After purchasing the Yankees from CBS over 30 years ago for ten million dollars, Steinbrenner's tumultuous reign began. The hiring and firing of managers, signing of high-priced players and suspensions from baseball best characterized the Yankees under Steinbrenner. Unfortunately, the presence and dominance of Steinbrenner faded considerably over the last few years and is now completely non-existent because of his mental decline.
Complaints about the New Yankee Stadium
Some people call it "the House that George built" but so far the new Yankee Stadium is in stark contrast to the legacy of George Steinbrenner III. Though the team is still owned by the Steinbrenner family, their involvement in the operation of the organization has been mostly absent this season, leaving management and the fans in disarray.
Much ado has been made about ticket prices and the strict rules limiting autographs to only those fans with tickets for the highest priced sections. The price of a ticket in these sections was so extraordinarily high that even though the cost has been cut in half, each seat still costs over $1000.00 per game! Fans are no longer prohibited from entering all field level sections during batting practice; however, they still cannot enter sections between the bases unless they have a ticket for that section.
Yankee Ticket Prices and Attendance
Higher ticket prices have meant lower attendance at Yankee games. Early in the season, entire sections on the field level remained empty. Despite the price reduction for tickets in these sections, they continue to be sparsely populated. In fact, neither of the games against the rival Red Sox were sold out this season.Certainly, the poor economy has contributed to the empty seats, but paying over $1000 a seat for a regular season game is ridiculous, in any economy.
Ticket prices not only determine whether or not seats get filled, they also determine who fills those seats. The cheering, chanting diehard fans are probably those sitting the farthest away from the field. Fortunately the Bleacher Creatures have moved into the new Stadium. They begin each game with their renowned roll call while field level season ticket holders are being waited on in their cushioned seats.
George Steinbrenner and the New Yankee Stadium
Despite the beginning of another promising season in a brand new luxurious stadium, George definitely would not be happy if he were still in charge. Although he made many, many, many questionable and controversial moves over the years, his intention was always to give the Yankees the best chance of winning. Not only did he expect his team to win the World Series every year, he even apologized to the city of New York when they failed to do so. George held Yankee fans in high regard and their opinion of him was of great importance. He would be disgusted to learn that the people he entrusted his team to have done nothing but create distance between the fans and their beloved team.
George would want all Yankee fans to have the opportunity to see their team play and maybe even get an autograph before the game from their favorite player. He certainly would not stand for all those empty seats game after game. He probably would have reduced the price of tickets from all sections, not just the priciest ones. Maybe he would have filled those empty sections with kids from the Boys and Girls Club or some other youth organization at no cost. Most importantly, a fan’s chance to get an autograph before the game would not depend on how much that fan paid to get in.
