Stadium Discussion

[Jon]

Okay.... So how does NYCFC and Yankee Stadium make the experience better?

• Closing sections with NYCFC logo tarps to minimize open areas that look bad in person and on TV
• Making parts of the left field wall removable to widen the field to something remotely close to regulation
• Maybe bringing audio of songs / chants from the SS to other areas of the stadium (Maybe at pregame do some sort of teachable sing along on the video board)
• Open more concessions on the concourses and stop selling Yankee merchandise during soccer games.

 

[Kjbert]

I agree, I'm in the same boat as you with a 5 year old. I put a lot of suntan lotion on her, wouldn't take her in the cold or rain. Year 1, we'd spend extra time in the Mohegan Sun bar, she liked it there and no one from security bothered a 3 year old about running down to the seating area where she liked to watch. It's a shame that playground won't be open to us this Summer, I wouldn't mind watching from there while she played around with some other kids.

There was a playground? When I want to go to the match with my son, it is a must that my wife comes along because he likes to wander. So selfishly, she lets me watch the game and she will wander with me.

We were driving down a couple of weeks ago and we were talking about a stadium for some reason. She raised a great point that it would be great if a new stadium had things for kids - if you have ever been to Citi Field you know what I am talking about

 

[Kjbert]

Okay.... So how does NYCFC and Yankee Stadium make the experience better?

• Closing sections with NYCFC logo tarps to minimize open areas that look bad in person and on TV
• Making parts of the left field wall removable to widen the field to something remotely close to regulation
• Maybe bringing audio of songs / chants from the SS to other areas of the stadium (Maybe at pregame do some sort of teachable sing along on the video board)
• Open more concessions on the concourses and stop selling Yankee merchandise during soccer games.

I think this is a good start. The problem is that they won't make any structural changes to the stadium for our sake. But at minimum, your first suggestion is a great one. Tarp the damn upper decks.

 

[adam]

There was a playground? When I want to go to the match with my son, it is a must that my wife comes along because he likes to wander. So selfishly, she lets me watch the game and she will wander with me.

We were driving down a couple of weeks ago and we were talking about a stadium for some reason. She raised a great point that it would be great if a new stadium had things for kids - if you have ever been to Citi Field you know what I am talking about

They are building this in the 300 section. But because we don't use the 300s (or rarely) they are not opening it up for our matches. Only baseball. Maybe we should draft a letter or something...

 

[Jon]

I think this is a good start. The problem is that they won't make any structural changes to the stadium for our sake. But at minimum, your first suggestion is a great one. Tarp the damn upper decks.

I think there was a conversation I had with someone on here about possibly making this wall removable to widen the field. All they need is another 5 yards:

 

[mgarbowski]

I think this is a good start. The problem is that they won't make any structural changes to the stadium for our sake. But at minimum, your first suggestion is a great one. Tarp the damn upper decks.

I'm surprised this makes a difference to people. I just mentally block out the upper deck. It doesn't matter if it's not tarped, but different minds work differently. Who knew?
The only time it does bother me is when they open the top deck and sell tickets in just 2-3 sections. That looks weird, and even moreso when they stick visiting supporters up there.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

Ulrich and NYCFCfan - very good point about sitting closer to the foul pole in left field (I think that's the spot you are talking about. I am in 126 right now

Last season, when we beat NJRB, I had raffled my tickets off for a local charity. I have a buddy who attends probably half of the matches with me. He gets free tickets all the time to all Yankee Stadium events. So he brought me along on his free tickets for that match. We sat in the 300 section near the left field foul pole and it was AWESOME. I'm a big believer for NFL and College Football of being a little away from the action - higher up - and watching plays develop. I appreciate the game for the build-up and tactics.

Now, that being said, I would also prefer to be mid-field where I can see all the action equally AND be close to the pitch. I'm willing to pay a premium for that. I've considered moving out to the Right Field bleachers for a game but haven't pulled the trigger. With the new Toyota Porch or whatever it is they built, I will probably watch one match there when the weather improves. I checked it out before the first home opener and it's awesome. Great job by Yankee Stadium.

Where are you in 126? I'm row 3 on the aisle. Don't love it.

 

[NYCFCfan]

I think a lot of the complaints about the view and the noise would be addressed by moving towards the corners/endline. (***INTERN, don't read this next bit***) I don't think the pricing structure at YS is reflective of seat quality, and paying more to sit at midfield - especially so far removed from the sideline - isn't the best choice. (***INTERN can resume reading)

For the atmosphere, I consider that more a function of us being a new team than an intrinsic problem with YS. We could have a brand new SSS and you'd still see sections out of sync and lulls in the noise level because people are still figuring out how to support this team.

Yeah, the huge issue is the way Yankee Stadium is built. We all know it's a baseball stadium so keeping that in mind all the amenities like the restaurants, buffets, bars, etc are all around home plate. The legends section is closed off from the rest of the stadium. So if you want that dope stuff you're stuck with crap seats.

Okay.... So how does NYCFC and Yankee Stadium make the experience better?

• Closing sections with NYCFC logo tarps to minimize open areas that look bad in person and on TV
• Making parts of the left field wall removable to widen the field to something remotely close to regulation
• Maybe bringing audio of songs / chants from the SS to other areas of the stadium (Maybe at pregame do some sort of teachable sing along on the video board)
• Open more concessions on the concourses and stop selling Yankee merchandise during soccer games.

I don't think tarps are realistic given the expense and the turnaround time from game to game. Besides it's not on tv that much so it's not like they could sell ads.

One of the easiest things they can do is stop selling Yankee merchandise and at least try to get rid of the Yankees logos on everything, cups, napkins, food items. I mean if you're going to stay there a while at least make it feel like your home.

 

[adam]

I'm surprised this makes a difference to people. I just mentally block out the upper deck. It doesn't matter if it's not tarped, but different minds work differently. Who knew?
The only time it does bother me is when they open the top deck and sell tickets in just 2-3 sections. That looks weitrd, and even moreso when they stick visiting supporters up there.

I imagine it's full of people in their underwear. Makes me less nervous.

 

[mgarbowski]

One of the easiest things they can do is stop selling Yankee merchandise and at least try to get rid of the Yankees logos on everything, cups, napkins, food items. I mean if you're going to stay there a while at least make it feel like your home.

I wonder how much Yankee gear they sell? Again this bothers me less than others, but I fully agree on the paper and plasticware. Maybe the new team sponsor Rise LLC can start supplying some team-themed items for use on NYCFC game days.

 

[NickFromAstoria]

The only time it does bother me is when they open the top deck and sell tickets in just 2-3 sections. That looks weitrd, and even moreso when they stick visiting supporters up there.

It was kind of amusing to see the little Liverpool group up there during the Galaxy game - it was if they'd all been relegated to the stadium's timeout corner or something.

 

[mgarbowski]

Related note on Yankee theming. When I was at the suite last game, everything on that floor is Yankee themed. There is no NYCFC imagery put up even on a temporary basis. Logos, photographs, everything is Yankees. The only NYCFC dressing the club does is on the TV monitors. Before the game they put NYCFC logos on the screens. But you get off the elevator and it screams Yankees. Walk down the hall, and it's Yankees, Yankees, Yankees. Inside the suite it's all Yankees. The modestly fancy napkins had Yankees logos. The bathroom (which by the way did not have a TV to my surprise) has Yankee photos. I found it odd because I'm pretty sure most of the guests besides my wife and I were sponsors, and it presents a weak image of NYCFC to have no NYCFC presence at all in the suite where they entertain you. They should be doing better.

 

[The Toe]

I would honestly watch this team play a regular season MLS match in a sewer. It's just hard getting to NJ.

 

[adam]

I would honestly watch this team play a regular season MLS match in a sewer. It's just hard getting to NJ.

 

[Kjbert]

adam I missed that. That would be a game changer for my family. My guy right now is good for about half a match. After that, he's done. And forget about if we get there TOO early. He's ready to go by kickoff.

Jon it would be interesting to see though how they could take advantage of that extra 5 yards - you would essentially need to tilt the field some - is that possible?

mgarbowski it doesn't make a huge difference but sound gets lost up there. And it just leads to less enthusiasm. It's not a huge deal, but it's not a plus either

Midas Mulligan I'm near the top by the entrance. Like the second or third row from the top. I am two seats in from the end. I sit with two cops (one next to me and one in front of me). Another forum poster is in front of us a couple of rows but I don't remember his name

 

[Ulrich]

I would honestly watch this team play a regular season MLS match in a sewer. It's just hard getting to NJ.

Did you try flushing the toilet?

 

[sbrylski]

TL;DR: Lampardgate disillusioned me; I only hold my tickets for profit on resale if I can get it and potential seating at a great stadium. If I lose to much $$$ or stadium is in the boonies I'm out. Still a fan (unless we are in jersey then I'm done).

This exactly. I had season tickets for most of year one. I went to something like 1/2 or 2/3 of the games, but even in that season, I wasn't impressed with resale demand and decided it wasn't worth it to have season tickets if I can only make 1/2 the games. I'll just buy single game tickets to the ones I can attend.

By the way, this is exactly the reason why the stadium will be smaller than most people expect - 25k would be fine.

 

[LionNYC]

Related note on Yankee theming. When I was at the suite last game, everything on that floor is Yankee themed. There is no NYCFC imagery put up even on a temporary basis. Logos, photographs, everything is Yankees. The only NYCFC dressing the club does is on the TV monitors. Before the game they put NYCFC logos on the screens. But you get off the elevator and it screams Yankees. Walk down the hall, and it's Yankees, Yankees, Yankees. Inside the suite it's all Yankees. The modestly fancy napkins had Yankees logos. The bathroom (which by the way did not have a TV to my surprise) has Yankee photos. I found it odd because I'm pretty sure most of the guests besides my wife and I were sponsors, and it presents a weak image of NYCFC to have no NYCFC presence at all in the suite where they entertain you. They should be doing better.

I don't think the people buying those suites care what's on the walls. They care about what's inside the suite in terms of the view and amenities. Moreover, it's likely corporate owned so Yankees or NYCFC doesn't make a difference. In the Pitchside Club, they put up Etihad logos since Etihad is sponsoring it now.

 

[SoupInNYC]

Forgot about Tony Taylor already?

I don't remember the injury that vividly, but can we chalk that one up to the pitch?

Remember that ACL tears happen in sports generally. We can't say every ACL tear that happens at Yankee Stadium is the fault of the pitch (and again, it may be the case here, I just don't remember what happened all that well and a quick youtube search didn't yield anything).

 

[mgarbowski]

I don't think the people buying those suites care what's on the walls

I didn't say the suite buyers cared (tho I think some might just a little, but not enough to argue). I specifically mentioned the suite which NYCFC uses to entertain its clients. NYCFC should care that those folks see a bit more of an NYCFC presence. I realize those clients mostly care about how NYCFC treats their brands, but I think they can't help but notice how NYCFC fails to present its own brand.