Yankees and Mets not swindling all fans

It’s hard not to notice the large sections of empty seats at the Mets and Yankees new ballparks, especially since these pockets fall in the lower levels, behind home plate and beyond where tight camera shots cannot hide them. It’s also hard not to notice how packed the rest of the stadiums are. But that fact has been neatly hidden in bottom paragraphs of essays that have been composed about the expensive seats that appear to be unsold at both new Ballparks. (Although it is also possible that said seats are sold, but those with tickets did not come to the game.)

Yes, $2,625 for one ticket is outrageous. And yes, I have sat in a similar seat at Turner Field and paid only about $50 for it in 2006. And yeah, I’ll be in seats at the Metrodome this summer that cost me under $40 that would be in the neighborhood of $500 at the new Stadium. To face facts, those bargains are found in cities like Atlanta and Minneapolis while we’re talking about New York City. More in line with the sky high prices of the big apple would be Los Angeles, where tickets behind home plate at Dodger Stadium go for $500 a pop. Still over $2,100 off of the Yankees prices! And compared with tickets for a platinum game at Citi Field, they would still be $195 less. (For a value date, it would actually be $205 more at Dodger Stadium.)

This isn’t to say that there are not affordable tickets, because I can tell you from experience there are. You just need to make compromises and plan ahead. The Yankees themselves have $5 tickets in the bleachers (which are sold out for the season) and also host $5 nights (which I assume are similarly sold out.) And with all that noise about increased prices, the Yanks kept bleacher and upper deck tickets at the same price as a year before.

Correspondingly, the Mets also have value seats and value games that fans can get tickets for as low as $11 for the upper deck.

A quick glance at StubHub, a popular resale site, and bargains can be found for $9 a ticket at Yankee Stadium and $5 for Citi Field in the next month.

The fact of the matter is that while both the Yanks and Mets will most certainly have to adjust ticket prices for their more premium seats, at least as we amble along in this recession, there are still ways for baseball fans to see the new parks without spending boat loads of money. All it takes is planning, ingenuity and compromise.
(Prices were found on team's offical websites)