soda or something all over my seat.
Could someone have cleaned it up? I have no idea, I know I did, and I know I would have been happier if I didn’t have to clean the seat and deal with wrappers and other garbage being strewn all over the place. At the time, I thought that was basically the trade off (i.e. good seats near the field, but have to deal with the crowd and junk before the game starts).
The Yankees got rid of that trade off, now you might think its unfair that someone can’t take their kid down to the field level before the game, I think its unfair to pay that kind of money for those seats, and have to deal with a crowd being there and leaving a mess behind. If your going to gouge the living hell out of fans for those kinds of seats, then the least the team can do, is make sure the area is clean and not a mess and if that means keeping out the folks who don’t have tickets for those seats (and who create the mess in the first place), then I will tip my hat to the team and applaud them for making at least one good decision.
FWIW: If they slashed the prices like crazy on those seats, to pretty much below market, then that would be different, because they would have the moral high ground in saying “You got a good deal, your paying less then you should, so deal with it, its the price you gotta pay for spending less then you would.”
@ williamnyy: “IFor starters, you need to compare the average (or better the median ticket price), not the top ticket. Forbes lists the avg. Yankee ticket at $41 and the average Red Sox ticket at $50.”
How did they figure those numbers? Call me very skeptical, given that there are 4500 seats in Yankee Stadium that cost $325 or more, when $325 is the top price the Sox charge. And the Team Marketing report has the Yanks’ average ticket price at $72.97:
http://www.teammarketing.com/blog/index.html?article_id=69
I am not sure how Forbes calculated their figure, but it can be found by searching “baseball valuations” on Forbes.com.
Also, the TMR is notoriously flawed so I am not sure how accurate their figures are. Besides, using median price makes much more sense than average price. What’s more, TMR ignores that the Yankees have discount dates and lower advance prices. Finally, TMR does not take into account the secondary market, where the Yankees greater capacity (the Yankees still have the second largest baseball capacity in the majors) makes their tickets more favorable to the demand side.