Bad Economy Equals Empty Seats For Mets & Yankees

(Originally published 4/8/11 in "The Montclarion")

The Yankees have been plagued by their lowest attendance marks in the new Yankee Stadium the first week of the season. Attendance at the Mets’ opening home series this weekend is expected to be low as well. 

A new reality is setting in for our New York baseball teams – primarily the New York Mets. The team is looking to pay off the new stadium they just built as well as the Bernie Madoff scandal. Now they are struggling to sell tickets. Their 2011 home opener, which is normally packed, is nowhere near being sold out. Thousands of tickets were being sold on third-party websites such as StubHub and eBay.


The Yankees may be fine financially, but their ticket sales aren’t going as well as in years past. Their opening day game at Yankee stadium netted them a sold-out crowd, according to ticket sales, but there were plenty of empty seats on the field level behind home plate. Games against the Red Sox, the Subway Series and other important games will bring a full house to the stadium, but the other three-quarters of the season are going to have the Yankees losing out with their best available seats.

Their full-house opening day may be overreacting, but the reality is ticket prices aren’t worth the money the teams are asking for.

Fans of the game will always enjoy the atmosphere and experience of being at the game, but the better value for their money is watching the game in crystal clear picture with first-rate sound close to the detailed action. For no additional fee they’re able to see the left fielder catch the ball against the wall or the homerun as it just makes it past the foul pole. The only seats that seem reasonably affordable obstruct views that they can see from the comfort of their living rooms. They can get 12 times more beer for the same price you pay for two at the game. They can make a quick three-course meal in your kitchen for the same price of a hotdog and a soda, and they’re also allowed to keep the cap for their water bottle at their own house.

The Mets’ cheapest seat available from the Mets themselves is $36 for a premium game. The Yankees, have their bleacher seats priced at $15 and their grandstand tickets for $20. That doesn’t include a parking fee and the money spent on gas.

The Mets are going to see themselves affected to the point where they close down the upper level of seats, concession stands and vendors, especially when they play meaningless games against second-rate teams. The Yankees will draw enough fans to get by since they’ll be playing exciting baseball for the whole season. It doesn’t seem worth it to attend a baseball game anymore; the stadiums are beautiful and the atmosphere is amazing, but in a time where gas prices are rising and jobs are becoming scarce, the cost of attending one three-hour night of entertainment just doesn’t seem worth it.