Stadium Discussion

[mgarbowski]

I know this was mentioned above but I’m not technologically savvy enough to get the exact quote in the reply. I’m in that nightmare situation of life situation changing mid NYCFC season contract right now. I took a job in Pittsburgh this summer (yes, I’m already planning on grabbing Riverhounds and Riveters tickets), but my family is still in New York, so I’m going back and forth on weekends. And this means I’m also paying right now for 2026 tickets knowing that it’ll be difficult to attend a lot of the games. I still want seats and would absolutely travel for games, but I really don’t want to be tied into a multi-year contract.

Honestly, if the club were thinking strategically, they’d offer a true year to year option for premium seats. More people would jump in. Part of me thinks the reason they don’t is because once fans realize the premium seats aren’t really worth the cost, they’d never commit to another two years of escalating prices.

Anyway, back to my point. I’ve got Champions Club seats now, and I actually love that level. I still think I’m paying too much, but the all you can eat ballpark fare and the included parking passes make it worthwhile for me. What I hate is that there’s no reasonably priced version of the same quality seat. Premium tickets are already tough to resell, and I don’t see that improving in the new stadium.

On top of that, my wife is already annoyed that we’re locked in for 2026 when we’ll only be able to get to weekend matches. And with how expensive the new stadium is going to be, there is no way I’ll convince her we should keep premium seats and a contract. I might end up in general seating just to have tickets at all, but honestly, even that’s starting to feel unlikely. All of this is a long way of saying: be careful before you get locked into any contract. Things change fast, and you don’t want to be stuck when they do.

I can only offer sympathy to your main point. But I'm responding to say Pittsburgh is a pretty cool city with a beautiful riverfront. And even if you hate baseball you absolutely should go to one Pirates game on a pretty night in July. Section 317 Upper Deck.

 

[RunningWise]

I can only offer sympathy to your main point. But I'm responding to say Pittsburgh is a pretty cool city with a beautiful riverfront. And even if you hate baseball you absolutely should go to one Pirates game on a pretty night in July. Section 317 Upper Deck. View attachment 14241View attachment 14242View attachment 14243

Not to high jack this conversation but Pittsburgh might be America’s best kept secret

 

[mgarbowski]

Not to high jack this conversation but Pittsburgh might be America’s best kept secret

Good luck with the new job and relocation.

 

[mgarbowski]

Oh hell, can you ever really hijack the stadium thread?

My one Pittsburgh tip that you might not become aware of on your own is to visit Carrie Furnaces, a steel works with blast furnaces that shut down in 1978:

Carrie Blast Furnaces National Historic Landmark

A remnant of the U.S. Steel Homestead Works, the Carrie Blast Furnaces are a vestige of Pittsburgh’s 20th-century domination of the steel industry.

riversofsteel.com

I think they have both guided and unguided tours. We had to make a reservation. After your visit there, try Rogue BBG which is just a ways down and across the river.

Rogue BBQ PGH

www.roguebbqpgh.com

 

[FootyLovin]

Not to high jack this conversation but Pittsburgh might be America’s best kept secret

You probably already know this but if you don’t … Pamela’s pancakes. Breakfast has never been the same.

 

[kiwiuzui]

The contract would need to have a free cancellation provision for life changes. It would be similar to how you can change work benefits any time due to marriage, divorce, birth, death, adult child getting her own insurance, etc. Here the likely conditions might include moving out of the metro area, death of a friend or family member who regularly attended, job loss, etc. But I don't feel like reading fine print during an appointment to buy sports tickets. I wouldn't want to need to provide proof of any of the above when I cancel. "I'm sorry your wife died but we need a death certificate and proof she regularly attended games" or "We need to see your termination letter." Plus they might not even have such provisions in the contract. Overall it's an offensive requirement. My personal concern is moving away, which is likely to happen. Just let me buy season tickets for stadium year 1 and go away happy.

I 100% plan to have redlines if they want me to sign multi-year. I imagine with the type of client base and money we’re talking about for premiums, they’ll entertain some wiggle room for revisions but if anyone’s tried before, wondering if they’ll just instead pull the whole contract instead. But a take-it-or-leave-it type contract doesn’t make sense to me for such a long commitment…

 

[QueensKnight]

I will admit that I am considering these east side seats. My wife has medical issues that makes us miss a lot of matches due to cold weather. A guaranteed place to warm up could make the difference between being able to attend 5-10 vs 15-17 matches.

OTOH, depending on the price, I might end up just buying normal seats and trading in / upgrading to these tickets for a handful of cold weather matches. I wonder what the secondary market for these seats will look like.

Just something you may want to consider. I was told the east side club is not attached to the seating area, and that makes sense if you look at the plans for the stadium, and has no view of the field. You dont enter through the club either, like you do on the west side. I was told it would be somewhere in the circled area.

I also asked about the trade in program and was told they're not sure if it will continue. The explanation I was given was that if they sell all, or most, of the premium seats then there wouldn't be anything to trade in for or upgrade to. Which does make sense, though I think they could still offer it as a possibility.

 

[FootyLovin]

Just something you may want to consider. I was told the east side club is not attached to the seating area, and that makes sense if you look at the plans for the stadium, and has no view of the field. You dont enter through the club either, like you do on the west side. I was told it would be somewhere in the circled area.

I also asked about the trade in program and was told they're not sure if it will continue. The explanation I was given was that if they sell all, or most, of the premium seats then there wouldn't be anything to trade in for or upgrade to. Which does make sense, though I think they could still offer it as a possibility.

Thanks. That makes sense. I think it is exceedingly unlikely I will get these tickets. So probably like everyone else I’m waiting for next year to select a riff raff seat.

 

[mgarbowski]

I also asked about the trade in program and was told they're not sure if it will continue. The explanation I was given was that if they sell all, or most, of the premium seats then there wouldn't be anything to trade in for or upgrade to. Which does make sense, though I think they could still offer it as a possibility.

I had wondered about this, though not specifically for the premium seats. Put aside trading up. If the stadium sells out you might not even be able to turn in 2 tickets to Game 3 so you can have 4 tickets in Game 11 at the same level. I know the house always sets aside some seats it does not sell, but I'm not sure they would have enough for this program to function without significant friction.

 

[Huss]

I knew the east side would be a lesser seat but these new details are dissapointing, though they will likely end up saving me money. Question though, are their any lower bowl sideline non premium seats or are we looking at second deck?

 

[ZYanksRule]

I had wondered about this, though not specifically for the premium seats. Put aside trading up. If the stadium sells out you might not even be able to turn in 2 tickets to Game 3 so you can have 4 tickets in Game 11 at the same level. I know the house always sets aside some seats it does not sell, but I'm not sure they would have enough for this program to function without significant friction.

I would assume for at least the first couple seasons, every game will sell out as people look to experience the new stadium. 25,000 is a large stadium by our current attendance standards, but I think we lost many fans who got sick of the baseball stadium experience and will come back for Etihad Park, so as long as the team on the field is good, I think we sell out the stadium for at least a couple years before the new-car smell wears off.

 

[Huss]

I would assume for at least the first couple seasons, every game will sell out as people look to experience the new stadium. 25,000 is a large stadium by our current attendance standards, but I think we lost many fans who got sick of the baseball stadium experience and will come back for Etihad Park, so as long as the team on the field is good, I think we sell out the stadium for at least a couple years before the new-car smell wears off.

Don't forget the new season. Cold in March Apri (yes playoff hunt)l November December...

 

[Joe_Cos]

I knew the east side would be a lesser seat but these new details are dissapointing, though they will likely end up saving me money. Question though, are their any lower bowl sideline non premium seats or are we looking at second deck?

Per Soup's reporting in the Outfield, there will be 5,509 General lower bowl seats (13 partial obstruction). So it will probably on the east side, from 18 yard box to the goal line and behind the goal line.

 

[413Blue]

Is there a good rundown of the timeline of construction for the neighboring parts of this project? Are we going to be walking through construction sites for a few years?

 

[ZYanksRule]

Is there a good rundown of the timeline of construction for the neighboring parts of this project? Are we going to be walking through construction sites for a few years?

The main entrance to the stadium is going to be right across the street from Citi Field so I don't think it'll be that bad even if they are still building parts of the neighborhood.

 

[FootyLovin]

I know the house always sets aside some seats it does not sell, but I'm not sure they would have enough for this program to function without significant friction.

So essentially the secondary market becomes the trade-in program.

 

[mgarbowski]

So essentially the secondary market becomes the trade-in program.

That's the result if the trade-in option goes away, or is severely limited. Yes.

 

[413Blue]

So essentially the secondary market becomes the trade-in program.

Which, in the grand scheme of things, is probably more efficient overall, especially if options are limited.

 

[LostAnvil]

Per Soup's reporting in the Outfield, there will be 5,509 General lower bowl seats (13 partial obstruction). So it will probably on the east side, from 18 yard box to the goal line and behind the goal line.

View attachment 14251

hard to tell with all the shades of blue, but seems like the corners are part of the General Lower Bowl too, yeah?

 

[Gotham Gator]

Which, in the grand scheme of things, is probably more efficient overall, especially if options are limited.

That depends on whether or not we can resell without fees.