EPTIt's an article written by a sportswriter who decided to, for the sake of curiosity, scrounge up the 1,250$ it costs ("The seat, including service charges, cost more than my monthly mortgage payment.") to sit in the "Legends" section in Yankee Stadium.
Very interesting tidbits of information and opining on the prices of seating, and all.
I order a $200 bottle of the 2006 Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape, a classic French wine from the southern Rhône Valley.
"A bottle?" asks the waitress.
Yes.
"Just for you?"
Yes.
"You treat yourself well," she says. I'm not sure she means that as a compliment.
She comes back and mangles the cork, which seems ridiculous for a $1,200 ticket, but I let her slide. Noblesse oblige. I swirl the wine around in my mouth. The spicy finish goes well with the hot dog. Excuse me, the sausage.
From my table, I can see the masses moving back and forth beyond the glass wall. It feels good to be reminded, in dramatic, unmistakable ways, that you are better than other people. It shouldn't, but it does.
In the downstairs half of the suite, there are all the same food stations -- plus dessert. Ice cream served in little blue Yankees helmets. Or maybe an entire pint for your seat. Pan-sautéed whoopie pies. I get three or four of those and take them to the bar, where I order a $60 glass of Johnnie Walker Blue Label (food's free, booze isn't). A house ad airs on the television in front of me. Apparently, I can buy Kobe beef to take home from the stadium. Yes, there's a butcher here. And an art gallery. I can get sushi and lobster rolls and Scottish salmon in another nearby lounge, along with duck pasta. On the first- and third-base side of the room, hidden from common view behind home plate, sit gigantic tables covered with every snack imaginable. There's Cracker Jack and peanuts, Twizzlers and Twix, Skittles and Starburst, plus five or six other kinds of sugar-coated goodness.
I watch a kid, maybe 8 years old, stand in front of the spread. He's paralyzed. His dad is trying not to laugh, and the boy can't figure out what to take. He's never seen anything like this.
The dad finally laughs. "It's all included," he tells his son. "It's like Willy Wonka."
Welcome to the new America, kid. Too bad you can't save a bag of Skittles in your wallet for 50 years. Luckily, you'll never know what you're missing.
...
A recent poll discovered an unsettling trend emerging for the first time. American families whose household income is $75,000 or less now have zero dollars of discretionary income. According to Luker, that means about 75 percent of the country can never responsibly afford to go to a live professional sporting event. Franchises want them to be fans, to buy the gear and pull for their teams and watch the telecasts the leagues are paid billions for. But they don't need them to come to their stadiums. There are, right now, plenty of rich people who love games. The prices reflect that. The reason sporting events cost so much now, Luker's research shows, is because they are designed to be affordable only to those making $150,000 or more a year.
"A bottle?" asks the waitress.
Yes.
"Just for you?"
Yes.
"You treat yourself well," she says. I'm not sure she means that as a compliment.
She comes back and mangles the cork, which seems ridiculous for a $1,200 ticket, but I let her slide. Noblesse oblige. I swirl the wine around in my mouth. The spicy finish goes well with the hot dog. Excuse me, the sausage.
From my table, I can see the masses moving back and forth beyond the glass wall. It feels good to be reminded, in dramatic, unmistakable ways, that you are better than other people. It shouldn't, but it does.
In the downstairs half of the suite, there are all the same food stations -- plus dessert. Ice cream served in little blue Yankees helmets. Or maybe an entire pint for your seat. Pan-sautéed whoopie pies. I get three or four of those and take them to the bar, where I order a $60 glass of Johnnie Walker Blue Label (food's free, booze isn't). A house ad airs on the television in front of me. Apparently, I can buy Kobe beef to take home from the stadium. Yes, there's a butcher here. And an art gallery. I can get sushi and lobster rolls and Scottish salmon in another nearby lounge, along with duck pasta. On the first- and third-base side of the room, hidden from common view behind home plate, sit gigantic tables covered with every snack imaginable. There's Cracker Jack and peanuts, Twizzlers and Twix, Skittles and Starburst, plus five or six other kinds of sugar-coated goodness.
I watch a kid, maybe 8 years old, stand in front of the spread. He's paralyzed. His dad is trying not to laugh, and the boy can't figure out what to take. He's never seen anything like this.
The dad finally laughs. "It's all included," he tells his son. "It's like Willy Wonka."
Welcome to the new America, kid. Too bad you can't save a bag of Skittles in your wallet for 50 years. Luckily, you'll never know what you're missing.
...
A recent poll discovered an unsettling trend emerging for the first time. American families whose household income is $75,000 or less now have zero dollars of discretionary income. According to Luker, that means about 75 percent of the country can never responsibly afford to go to a live professional sporting event. Franchises want them to be fans, to buy the gear and pull for their teams and watch the telecasts the leagues are paid billions for. But they don't need them to come to their stadiums. There are, right now, plenty of rich people who love games. The prices reflect that. The reason sporting events cost so much now, Luker's research shows, is because they are designed to be affordable only to those making $150,000 or more a year.
I haven't been to a sports game in 5 years... part of it was because I went to uni in the UK (where I just watched futbol at pubs) and part of it was because I simply didn't have the money to. The last game I watched was some Caps game - the NHL is relatively affordable. Too bad I don't really like watching hockey.
But the Yankees Stadium and now the Cowboys Stadium... yeesh. People are nuts.
Hopefully some people find the article a nice read, too (^_^)b
