Here's The Difference

I'm a little late to the party on this one, but it's never the wrong time to rip Lonn Trost. Very quickly... Yesterday as the Yankees were revealing their absurd - I mean, completely reasonable, free market - Old Stadium memorabilia prices, Lonn Trost was asked about the New Stadium's policy, which does not allow fans from other sections to come down to the Field Level to watch batting practice up close. He had this to say:

Well, if you purchase a suite, do you want somebody in your suite? If you purchase a home, do you want somebody in your home?

Here's the difference, Lonn. Seats at a stadium aren't a home. People can't go there when the Stadium is closed. Purchasing those seats allow for people to sit in them for before, during and after home games. It's a "suite" only because you call it that. Nowhere else is in the world are padded plastic seats without a roof considered a "suite". Actual suites are in hotels and on cruise ships and chalets in the Swiss Alps. The New Stadium is an outdoor sporting event venue, not a vacation destination. 

And as PeteAbe has brought up, those seats are almost always empty in the hours leading up to games. If fans from other sections were watching BP from down there and a ticket holder politely informed them that they were in their spot, I'm sure they would move out of the way. Apparently the obscene ticket prices at the New Stadium have spared the wealthy the indignity of interacting with us commoners for even the briefest of moments. Which would be fine, but again, those tickets still aren't totally sold. The Yankees are still screwing their real fans in the name of their make-believe dream customers. 

Game 12: #2

Quick grab those "Between The Bases" seats before it's too late. They
are selling like hotcakes!

You Can't Get There From Here

Ross at New Stadium Insider drums up another detail in the fine print about the New Stadium: Only those with Field Level tickets will have access to the Field Level area and concessions:

We have mentioned before that one of the most enjoyable aspects of going to baseball games is roaming around the stadium and checking out all of the nooks and crannies of the ballpark. Never before have we been to a ballpark that does not let fans explore the concessions on an entire level of the Stadium. We have been to Camden Yards in Baltimore, Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia and Safeco Field in Seattle in the past few years and NONE of those stadiums have this policy.

I'm hoping there aren't any concession stands that are located only on the Field Level, so everyone would have access to everything they wanted to try, but if not, that's the Yankees' loss more than ours.

A lot of the people at the Field Level have the option of having food brought to their seats. Why do can't us commoners come check out the food options and walk around? It's not like people can get down to where the seats are. They are still advertising the availability of "Between the Bases" seats during Spring Training games and elsewhere. The Yankees continue to cater to the endangered species that is "Corporate High Rollers" while telling the average fan where they can stick their New Stadium experience.

Tucked away at the bottom of the Yanks initial press release was the fact that gates would be three hours prior to game time, so fans would presumably be able to take in some batting practice. Ross shoots that one down too. He finds here that "Guests are welcome to watch batting practice from their seat location".

Yup, hurry to the park three hours early so you can sit in your 400 level seats during batting practice and get a head start on getting ripped off on concessions. You wouldn't want to disturb those people in the Field Level, who aren't even going to be there yet.

Or you could just go to Stan's, Billy's, or the Bowling Alley. Your choice.