Yankees continue their PR swoon

On the heels of their ticket price fiasco comes Monday’s rain delay debacle. Fans who had entered Yankee Stadium for the Yankees eventual loss to the Red Sox where greeted by a rain shower that delayed the game more than two hours. While the fans grew restless, Yankee Stadium employees carrying "How may I help you" signs informed them that the game had been cancelled. Upon hearing the news, the fans left the Stadium only to discover that the game had not been cancelled and demanded they be let back in. Yankee Stadium policy does not allow re-entry, so you can see where things were headed…to an angry and frustrated mob.

Having sat through rain delays before at other Stadiums, I have to say, it’s made very clear that if you chose to leave, you will not be allowed back in. Hell, I’ve waited three hours, wandering around Citizens Bank Park, to hear that a game between the Phillies and Braves was cancelled. I however, have not run into a similar problem at Yankee Stadium, so I don’t know if it was made clear that once you exit, you cannot return.

In this case, because employees of the Yankees were wrongly telling guests that the game had been cancelled, the Yankees should have allowed any fans back into the Stadium at all gates (apparently Gate 4 was allowing fans back in but not Gate 6), because they left due to misinformation.

A suggestion many people have made is the rubber stamp rule. If you leave the Stadium, you can have your hand stamped that proves you had entered the Stadium with a valid ticket and then when you decide you’d like to re-enter the Stadium, you show a ticket taker or a guard your hand and you’ll be allowed back in. It’s not necessarily a horrible idea, but where are you going in the South Bronx that you’d want to leave the Stadium and then come back in? Besides going out for a cigarette break, it just doesn’t make sense.

I do believe that once again, because the Yankees were at fault, they should either refund the tickets to all fans that purchased tickets or offer a free ticket to another game with a valid ticket stub. Maybe then, the Stadium will look more than half full.
(Photo: AP; source)