fullcountpitch.com

By Bill Campione

Michael Kay, frequent target of my verbal jabs and favorite of Owner and CEO of FullCountPitch Gary Armida, took a step up in my book this week, but, in true Kaysian form, took two steps back almost immediately. Kay was on vacation for the Yankees’ last two series against Toronto and Oakland, forcing me to listen to Ken Singleton and David Cone. Without enough space to properly document their ineptitude I will simply say that Kay was missed.

Upon his return I tuned into his 1050 ESPN radio program eager to begin my new love affair with his Rocky Dennis sized head. I caught him in the middle of a conversation about the New York football Giants Personal Seat Licenses (PSLs). Kay was not against it, making him one of the few talkers not bashing the Giants for the new revenue stream. (This is one of Kay’s fortes. He takes an unpopular position and argues it until the bitter end, seemingly taking pride in winning an unwinnable argument. After he states his case uninterrupted, he challenges listeners to change his mind, usually with the preface of, “I don’t see how you can do it”.)

Kay’s argument was that a team will only charge PSLs if people will pay for them. As long as there is demand for the product, the team can charge whatever they want. He then went on to use the Yankees’ ticket prices to back up his point. (This is another Kay tactic. Directly or indirectly prop up the Yankees while making a point about something else. In this situation, he indirectly absolves the Yankees from their ridiculous ticket prices while discussing the Giants.) Yankee Stadium sells out, and will continue to do so, regardless of the prices. Sporting events are not a necessity, he argued, like milk or gas, and if you can’t afford to go, don’t go.

The laws of economics are on Kay’s side here. The less of a product that is available, the more that can be and will be charged for that scarce product. But in most cases the company will increase supply to meet demand, thereby lowering the price to equilibrium. But the Yankees cannot print more tickets to games, so the prices will never come down and will exclude many customers from buying their product. Also, with the advent of a legal and legitimate secondary market (Stub Hub, eBay, etc), tickets that may have been available to lower income fan base will often be snatched up by brokers, or resold by ticket holders, for a price higher than the face value. So the best way to ensure a middle class viewing of numerous Yankee games will be to buy a season ticket plan for the moderately priced seats.

According to Lonn Trost, Yankees Chief Operating Officer, there will be approximately 25,000 seats available for under $45 in the new Yankee Stadium.  This, presumably, will include 2,000 standing room tickets and a decreased amount of bleacher seats. But it’s not just the price per ticket that has many in an uproar; it’s also the conditions to retain previously owned season tickets and buying new ones. Here is a comment from a Newsday article:

I’ve had partial (”E” plan) tickets in the first row of the upper deck behind home plate for a number of years. I just found out that the 9 upper deck sections behind home plate (currently MVP tier) will only be sold for full season, multi-year plans(2-10 year commitment), with a minimum price of $100/seat. The other levels behind home are even more absurdly priced. Anyone who’s been to a midweek game knows that many of the “full season” seats on the field level go unused. Unfortunately, this will now be true for most of the seats near home plate.

By making customers (not, fans, customers) buy full season, multiyear ticket plans again eliminates much of the chance that the middle class will be at numerous games. While many of the seats will be consumer friendly, these requirements may put them out of the reach for some. The Yankees have over 39,000 season ticket holders in the 2008. That number will probably increase next year, but many current season ticket holders will be relocated or priced out completely due to the conditions described by the commenter above..

Since the Yankees began their playoff run in 1995, the price of a Field Box ticket has gone from $17 to $250. (Thanks to River Ave Blues for the research.)While many bemoan that the regular fan and his family has been priced out of a night (and many other nights) at the Stadium, others point to the ever inflated Yankees payroll that must be accounted for. In order to put a winning team on the field year in and year out, prices will have to be raised and some fans will be priced out of the pleasure of cheering for their team in person. I have adapted to this economic reality. I haven’t seen a game from below the upper deck or closer than the bleachers in almost 15 years. I haven’t complained. As a matter of fact, I have come to appreciate the higher altitude and increased sight lines Tier Reserved gives you.

But I am not a father of three. I don’t hold the responsibility of raising young Yankee fans and hoping that my children and I can bond over our love of baseball and Andy Fox. I don’t have to pay upwards of $1000 to give my kids the full experience that my father gave me. I don’t think my parents paid $1000 on the combined amount of all tickets they have purchased for me in my life. So how am I to take Mrs. Doyle and future Harry Jr. and his siblings to the new Yankee Stadium without treating it as a weekend vacation? I could drive the family to Six Flags in New Jersey and give them three separate days of fun for the price of one trip to Yankee Stadium for the benefit of NOT sitting in the nosebleeds.

The Giants and Yankees are depriving their current and future fans the experience of seeing their game in person and therefore are denying them the opportunity of falling in love with games that are easy to fall for when seen in person. It is no longer a guarantee that kids will become baseball fans just because their dad is. A game so rooted in subtlety and strategy needs to be appreciated on a different level than can be gleaned from a telecast. There has been much ado recently about the falling number of black ballplayers in the major leagues. At a recent game I literally saw 90% white faces in the Stadium, minus those working. As prices to attend games continue to increase, will anyone be surprised if the number of black ball players continues to fall?

Not only are these teams risking losing future fans, they are also alienating the fans that have built their franchises. What will a second generation Giants season ticket holder do when faced with losing the seats passed down to them from their grandfather? Of course, team loyalty can survive such a transgression, but if the Giants field a losing team - which is very possible with the parity on the NFL - will the corporate or upper crust PSL owners still fill the stadium and pay for concessions and parking? Will the old ticket owners line up on Stub Hub to purchase seats at or above face value? If the Yankees ever fully rebuild, or if their veterans all tank at once, who can be counted on to pay their prices? Will the team reduce cost to reflect the team it is fielding?

The New York Metropolitan Area is comprised of 22 million people. There will be some seats for the lower and middle class, but the vast majority of the upper class will be served because of the increase in price and ridiculous requirements put on season ticket plans. The percentage that will not be served is far greater and that will have consequences for the future economic success of these teams.

Michael Kay will take his seat at all home games, park for free, eat for free, and bemoan the lack of attendance when the team eventually has a down season. Maybe he will stand by the unpopular opinion that he holds today, but he will be just as wrong as he is now.