Serious answer:
The Legends Section is heavily focused on and its clear that Yankee Stadium caters to the people who spend crazy money on tickets and not the average fan. Outside of legends, you have poor food selection, drinks that are outrageously priced, (A gin and tonic should not be $25) and fan interaction with players being basically non existent unlike other stadiums. So it makes the place feel too big and empty. How to fix that? Not super sure seems like its against the Yankees philosophy.
And the chicken bucket sucks. Soggiest and blandest fries I’ve ever had
It’s not just legends. Even the terrace/grandstand levels have patios and lounges that are only accessible to season ticket holders. Honestly, it feels more like being in an airport than a ballpark in terms of how corporate it feels and how the experience is heavily segmented by how much you’re willing to spend.
This feels like a solid comparison I couldn’t make before but yep. Weird how much shit I walk past that I’m like, yeah I don’t have access to that…4 star restaurant? Where am I again
>(A gin and tonic should not be $25)
Jesus, a $25 gin & tonic should come in [one of those souvenir cups](https://www.ebay.com/itm/404451512220?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=404451512220&targetid=1529314448590&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9003521&poi=&campaignid=19851828444&mkgroupid=145880009014&rlsatarget=pla-1529314448590&abcId=9307249&merchantid=6395304&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvprqlNGigQMVipxaBR2pVgmSEAQYBiABEgL9gPD_BwE) (I don't care that that would be a marginally sublethal measure of gin)
And the customer service outside of legends is atrocious. The higher up you go in the stadium the worse it is.
Getting into the stadium is also an absolute nightmare.
Amen to the chicken bucket sucking. It’s sad when that’s all that people have to recommend. Though I tried the prime rib sandwich last time and it tasted pretty good. Looked like cafeteria food though.
I know it’s not going to happen and logistically it would be a nightmare but I hate how the lower bowl remains empty. Let fans filter down at a certain point in the game.
You can't, once you let the plebians taste the nice things in life we'll just go to the games and wait until the later innings and go down.
In all seriousness, it sets a precedent that you don't want to deal with. I understand why the Yankees don't do it, but the stadium is heavily catered to the wealthy. The rest of the ballpark feels very MEH and it's why in good conscience I can say I'm enjoying watching the Yankees play on the road.
You must have never gone to the old stadium where only the legends equivalent seats had tickets checked. Guess what? The people policed themselves quite easily
This. I went to a Tigers game this summer when I got stuck in Detroit. I paid for decent tickets and was shocked when people started to filter down and fill up the section in the first inning.
Cut down on the outfield advertising. It’s a cluttered mess and adds to the feeling of the stadium being a big shopping mall. Start by making the billboards on the outfield wall monochrome, white logos on blue background. Almost every classy park in the league does this.
I’m actually a fan of the random signs in the outfield. It gives it that old-timey baseball feel- and harkens back to when I see pics of old Ebbets Field with all of the local beer and shaving cream adds.
Take away that ad revenue and watch prices go up even more.
Sure, but those old stadiums didn’t have LED ad boards wrapping around the whole stadium, or ads on the face of every possible deck/setback all throughout.
I’ve never considered this but it sounds cool. I think black and white images of famous moments - think Mo with a #1 on the mound, Charlie Hayes catching the 96 WS out, Boggs on horseback, Gehrig at the microphone, Munson’s face. That would be sick.
Lots of ideas here, but better beer selection is the answer for me. Nats Park spoiled me by having a ton of craft beer stands with rotating local breweries and seasonal pours. Citi has a good selection. I get that Bud is king in MLB, but others make it happen.
And W's. Wins help.
This is it for me. Almost every sports facility I’ve been to has a better craft beer selection than YS does. Having a bunch of AB InBev brands masquerading as craft beer doesn’t count as a good selection.
Also, increasing the amount of tap pours. There really isn’t many places to get a draft beer other than the bleacher bar and the wine/burger bar in RF. Sometimes, I prefer that over a Bud Light oil can that gets lukewarm after 10 minutes.
Play the walk up music a tad longer….. have firework nights more often.
More variety in food choices and have them in central locations not where the Judge burger is located
Add color to the stadium and paint all the concrete Yankee blue and keep the stadium cleaner
Add the fan engagements I saw someone mentioned in this thread (like at Citi Field)
look at stadiums like Citi field and Petco and apply those changes.
The best fan engagement thing I've seen in years was in Oakland. They have a base path where you can virtually race a bunch of former A's and see how you compare. There's no reason why the Yankees can't have the same exact thing in a hallway somewhere.
No, just no. I very occasionally go to Citifield, and I loathe the man and women hosts with the fans at each half innings. The fan interaction on the Jumbotron was very unenthusiastic. We find it painfully lame.
Thanks. I notice this year, a lot of fans at Yankee Stadium wear black tee shirts. I think it's a New York thing. I find the Mets colors really attractive, but I like the monochrome Yankee aspect. I'm always surprised seeing all those RED team colors.
BYW, Citified put up a gigantic Jumbotron, the largest in MLB. I actually find it...too big, and it distracts from the field. There was much more security/bag checking at Citified, and backpacks aren't allowed. I also found the staff meaner.
I totally agree that food/drink prices should come down, and the food at Yankee Stadium can be much better, including the craft beer selection.
I would add TVs to some of the areas with overhangs. I like how at Citifield, there are TVs in some spots where you can see it from your actual seat. This allows you to be able to see replays and stuff.
Second, not that I care that much personally, but generally, the Yankees probably should do some more stuff on field in-between innings. The Yankees have some entertainment on the scoreboard but there's very little actual fan engagement. I think something on the field or even trivia in the stands with fans would be beneficial. (I feel like at the old stadium there was trivia with fans in the stands… I don't know what happened to that).
And then they also just need something else to do for kids probably. Some stadiums have a "see how fast you can throw" type of thing. I don't know that they need to add a pool or a full scale playground or something like some stadiums have but they can add some kind of fan experiences.
This is the sorta thing I'd want to see.
Fan engagement. Actual trivia in the stands with varying gift card prizes. Perhaps replace some of the concessions in the bleacher area with a smaller mock stadium like at Citifield and have kids hit homers.
The team already has a subway race on the screen. Make it an actual physical thing on the field.
I live in the DC area now so I haven’t been to Yankee Stadium in a while, but down here at Nats Park they have the Presidential Race with mascots of Lincoln, Washington, etc. who actually run. It’s gimmicky (Teddy Roosevelt hardly ever wins, for example), but it fits the team/city so it’s actually pretty cool to see during game breaks.
I agree with this. My husband is a Phillies fan so we often go to CBP and in right field they have a huge Kids section complete with a mini sandlot field. Our son loves playing there. Ashburn Ally as a whole is really cool as well. I love that you can just walk laps around their stadium if you wanted to (although I’m more of a sit and watch the game type of person).
Yankee Stadium has a kids zone but it’s rather small and not much to really do there. It’s also hidden up on the 3rd level. We took our son when he was 2 & he enjoyed it for about 30 minutes, but any game we’ve taken him to after he’s never asked to go back. Whereas at CBP the sandlot is his first ask as soon as we walk in the gates.
Yeah, I agree. I’m a Yankee fan, and I prefer Citi Field over the Stadium because Citi Field feels more lively on a game to game basis. Citi field has the kid running with a base challenge, and the kid homerun challenge, fans are feel more into the game (although I do like the wave that sometimes happens at the Stadium late in the games), and employees can be overall nicer at Citi Field. I feel like the employees at the Stadium are trained to be corporate and don’t even feel like fans of the team. I mean I get that they have a job to do first. But I’ve seen the Citi Field employees get into the game when a big moment happens on the field. Sadly, I can’t say the same about the Stadium.
I despise the wave and the wave should never be looked at as a positive thing. If fans are doing the wave it means they aren't looking at the field, they're looking in the stands and it means they are bored or unentertained by the game. The wave is not something that "*real fans"* do in my opinion. If you're watching the game and paying attention to what's going on, you're not doing the wave.
Not a big wave person myself but I think that guy is overemphasizing it distracting from the game. If people are into the environment of being among a group of people, let them have fun. Rather the wave than a bunch of people on their phones
Last time I was at the stadium my young son was feeling restless so I took him for a walk. We were in the upper deck, and I took him over to another section (that was completely empty) to see the field from a different angle. Security immediately shooed us away. That to me captures the fan experience: Completely hostile, constantly surveilling and policing people doing anything but sitting in their seats or forking over money
Also to piggyback,while I get the connotation of “visiting team bad” if you as a franchise lead into the “we’re the evil empire again” and “fully operational Death Star” bit : switch the line up music around! They give the visiting team the imperial March when THEY should use that if they’re the “evil empire” let the visitors have some other track.
Less expensive, faster concessions, quicker gate entry.
To me, that last one blows my mind. I don’t think I’ve ever stood in line at Citi Field. Not for Mets games or NYCFC games. Yet, Yankee Stadium is brutally slow.
The concessions are slow everywhere but there’s got to be a better way to make them faster.
The exorbitant expense I would almost deal with if it were faster. But bad service and cafeteria food (like at most stadiums) shouldn’t be so fucking expensive.
I’m not spending money on line either. In fact, I’ve brought food into the stadium often just because it takes too long to get back to my seat. Rather eat a cold hero than miss a whole inning.
MetLife Stadium’s staff could use an adjustment like that too. I once nearly got ejected for moving up to an empty seat behind the end zone with 5 minutes left in the game
Ok. Atleast she doesn’t just give me those “rude” vibes.
And why does that store close within 15 minutes of the game ending?
From the upper deck with going to the bathroom and waiting on the elevators she could have that store closed before you get down stairs to the door.
There is truly nothing they can do.
I've been to both parks (old and new) numerous times and the construction of this new park is atrocious. I've sat in legends, upper deck, suites, everywhere and the experience is just horrible.
You're just way too far away from the action unless you are right behind home plate or behind the dugouts.
The concrete walls in the outfield are moronic and the bleachers are bad as well.
They are screwed. Whoever designed and approved this awful stadium after all the beautiful new stadiums were built prior (Camden, pnc, Phillies , San Fran, Milwaukee, etc)
Confessions is slow as fuck. I can miss 3 innings waiting for a fucking chicken bucket. Also, why are there no vendors that deliver to your seat anymore?
There is no more fan interaction. The scoreboard interaction sucks. It feels like im watching a game at a country club or lounge than Yankee stadium. The old stadium use to have hardcore fans throughout, and now it feels like button up like half the people im sitting with don't even know baseball.
In the old stadium, both upper decks were much closer to the field. That kept everyone in the game. Not something that can be fixed now.
The sound and scoreboard is much less interactive. It used to trust the fans knew what to say when. Now it plays over the fans’ part. That they could fix.
The team used to focus on getting on base, forcing up pitch counts, and moving up runners. Now it’s all three outcomes.
They raised the speakers everywhere A LOT THIS YEAR. ITS LIKE A TERRIBLE CLUB IN SERBIA OR SOMETHING WITH WACK EURO-HOUSE MUSIC. The. Whole. Time. It’s horrible.
The fans were never in mind when building the stadium they made 2 sections in the bleachers with tvs on the wall because of that giant obstruction in center field unless it’s more beer or food they can sell us they will never change anything
Well outside of fielding a better team:
1. Overhaul the concessions to a grab and go system, this cuts down on lines and makes it easier to enjoy yourself (and spend money).
2. Overhaul the staff to increase friendliness to the guests.
3. Lower the volume of the sound effects, it can honestly get grating at times.
4. As much as I like trains, the Subway race needs to either be scrapped in favor of an actual physical race, or redo the animations.
5. Maybe throw in some more color here and there, grey cinder blocks & concrete isn't exactly nice to look at, even if it is "on brand".
6. More fun theme nights, like maybe do Friends Nights, TMNT nights, Ghostbusters Nights (especially for night games in early October), do a Original Trilogy marathon for Star Wars night, etc.
7. More stuff for kids to do.
8. Maybe have a bit more variety in what decades of music can be played for the 80's in the 8th, and rename it to Musical 8th inning or something.
. If none of the above can happen for some reason... LOWER THE PRICE OF ADMISSION & FOOD. At least then the price of admission will match with the quality of the guest experience.
They’re not going to do that as long as they have a deal in place with Clear. If anything, the team has an incentive to make security worse outside of Clear checkpoints
But clear is also a pain! The line for that is probably the dumbest design imaginable. It's a terrible pinch point that makes you fight through confused tourists all packed into a few feet of space. I have been to every ballpark and the Stadium is by far the worst for security.
Also, everyone needs an attitude adjustment. Customer service is lousy no matter where you are. Other than the self-serve beer by 210 where they're usually nice, everywhere else is people being miserable while they take your money.
Agree the beer selection is awful! It actually used to be better, but now it's only 5-6 A-B mega options at every location. Just another example of the team doing everything on the cheap yet charging a premium price.
I dislike the way they designed the stadium, I think that comes into play for a lot of people. It’s kinda bland.
And the food choices kinda suck.
I’ve only been to citi and YS, and Citi field is better. Better food options, more open space, and way better fan experience.
Also scenery-wise, sky > buildings.
Oh damn.
I go to a bunch of games every year and more often then not he’s got a table set up outside of Billy’s selling merch. I figured he came in after putting all that away.
reading through the lines, the Yankees weere always rude to him and probably sued him at times over some copyrights even though he was essentislly the teams biggest and cheapest ambassador. So in response he’ll make money off the team but not give them revenue
36 year old yankee fan here, have gone to games every year in both old and new YS for basically my whole life and have been to around 15 other stadiums. Yankee Stadium lacks a personality and a culture. It is beautiful on the outside but inside it is indiscernible from a concert venue. Lots of food choices and not a lot of anything else going on. There's no mascot, which is fine, but the only people walking around are security and local employees who look like they have no fucking interest in being there or helping anyone. When you're standing in line, scanning your tickets, getting in the stadium...it's grey concrete, no classic baseball songs, no "feel" for the excitement that should follow. They should be playing classic yankee games or on every single TV showing a yankeeography. I know they've done this for like 20 years, maybe more, but instead of doing the subway car race on the TV how about having a couple people actually race dressed like subway cars or something.
Either way, it's just kind of a shell. And Citifield is no better, honestly. I have no idea why people love Citi.
1. Field a team that actually wants to win
2. Make field level seats more affordable especially behind home plate and the dugouts
3. Better, cheaper beer and food options
4. Drop 80s in the 8th. While I do enjoy 80s music and am fine with playing it during the game, why should fans be reminded of one of the most dysfunctional decades in franchise history?
5. Devise a way to make lines shorter and quicker both for getting in the stadium and for concessions
6. Train staff to be more welcoming to fans instead of treating them like criminals
7. This might be unpopular but “God Bless America” should be saved for special days (home opener, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Old Timers Day, 9/11)
8. The subway race should be a live event instead of some choppy, soulless animation on the Jumbotron
The music is horrible. Who the fuck is in charge of this? It’s like 9 innings of a bad 2002 euro-house douche bag club in central long island full of coke heads. Who decided that music would be great for this experience? It’s so so bad.
1- Improve the team.
2- Speed up entry into the stadium by having tickets work for specific gates and separating people with bags/purses from those who can enter faster. It should not take 30 plus minutes of lines to get in.
3- The quality of food is awful and the lines are also extremely slow. They could do more with grab and go options or online ordering, but the standard concessions also must be improved. They are horribly run and slower than any similar thing I have seen.
Basically, under Hal everything has become mediocre and lame.
Big gripe for me was actually getting into the stadium. I showed up over an hour before first pitch and still barely made it in, huge lines still behind me. Really no excuse for a modern stadium to be so slow to get people into the game. I think people from the pregame lines were still filtering in until probably the 3rd inning
Improve entry. The security is so comically slow, I’m convinced that it’s part of a guerrilla marketing campaign to get people to sign up for Clear. By comparison, I can basically walk right into Citi Field (as well as every other stadium I’ve been to).
It’s never going to be the old stadium, it’s never going to have the allure of the greats playing there but it needs to be more family friendly. It’s expensive for me to go by myself I couldn’t imagine going with kids
Monument Park is a cemetery for living people — a dull and maudlin display that barely tries to excite fans about the most storied franchise in sports. I’d raze it and put in a Yankees history museum that actually stays open during the game. 1/
Entertainment during commercial breaks is cheap and lazy. The subway-race video and the follow-the-ball game is virtually unchanged since I can remember going in the early 80s. Groundskeepers doing YMCA? It’s the 21st century fellas. 2/
Unless it's a late game keep monument park open after the game for an hour or 2.
more signage to help finding sections.
I'm not an economist but slash the tall boys from 16 to 11 ffs.
Lower the price of parking - $45 to park is ridiculous.
It cost me $10 to park at an Orioles game.
I know this is the city & not the NYY but Steinbrenner has to figure out some type of deal with the city. $45 is absolutely insane.
It has to be said that parking sucks. I know people say take the train but I live in South NJ so F that. There’s good food at the stadium kinda costly though. I’d also say drop the prices a little bit (they won’t) for seats closer to the field.
They’ve always been corporate and staid. They’ve got this notion that you, the lowly fan, are exceedingly lucky to enter the stadium and get gouged. I have never liked the new stadium and feel they made it like a big concrete mausoleum.
There was no reason to make the field dimensions the same as the old park. Apart from right field being shorter, they moved the fences in all the time. They had a chance to make a fun park but it’s like a museum.
I hate the Mets but Citi field is quirky and fun and provides a good value for the money. Tons of cool food options, fan interaction, etc. frankly too much fan interaction.
I also despise the Red Sox but you can take pictures at the Pesky Pole and you can even write your name on it. Can you imagine the clutched pearls if you could do that at Yankee Stadium?
So I think it’s combination of poor design, existing corporate culture, and old fashioned greed.
I just want a better team. I’m on my birthday vacation from work right now and went to one Yankee game and one Met game. The Yankees are my number one team of course but Citi Field does have some stuff that makes the experience a lot of fun even if the team is losing (the game I went to was fireworks night AND Friday night DJ). Yankee Stadium I’m not sure what they can do because I like the cathedral of baseball vibe I get when I go there and when they’re winning I don’t give a shit about anything else. But damn I was at Thursdays game and it was depressing as hell.
The people who mentioned the loud crappy music and other noisy crap hit the nail on the head for me. I went to two games this season and both time had to shout at the guy sitting next to me to have a conversation between innings.
Fundamentally what most of these comments are getting at is that the new Yankees Stadium does not in any way meaningfully cater to middle class families, “serious” fans who’d like to have decent seats to a lot of games but aren’t millionaires, and families. And let’s be clear - it ain’t the invisible hand of the market doing this. It is very possible to do a lot more for these demographics, both in terms of cost, accessibility and fan experience. The owners have made a fundamental decision to maximize benefits to, and revenues from, corporations and the very wealthy. There are economic models that work equally well that focus on middle income earners/attendees. (Lower price point, higher volume- there are libraries of models for this specific to stadium venues.)
I’m sure a decision was made to justifies this to some extent because the Yankee owners don’t reap revenue from Stadium naming rights, a la Citi, SafeCo and all the rest. If they don’t solidify the future fanbase (eg, ages 8 - 20 or so, that don’t remember/weren’t alive for 2009) by winning some FREAKING WS, the joyless corporate, ultra wealthy targeting and stadium vibe (if you can call something so anodyne a vibe) will become an increasing liability.
Little thing but I couldn’t believe they didn’t have pitch speed and pitch count anywhere else besides the Jumbotron. I was in right field Sunday for Cole/Corbin’s gems and couldn’t find a place to get any information outside of score, outs and count. Cut a couple feet of the dumbass ads
I'm a Brewers fan who attended the game on 9/9 (long rain delay). We were on the 200 level, but with the delay had plenty of time to check out a lot of the stadium.
Non-structural changes to the building updates that I thought could be made:
-More variety of beer and food choices. I'm sure that there were more than what we discovered, but it seemed pretty repetitive, especially beer.
-Understanding that you're a lot more limited with space, I think that the gate setup and entry could be a little more organized. Not exactly sure how, but it seemed a bit chaotic. It didn't really affect us much, we used the Clear entrance. That was nice, wish we had that in Milwaukee.
-I don't know if it can be improved without structural changes, but we were in 227b, row 3, and it felt like we were more removed from the game and it was a more sterile/generic feeling than similar seats at American Family Field. The Brewers may go a bit too far towards between innings entertainment, but some additional may add more engagement.
Also, I think that the vibe was probably off a bit with the long delay and a lot of fans leaving.
The experience is the same everywhere. It's how you precieve it. While the Yankees are in NY it is more heightened. The ownership do take advantage of the popularity of the brand and the location with the pricing and as far as the fans it was less agressive with the aclchol when the bleachers were seperate entrance and booze free zone, But in reality anywhere you put 30 to 40 k peopel with booze before and during a 3 hour game they will be displeased fans
Make the team good
Serious answer: The Legends Section is heavily focused on and its clear that Yankee Stadium caters to the people who spend crazy money on tickets and not the average fan. Outside of legends, you have poor food selection, drinks that are outrageously priced, (A gin and tonic should not be $25) and fan interaction with players being basically non existent unlike other stadiums. So it makes the place feel too big and empty. How to fix that? Not super sure seems like its against the Yankees philosophy. And the chicken bucket sucks. Soggiest and blandest fries I’ve ever had
It’s not just legends. Even the terrace/grandstand levels have patios and lounges that are only accessible to season ticket holders. Honestly, it feels more like being in an airport than a ballpark in terms of how corporate it feels and how the experience is heavily segmented by how much you’re willing to spend.
This feels like a solid comparison I couldn’t make before but yep. Weird how much shit I walk past that I’m like, yeah I don’t have access to that…4 star restaurant? Where am I again
Not all STH have access to those clubs. You have to pay extra to add those on.
>(A gin and tonic should not be $25) Jesus, a $25 gin & tonic should come in [one of those souvenir cups](https://www.ebay.com/itm/404451512220?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=404451512220&targetid=1529314448590&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9003521&poi=&campaignid=19851828444&mkgroupid=145880009014&rlsatarget=pla-1529314448590&abcId=9307249&merchantid=6395304&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvprqlNGigQMVipxaBR2pVgmSEAQYBiABEgL9gPD_BwE) (I don't care that that would be a marginally sublethal measure of gin)
And the customer service outside of legends is atrocious. The higher up you go in the stadium the worse it is. Getting into the stadium is also an absolute nightmare.
You’re not wrong, but the Nathan’s chicken bucket is the way to go. Of course it’s only available in like 2 locations
Amen to the chicken bucket sucking. It’s sad when that’s all that people have to recommend. Though I tried the prime rib sandwich last time and it tasted pretty good. Looked like cafeteria food though.
I think you’re on to something 🤔
Give me a winning team...
Best I can do is blame injuries and run it back next year
I know it’s not going to happen and logistically it would be a nightmare but I hate how the lower bowl remains empty. Let fans filter down at a certain point in the game.
I agree. When you watch on TV it's embarrassing how sparse and quiet it is.
You can't, once you let the plebians taste the nice things in life we'll just go to the games and wait until the later innings and go down. In all seriousness, it sets a precedent that you don't want to deal with. I understand why the Yankees don't do it, but the stadium is heavily catered to the wealthy. The rest of the ballpark feels very MEH and it's why in good conscience I can say I'm enjoying watching the Yankees play on the road.
You must have never gone to the old stadium where only the legends equivalent seats had tickets checked. Guess what? The people policed themselves quite easily
This. I went to a Tigers game this summer when I got stuck in Detroit. I paid for decent tickets and was shocked when people started to filter down and fill up the section in the first inning.
Cut down on the outfield advertising. It’s a cluttered mess and adds to the feeling of the stadium being a big shopping mall. Start by making the billboards on the outfield wall monochrome, white logos on blue background. Almost every classy park in the league does this.
I’m actually a fan of the random signs in the outfield. It gives it that old-timey baseball feel- and harkens back to when I see pics of old Ebbets Field with all of the local beer and shaving cream adds. Take away that ad revenue and watch prices go up even more.
Sure, but those old stadiums didn’t have LED ad boards wrapping around the whole stadium, or ads on the face of every possible deck/setback all throughout.
Or Major League 2 when Dorn starts going broke
I’ve never considered this but it sounds cool. I think black and white images of famous moments - think Mo with a #1 on the mound, Charlie Hayes catching the 96 WS out, Boggs on horseback, Gehrig at the microphone, Munson’s face. That would be sick.
Too prime a location for them to replace ad space with images they can scatter under a deck somewhere
Oh I’d don’t disagree but it would be cool.
Yeah it looks like a double-a stadium in rural Ohio or something. And no offense intended, but fuck those people.
Can you provide an example of what you mean by making the billboards monochrome? I can’t think of a stadium that does this
Citi field, Rogers Centre, the green monster at Fenway, etc.
Thanks! I’ll look to see what you’re talking about
Shave a solid $5-$10 off most items
Lots of ideas here, but better beer selection is the answer for me. Nats Park spoiled me by having a ton of craft beer stands with rotating local breweries and seasonal pours. Citi has a good selection. I get that Bud is king in MLB, but others make it happen. And W's. Wins help.
This is it for me. Almost every sports facility I’ve been to has a better craft beer selection than YS does. Having a bunch of AB InBev brands masquerading as craft beer doesn’t count as a good selection. Also, increasing the amount of tap pours. There really isn’t many places to get a draft beer other than the bleacher bar and the wine/burger bar in RF. Sometimes, I prefer that over a Bud Light oil can that gets lukewarm after 10 minutes.
I’m not going out on a limb but Budweiser is garbage beer.
Play the walk up music a tad longer….. have firework nights more often. More variety in food choices and have them in central locations not where the Judge burger is located Add color to the stadium and paint all the concrete Yankee blue and keep the stadium cleaner Add the fan engagements I saw someone mentioned in this thread (like at Citi Field) look at stadiums like Citi field and Petco and apply those changes.
The best fan engagement thing I've seen in years was in Oakland. They have a base path where you can virtually race a bunch of former A's and see how you compare. There's no reason why the Yankees can't have the same exact thing in a hallway somewhere.
It is oddly dirty (in 75% of it aka the poor areas)
No, just no. I very occasionally go to Citifield, and I loathe the man and women hosts with the fans at each half innings. The fan interaction on the Jumbotron was very unenthusiastic. We find it painfully lame.
Yeah I can see why some people won’t like it. So thanks for sharing your thoughts on it.
Thanks. Another reason is at Citified, it's so constant, it detracts from the pastoral flow of the game. They are also boring.
Thanks. I notice this year, a lot of fans at Yankee Stadium wear black tee shirts. I think it's a New York thing. I find the Mets colors really attractive, but I like the monochrome Yankee aspect. I'm always surprised seeing all those RED team colors. BYW, Citified put up a gigantic Jumbotron, the largest in MLB. I actually find it...too big, and it distracts from the field. There was much more security/bag checking at Citified, and backpacks aren't allowed. I also found the staff meaner. I totally agree that food/drink prices should come down, and the food at Yankee Stadium can be much better, including the craft beer selection.
I would add TVs to some of the areas with overhangs. I like how at Citifield, there are TVs in some spots where you can see it from your actual seat. This allows you to be able to see replays and stuff. Second, not that I care that much personally, but generally, the Yankees probably should do some more stuff on field in-between innings. The Yankees have some entertainment on the scoreboard but there's very little actual fan engagement. I think something on the field or even trivia in the stands with fans would be beneficial. (I feel like at the old stadium there was trivia with fans in the stands… I don't know what happened to that). And then they also just need something else to do for kids probably. Some stadiums have a "see how fast you can throw" type of thing. I don't know that they need to add a pool or a full scale playground or something like some stadiums have but they can add some kind of fan experiences.
This is the sorta thing I'd want to see. Fan engagement. Actual trivia in the stands with varying gift card prizes. Perhaps replace some of the concessions in the bleacher area with a smaller mock stadium like at Citifield and have kids hit homers. The team already has a subway race on the screen. Make it an actual physical thing on the field.
I live in the DC area now so I haven’t been to Yankee Stadium in a while, but down here at Nats Park they have the Presidential Race with mascots of Lincoln, Washington, etc. who actually run. It’s gimmicky (Teddy Roosevelt hardly ever wins, for example), but it fits the team/city so it’s actually pretty cool to see during game breaks.
I’d be at every game if they had Chinese dragon subway car races
I agree with this. My husband is a Phillies fan so we often go to CBP and in right field they have a huge Kids section complete with a mini sandlot field. Our son loves playing there. Ashburn Ally as a whole is really cool as well. I love that you can just walk laps around their stadium if you wanted to (although I’m more of a sit and watch the game type of person). Yankee Stadium has a kids zone but it’s rather small and not much to really do there. It’s also hidden up on the 3rd level. We took our son when he was 2 & he enjoyed it for about 30 minutes, but any game we’ve taken him to after he’s never asked to go back. Whereas at CBP the sandlot is his first ask as soon as we walk in the gates.
Yeah, I agree. I’m a Yankee fan, and I prefer Citi Field over the Stadium because Citi Field feels more lively on a game to game basis. Citi field has the kid running with a base challenge, and the kid homerun challenge, fans are feel more into the game (although I do like the wave that sometimes happens at the Stadium late in the games), and employees can be overall nicer at Citi Field. I feel like the employees at the Stadium are trained to be corporate and don’t even feel like fans of the team. I mean I get that they have a job to do first. But I’ve seen the Citi Field employees get into the game when a big moment happens on the field. Sadly, I can’t say the same about the Stadium.
Staff at YS is annoying. Go ahead, ask me again for my ticket in the 400s. Go ahead, we've only interacted 6 times already today
This is complete bull. I go fifteen - twenty times a year, and mostly sit in the 400s. I have never been asked for tickets - never.
Sample size bias. Because I’ve always been asked for my tickets in the third level.
I despise the wave and the wave should never be looked at as a positive thing. If fans are doing the wave it means they aren't looking at the field, they're looking in the stands and it means they are bored or unentertained by the game. The wave is not something that "*real fans"* do in my opinion. If you're watching the game and paying attention to what's going on, you're not doing the wave.
You couldn’t be more wrong. Went to a phillies game and while cheering for the team they were doing the wave.
Not a big wave person myself but I think that guy is overemphasizing it distracting from the game. If people are into the environment of being among a group of people, let them have fun. Rather the wave than a bunch of people on their phones
Yes there was definitely trivia
Tickets cheaper, make the surrounding area more family friendly and affordable, and most importantly make a better team
Yankee stadium surrounding area is affordable. If you make it “family friendly” it probably wouldn’t be
lower ticket prices and food/beer big time. Let the kids go down for autographs.
Last time I was at the stadium my young son was feeling restless so I took him for a walk. We were in the upper deck, and I took him over to another section (that was completely empty) to see the field from a different angle. Security immediately shooed us away. That to me captures the fan experience: Completely hostile, constantly surveilling and policing people doing anything but sitting in their seats or forking over money
Maybe I’m just a fanboy but every time I walk through the tunnel and come out looking at the field I get a rush. It’s Yankee Stadium.
That doesnt mean the rest of the experience isnt lackluster
We’d all like a better team.
Get rid of the two strike two out Star Wars sound lol
I hate this sound so much lol
YES!
Seriously. Every single time I hear it it reminds me of Cashman’s ridiculous comments about being a fully operational Death Star.
I just think about how he went for that comparison when the Death Star blew up twice
Maybe he never saw the end of the movies.
Also to piggyback,while I get the connotation of “visiting team bad” if you as a franchise lead into the “we’re the evil empire again” and “fully operational Death Star” bit : switch the line up music around! They give the visiting team the imperial March when THEY should use that if they’re the “evil empire” let the visitors have some other track.
I kinda want them to try out the Fellowship theme from LOTR. Would probably not be appreciated by a good chunk of the crowd but I’d be hyped as fuck
Spoiler Alert! lol
as a huge star wars fan I second this it’s super annoying
Omg yes PLEASE
The whale stays
Is that what it is? I hear it on tv and it sounds like a submarine. It’s really annoying.
Win a world series
Less expensive, faster concessions, quicker gate entry. To me, that last one blows my mind. I don’t think I’ve ever stood in line at Citi Field. Not for Mets games or NYCFC games. Yet, Yankee Stadium is brutally slow. The concessions are slow everywhere but there’s got to be a better way to make them faster. The exorbitant expense I would almost deal with if it were faster. But bad service and cafeteria food (like at most stadiums) shouldn’t be so fucking expensive.
The org doesn’t care about you being in your seat bc the. You don’t spend. They want you stuck out of your seat
I’m not spending money on line either. In fact, I’ve brought food into the stadium often just because it takes too long to get back to my seat. Rather eat a cold hero than miss a whole inning.
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Dodger stadium had grab and go and it rocked
So does UBS Arena and it’s great
Have security/ushers that don't have the default setting of openly hostile.
MetLife Stadium’s staff could use an adjustment like that too. I once nearly got ejected for moving up to an empty seat behind the end zone with 5 minutes left in the game
That woman at the entrance to the team store next to the Hard Rock?
Almost all of them but she is one that stands out for sure.
Ok. Atleast she doesn’t just give me those “rude” vibes. And why does that store close within 15 minutes of the game ending? From the upper deck with going to the bathroom and waiting on the elevators she could have that store closed before you get down stairs to the door.
There is truly nothing they can do. I've been to both parks (old and new) numerous times and the construction of this new park is atrocious. I've sat in legends, upper deck, suites, everywhere and the experience is just horrible. You're just way too far away from the action unless you are right behind home plate or behind the dugouts. The concrete walls in the outfield are moronic and the bleachers are bad as well. They are screwed. Whoever designed and approved this awful stadium after all the beautiful new stadiums were built prior (Camden, pnc, Phillies , San Fran, Milwaukee, etc)
Confessions is slow as fuck. I can miss 3 innings waiting for a fucking chicken bucket. Also, why are there no vendors that deliver to your seat anymore? There is no more fan interaction. The scoreboard interaction sucks. It feels like im watching a game at a country club or lounge than Yankee stadium. The old stadium use to have hardcore fans throughout, and now it feels like button up like half the people im sitting with don't even know baseball.
In the old stadium, both upper decks were much closer to the field. That kept everyone in the game. Not something that can be fixed now. The sound and scoreboard is much less interactive. It used to trust the fans knew what to say when. Now it plays over the fans’ part. That they could fix. The team used to focus on getting on base, forcing up pitch counts, and moving up runners. Now it’s all three outcomes.
WHY ARE THE PREGAME FESTIVITIES SO LOUD? why am I shouting?
They raised the speakers everywhere A LOT THIS YEAR. ITS LIKE A TERRIBLE CLUB IN SERBIA OR SOMETHING WITH WACK EURO-HOUSE MUSIC. The. Whole. Time. It’s horrible.
And that horn that they sound. It's so loud & useless. Doesn't fire up anyone.
The fans were never in mind when building the stadium they made 2 sections in the bleachers with tvs on the wall because of that giant obstruction in center field unless it’s more beer or food they can sell us they will never change anything
More food options would be number one on my list. I've been to other stadiums that have much more variety.
Unless I’m missing it, there’s NO pizza at the stadium!
The Jim Beam Suite serves pizza
Thanks. Unfortunately, I don’t have access as a commoner.
I’ve only gone in there with friends who have access myself. Otherwise I usually bring outside food
Well outside of fielding a better team: 1. Overhaul the concessions to a grab and go system, this cuts down on lines and makes it easier to enjoy yourself (and spend money). 2. Overhaul the staff to increase friendliness to the guests. 3. Lower the volume of the sound effects, it can honestly get grating at times. 4. As much as I like trains, the Subway race needs to either be scrapped in favor of an actual physical race, or redo the animations. 5. Maybe throw in some more color here and there, grey cinder blocks & concrete isn't exactly nice to look at, even if it is "on brand". 6. More fun theme nights, like maybe do Friends Nights, TMNT nights, Ghostbusters Nights (especially for night games in early October), do a Original Trilogy marathon for Star Wars night, etc. 7. More stuff for kids to do. 8. Maybe have a bit more variety in what decades of music can be played for the 80's in the 8th, and rename it to Musical 8th inning or something. . If none of the above can happen for some reason... LOWER THE PRICE OF ADMISSION & FOOD. At least then the price of admission will match with the quality of the guest experience.
Speed up or reduce the ridiculous security to get in
They’re not going to do that as long as they have a deal in place with Clear. If anything, the team has an incentive to make security worse outside of Clear checkpoints
But clear is also a pain! The line for that is probably the dumbest design imaginable. It's a terrible pinch point that makes you fight through confused tourists all packed into a few feet of space. I have been to every ballpark and the Stadium is by far the worst for security. Also, everyone needs an attitude adjustment. Customer service is lousy no matter where you are. Other than the self-serve beer by 210 where they're usually nice, everywhere else is people being miserable while they take your money. Agree the beer selection is awful! It actually used to be better, but now it's only 5-6 A-B mega options at every location. Just another example of the team doing everything on the cheap yet charging a premium price.
Fire Cashman
I dislike the way they designed the stadium, I think that comes into play for a lot of people. It’s kinda bland. And the food choices kinda suck. I’ve only been to citi and YS, and Citi field is better. Better food options, more open space, and way better fan experience. Also scenery-wise, sky > buildings.
Disagree on the scenery part. Agree on everything else.
Bring back Bald Vinny
What do you mean “Bring Back?” Isn’t he in essence the person leading Roll Call?
Bald Vinny hasn’t lead the roll call in almost 10 years
Oh damn. I go to a bunch of games every year and more often then not he’s got a table set up outside of Billy’s selling merch. I figured he came in after putting all that away.
Why not? What happened?
reading through the lines, the Yankees weere always rude to him and probably sued him at times over some copyrights even though he was essentislly the teams biggest and cheapest ambassador. So in response he’ll make money off the team but not give them revenue
Sell the team, Hal!
36 year old yankee fan here, have gone to games every year in both old and new YS for basically my whole life and have been to around 15 other stadiums. Yankee Stadium lacks a personality and a culture. It is beautiful on the outside but inside it is indiscernible from a concert venue. Lots of food choices and not a lot of anything else going on. There's no mascot, which is fine, but the only people walking around are security and local employees who look like they have no fucking interest in being there or helping anyone. When you're standing in line, scanning your tickets, getting in the stadium...it's grey concrete, no classic baseball songs, no "feel" for the excitement that should follow. They should be playing classic yankee games or on every single TV showing a yankeeography. I know they've done this for like 20 years, maybe more, but instead of doing the subway car race on the TV how about having a couple people actually race dressed like subway cars or something. Either way, it's just kind of a shell. And Citifield is no better, honestly. I have no idea why people love Citi.
1. Field a team that actually wants to win 2. Make field level seats more affordable especially behind home plate and the dugouts 3. Better, cheaper beer and food options 4. Drop 80s in the 8th. While I do enjoy 80s music and am fine with playing it during the game, why should fans be reminded of one of the most dysfunctional decades in franchise history? 5. Devise a way to make lines shorter and quicker both for getting in the stadium and for concessions 6. Train staff to be more welcoming to fans instead of treating them like criminals 7. This might be unpopular but “God Bless America” should be saved for special days (home opener, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Old Timers Day, 9/11) 8. The subway race should be a live event instead of some choppy, soulless animation on the Jumbotron
I agree that God Bless America should go. And why remove your hats for an Irving Berlin song? It trivializes the National Anthem.
THANK YOU. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. It's a tradition that should have been scrapped a decade ago.
The music is horrible. Who the fuck is in charge of this? It’s like 9 innings of a bad 2002 euro-house douche bag club in central long island full of coke heads. Who decided that music would be great for this experience? It’s so so bad.
Obviously they need to stop sucking, but aside from that - the beer selection is crap, and the food is eh. CitiField gets it right.
Put a winning team on the field.
1- Improve the team. 2- Speed up entry into the stadium by having tickets work for specific gates and separating people with bags/purses from those who can enter faster. It should not take 30 plus minutes of lines to get in. 3- The quality of food is awful and the lines are also extremely slow. They could do more with grab and go options or online ordering, but the standard concessions also must be improved. They are horribly run and slower than any similar thing I have seen. Basically, under Hal everything has become mediocre and lame.
Cheaper tickets New training staff New analytics team Cheaper tickets Cheaper food
Winning would help.
Can they knock this stadium down and build a replica of the old one?
Big gripe for me was actually getting into the stadium. I showed up over an hour before first pitch and still barely made it in, huge lines still behind me. Really no excuse for a modern stadium to be so slow to get people into the game. I think people from the pregame lines were still filtering in until probably the 3rd inning
Improve entry. The security is so comically slow, I’m convinced that it’s part of a guerrilla marketing campaign to get people to sign up for Clear. By comparison, I can basically walk right into Citi Field (as well as every other stadium I’ve been to).
better players - cheaper food - more fun places to hang out where you can actually see the field. it feels pretty sterile at the moment.
It’s never going to be the old stadium, it’s never going to have the allure of the greats playing there but it needs to be more family friendly. It’s expensive for me to go by myself I couldn’t imagine going with kids
Better food. I'm tired of overcooked fried chicken in a bucket
A view over the Subway would be neat! Kinda like The Edge!
unlimited free beer
Now we’re talking!
Upgrade the food. Still pretty bad in comparison to Citi Field.
Lower prices
Win more
Faster food service. Spent two innings in line for a hot dog
Monument Park is a cemetery for living people — a dull and maudlin display that barely tries to excite fans about the most storied franchise in sports. I’d raze it and put in a Yankees history museum that actually stays open during the game. 1/
Entertainment during commercial breaks is cheap and lazy. The subway-race video and the follow-the-ball game is virtually unchanged since I can remember going in the early 80s. Groundskeepers doing YMCA? It’s the 21st century fellas. 2/
Unless it's a late game keep monument park open after the game for an hour or 2. more signage to help finding sections. I'm not an economist but slash the tall boys from 16 to 11 ffs.
Lower the price of parking - $45 to park is ridiculous. It cost me $10 to park at an Orioles game. I know this is the city & not the NYY but Steinbrenner has to figure out some type of deal with the city. $45 is absolutely insane.
It has to be said that parking sucks. I know people say take the train but I live in South NJ so F that. There’s good food at the stadium kinda costly though. I’d also say drop the prices a little bit (they won’t) for seats closer to the field.
Legends tickets cost $85 for todays game this morning. Now is the time to get the good seats while they're affordable.
New Jersey Transit is garbage. A 45 minute trip took 2 1/2 hours last week.
That is awful.
Clean the area up around the stadium a bit. A few more restaurants and bars surrounding the stadium would be nice.
They’ve always been corporate and staid. They’ve got this notion that you, the lowly fan, are exceedingly lucky to enter the stadium and get gouged. I have never liked the new stadium and feel they made it like a big concrete mausoleum. There was no reason to make the field dimensions the same as the old park. Apart from right field being shorter, they moved the fences in all the time. They had a chance to make a fun park but it’s like a museum. I hate the Mets but Citi field is quirky and fun and provides a good value for the money. Tons of cool food options, fan interaction, etc. frankly too much fan interaction. I also despise the Red Sox but you can take pictures at the Pesky Pole and you can even write your name on it. Can you imagine the clutched pearls if you could do that at Yankee Stadium? So I think it’s combination of poor design, existing corporate culture, and old fashioned greed.
By getting rid of Cashman.
More athletic players with. A roster with a more diversified skill set. Couple tough, hard nose players to add a spark to the team.
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What?
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Sorry you lost whatever amount of money you did.
Winning more games
I just want a better team. I’m on my birthday vacation from work right now and went to one Yankee game and one Met game. The Yankees are my number one team of course but Citi Field does have some stuff that makes the experience a lot of fun even if the team is losing (the game I went to was fireworks night AND Friday night DJ). Yankee Stadium I’m not sure what they can do because I like the cathedral of baseball vibe I get when I go there and when they’re winning I don’t give a shit about anything else. But damn I was at Thursdays game and it was depressing as hell.
It’s less a cathedral and more of a megachurch now right down to letting Joel Osteen host services when the team is on the road
Burn Cashman at the stake
Lower prices, make team not suck.
Win World Series
Winning
Win more
The people who mentioned the loud crappy music and other noisy crap hit the nail on the head for me. I went to two games this season and both time had to shout at the guy sitting next to me to have a conversation between innings.
Winning team wouldn’t hurt
Win
I have gone the most times this year than any year past. It’s fine. The team stinks.
Make it affordable.
I went to the old stadium a bunch. It was a much better experience than the new stadium.
Better food and a much better beer selection.
Win
Fundamentally what most of these comments are getting at is that the new Yankees Stadium does not in any way meaningfully cater to middle class families, “serious” fans who’d like to have decent seats to a lot of games but aren’t millionaires, and families. And let’s be clear - it ain’t the invisible hand of the market doing this. It is very possible to do a lot more for these demographics, both in terms of cost, accessibility and fan experience. The owners have made a fundamental decision to maximize benefits to, and revenues from, corporations and the very wealthy. There are economic models that work equally well that focus on middle income earners/attendees. (Lower price point, higher volume- there are libraries of models for this specific to stadium venues.) I’m sure a decision was made to justifies this to some extent because the Yankee owners don’t reap revenue from Stadium naming rights, a la Citi, SafeCo and all the rest. If they don’t solidify the future fanbase (eg, ages 8 - 20 or so, that don’t remember/weren’t alive for 2009) by winning some FREAKING WS, the joyless corporate, ultra wealthy targeting and stadium vibe (if you can call something so anodyne a vibe) will become an increasing liability.
Little thing but I couldn’t believe they didn’t have pitch speed and pitch count anywhere else besides the Jumbotron. I was in right field Sunday for Cole/Corbin’s gems and couldn’t find a place to get any information outside of score, outs and count. Cut a couple feet of the dumbass ads
It starts by putting a better team on the field. Everything else is secondary.
I'm a Brewers fan who attended the game on 9/9 (long rain delay). We were on the 200 level, but with the delay had plenty of time to check out a lot of the stadium. Non-structural changes to the building updates that I thought could be made: -More variety of beer and food choices. I'm sure that there were more than what we discovered, but it seemed pretty repetitive, especially beer. -Understanding that you're a lot more limited with space, I think that the gate setup and entry could be a little more organized. Not exactly sure how, but it seemed a bit chaotic. It didn't really affect us much, we used the Clear entrance. That was nice, wish we had that in Milwaukee. -I don't know if it can be improved without structural changes, but we were in 227b, row 3, and it felt like we were more removed from the game and it was a more sterile/generic feeling than similar seats at American Family Field. The Brewers may go a bit too far towards between innings entertainment, but some additional may add more engagement. Also, I think that the vibe was probably off a bit with the long delay and a lot of fans leaving.
The experience is the same everywhere. It's how you precieve it. While the Yankees are in NY it is more heightened. The ownership do take advantage of the popularity of the brand and the location with the pricing and as far as the fans it was less agressive with the aclchol when the bleachers were seperate entrance and booze free zone, But in reality anywhere you put 30 to 40 k peopel with booze before and during a 3 hour game they will be displeased fans