Both Stadiums to open in 2009

[Heathnyy5]

Does anyone else not like that both the Yankees and Mets will open their new stadiums to start the 2009 baseball season? Both teams are ready for the stadiums they'll be getting, but I think that having them both open at the same time will take a little of the luster off the whole thing.

Both the Yankees and Mets fan bases (for the most part) are entirely different people, and most middle of the road fans are not the type to regularly go to the ballpark anyway. However, when the stadiums open they'll be a lot of stuff written about them and a lot of general interest from people who are just casual or peripheral baseball fans. The fact that both stadiums open at the same time (same month obviously) in 2009 will lead to so much fanfare from both ends that the noise might drown out any side interest.

While both stadiums are looking to 2009 (barring delays or anything) because it is the soonest it could possibly happen (especially with Yankee, with all the infrastructure changes that must be made to the area) perhaps it would be better if one team held back a year.

I know both fanbases wouldn't want to have to wait another season, and that if one did, both fanbases would feel that their team should have it first. Yankees fans because their stadium deal was announced almost a full year earlier, Mets fans because Shea is in far worse condition than Yankee and their ballpark can probably be built more quickly due to less general infrastructure changes.

In the end, both will probably open in 2009 anyway, but I think it is a mistake because interest from general fans who may just appreciate nice architecture, or be intrigued to check out the new park(s) may be tempered by the fact that both open at the same time. If only one would open, the peripheral fan could pay the money to attend that one park, but now they might have to choose between both, resulting in them possibly (in the end) choosing nothing at all. All that noise is going to drown some people out.

[tiyuri]

I guess I could see how having the stadium spotlight to ourselves would be nice, but at the end of the day it really does not matter. As long as the Yankees continue to put a good product on the field they will draw well no matter what. Demand for tickets will not be affected. Now, if something happens and in 2009 the Yankees are tanking then it might be a bigger deal. However it really is not anything to worry about.

[webassign]

I looked at the pictures of the Mets new stadium plans and I must say that while both of the new Stadiums are beautiful outside, the Mets stadium has a much nicer insider. The new Yankee Stadium just doesn't feel like it has any personality to it on the inside.

[chelloveck]

I looked at the pictures of the Mets new stadium plans and I must say that while both of the new Stadiums are beautiful outside, the Mets stadium has a much nicer insider. The new Yankee Stadium just doesn't feel like it has any personality to it on the inside.

The inside of the new Mets park is a carbon copy of Jacobs Field, Comerica, etc..

[jimmyclark]

The problem would be which team should wait.The stadium that opens in 2010 would be regarded as a Johnny-come-lately, an unloved step-child. Neither team wants that.
Of course why either team needs a new stadium when Shea is 42 years old and Yankee Stadium is 30 is beyond me. Alright, I know, both owners will get even richer than they are now and the taxpayer bill will be less that what Guiliani campaigned for. But still, it is wrong. At the very least there should be strings attached to ticket prices, no bundling of games, reasonably priced concessions. But those are about as likely as Jennifer Lopez calling me up for a date.

[chelloveck]

I think its good that both parks will open in the same season. They will compete for attendance hopefully making prices more attractive.

[flymick24]

those mets... copying everything we do

[tiyuri]

If you mean inside as far as walls and scoreboards and such go then yeah I agree. However, the new YS looks much more imposing and intimidating than the new Shea from the inside because it is filled all the way around. Shea is much more open into the OF.

[YankeePride1967]

those mets... copying everything we do

Not everything. They haven't copied our filling of the Stadium for just about every game yet.

[Pinstripedbass]

I think its good that both parks will open in the same season. They will compete for attendance hopefully making prices more attractive.

Players' salaries drive pricing more than competition between the two teams. Both teams have enough fans in the NY metro area to fill both stadiums if the Yanks & Mets were playing games at home at the same time, regardless of ticket prices. IMHO the thing that really drives pricing is demand for the tickets; what the market will bear. The Yankees charge what they do because people (myself included) are willing to pay for it. The Yanks have to be one of the most expensive tickets in MLB and they will probably break the 2005 attendance record.

[webassign]

The inside of the new Mets park is a carbon copy of Jacobs Field, Comerica, etc..

That's true also, but that still doesn't change the fact that the new Yankee Stadium has no personality to it. It could be just be because there's limited pictures/renditions available but there's still not much going for it.

[DontHateOnNumber2]

The spotlight is almost always on the Yankees as it is. I wouldn't mind the Mets and Yanks opening their stadiums in 2009, it's be "good for baseball."

[Heathnyy5]

That's true also, but that still doesn't change the fact that the new Yankee Stadium has no personality to it. It could be just be because there's limited pictures/renditions available but there's still not much going for it.

I don't get how it would have no personality to it. First and foremost, the facade will be back, and that's something special. Secondly, it will (at the least) be the same as this Yankee Stadium, which with its dimensions alone makes it better than cookie-cutter Shea. The dimensions will be kept, and the inside (in my opinion) looks great. There is the office(restaraunt?) thing behind centerfield, with Monument Park in front of that. There is the fact that (like the current stadium) it is fully enclosed, but not the type of full enclosure that was typical of the multi-purpose bowl stadiums (Vet, Three River, Riverfront, Busch, Fulton County, and now RFK). It has the same comfortable enclosure of the current Yankee Stadium, with the charm and history of the old one, yet mixed with the newest luxuries like wider and more comfortable seats, more bathrooms, more food options, and everything else.

On the whole, I think it will be a rousing success, and I believe it is better than the new Shea for several reasons, most important being that the Yankees are drawing on their own marvelous history. The Mets, with no history on which to draw, are co-opting that of the Dodgers. The Mets could have moved forward into the future with something new, but they didn't. The Mets, even if they carry many of the former Brooklyn Dodgers (and even many NY Giants) fans, are NOT the Brooklyn Dodgers, and don't have that history. Ebbett's Field and the Mets have nothing to do with one another, and although it is a call-back to a classic field, the Mets have only JUST a little bit more link to the old Dodgers than do the Rockies, who also shaped their Coors Field on the classic Brooklyn ballpark.

But as for my earlier post, I was not insinuating that it will be a box-office battle at the gates, but just that the notoriety that should come with New York getting its first new stadium in a long time will be split in half. I don't believe that if it went 2009-2010, that the honor would be second for the team that went second. SNY came after YES, but to Mets fans it is just as big a deal. If the new Shea came second, it would receive no less notoriety, and there would be a celebration in NY about a new stadium for the second straight year.

As it is, I believe that the Giants and Jets also have plans to open their new park in NJ in 2009 as well, so it will be a banner year for the Metropolitan Area and Sports Venues. The West Side Stadium may not have happened, but the enthusiasm for the coming three stadiums (and the rumors of a new Garden, with a new arena coming in Newark for the Devils which may be shared by the Nets, UNLESS they get a new stadium in Brooklyn) this is an exciting time to live in and around NYC, and to be a sports fan.

And while some may scoff at the idea, I say it IS about time. Boston has new stadiums (Younger than 10-years old) for all its teams save the Red Sox, who play in the amazing Fenway (which keeps getting better). Philadelphia has four venues less than 10-years old. Why should NY, the greatest city in the world have no stadium built since Yankee Stadium was renovated in 1974-1975? Sure, the Garden was renovated in 1988, but that itself was almost 20-years ago! So, it is time for NYC to get some new venues, and even if they all come at the same time...at LEAST NY will be able to catch up to all the other sports cities, and possibly (depending on how the stadiums are perceived) surpass them.

[tiyuri]

What concerns me is the capacity reductions in both Stadiums and what that will mean for ticket prices. The Yankees routinely draw more than the 51,000 the new YS will hold and while the Mets are not a match for the Yankees attendance wise they also often best the 45,000 their new stadium is slated for - they drew nearly 56,000 people today for example. Decreased supply with a constant demand means more expensive seats. If the teams are not careful they will really price people out and that is a bad thing. One of the things that I always liked about baseball compared to football, hockey or basketball is that it was still affordable. Yes it is not as cheap as it should be and no you cannot get field boxes but if you want to take your kids to a game and sit in the bleachers or in the tier it was manageable. With fewer seats teams will be able to price a lot more people out and what is now a once or twice a year thing may turn into a never thing. I do not mean to sound like chicken little and we are almost three years away from knowing what their plans are but it seems the writing is on the wall.

[webassign]

What concerns me is the capacity reductions in both Stadiums and what that will mean for ticket prices. The Yankees routinely draw more than the 51,000 the new YS will hold and while the Mets are not a match for the Yankees attendance wise they also often best the 45,000 their new stadium is slated for - they drew nearly 56,000 people today for example. Decreased supply with a constant demand means more expensive seats. If the teams are not careful they will really price people out and that is a bad thing. One of the things that I always liked about baseball compared to football, hockey or basketball is that it was still affordable. Yes it is not as cheap as it should be and no you cannot get field boxes but if you want to take your kids to a game and sit in the bleachers or in the tier it was manageable. With fewer seats teams will be able to price a lot more people out and what is now a once or twice a year thing may turn into a never thing. I do not mean to sound like chicken little and we are almost three years away from knowing what their plans are but it seems the writing is on the wall.

That's unfortunately part of being a fan for a popular team in a big market. You can get amazing seats at other stadiums for the same price as some of the crappiest seats at Yankee Stadium.

[Dog Named Fred]

That's unfortunately part of being a fan for a popular team in a big market. You can get amazing seats at other stadiums for the same price as some of the crappiest seats at Yankee Stadium.

That is categorically false. There are tens of thousands of ticets at YS under $20 (the bleachers and tier reserved). No stadium in the major leagues sells "amazing seats" for under $20.

[SI Baseballman]

Not everything. They haven't copied our filling of the Stadium for just about every game yet.

55,000 today at Shea

As for the stadiums opening the same year, I think there was originally a handshake agreement during the YS renovation that the Mets would open up a new stadium first when the time comes. That's why I think in 2009 the Mets will open up a series or two before the Yanks.

Also, for the seating capacity, I can't speak for the Yanks who have started drawing 50,000 on a Tuesday night, but Shea looks mighty lonely when there's only 30,000 people there midweek. As a Mets fan, they are basically eliminating Row J to V of Upper Reserved at Shea which is fine by me since I had tickets for Row N there tonight and chose to sat in an empty seat in Row E instead today.

[TongueStripes]

I'll bet BOTH stadiums arent finished in time for the 2009 season

[YankeePride1967]

55,000 today at Shea

As for the stadiums opening the same year, I think there was originally a handshake agreement during the YS renovation that the Mets would open up a new stadium first when the time comes. That's why I think in 2009 the Mets will open up a series or two before the Yanks.

Also, for the seating capacity, I can't speak for the Yanks who have started drawing 50,000 on a Tuesday night, but Shea looks mighty lonely when there's only 30,000 people there midweek. As a Mets fan, they are basically eliminating Row J to V of Upper Reserved at Shea which is fine by me since I had tickets for Row N there tonight and chose to sat in an empty seat in Row E instead today.

I give them credit for today. If they keep it up (at least average 40,000) then they would. But so far before this series they weren't drawing . I hope they do draw, the Mets have a team worthy of the $$$ spent.

[Dr. Gonzo]

they can open up the same year, it makes no difference. like was said in the original post, we may share the same city, but the mets and yanks have two very different fans bases, that do not interchange.

[tiyuri]

That is not exactly true. A large portion of baseball fans in the Metro area are bandwagonners and root for whoever the hot team is at any particular time. A lot of the Yankees fans today were Mets fans in the mid-late 80s.

[Sam18]

I think its great.

[mjdlight]

I would bet on the Mets stadium opening first only because they have no community issues to deal with -- the Yankeees have a lot of local opposition to contend with in the South Bronx.

[chelloveck]

Players' salaries drive pricing more than competition between the two teams. Both teams have enough fans in the NY metro area to fill both stadiums if the Yanks & Mets were playing games at home at the same time, regardless of ticket prices. IMHO the thing that really drives pricing is demand for the tickets; what the market will bear. The Yankees charge what they do because people (myself included) are willing to pay for it. The Yanks have to be one of the most expensive tickets in MLB and they will probably break the 2005 attendance record.

Obviously people will still go. It does not hurt that these two new stadiums need to compete to become the premier new park.

[chelloveck]

That's true also, but that still doesn't change the fact that the new Yankee Stadium has no personality to it. It could be just be because there's limited pictures/renditions available but there's still not much going for it.

The current stadium doesnt have much going for it visually.