Yankee Stadium Needs To Improve

[Gotham Gator]

It was a great night by the team and supporters, but not a great night for the crew at Yankee Stadium. On pretty much every possible measure, Yankee Stadium failed its first big test in serving a soccer crowd.

• There were huge delays trying to enter the stadium. Presumably, this was due to the new screening system that involved x-ray scanners and fans emptying their pockets. Still, this needs to get a lot better, and not just for soccer - baseball fans won't tolerate these delays either.
• Merchandise stands were insufficiently stocked and staffed. The long lines to get an opening day scarf or other memento were impossible to overcome, and where there weren't long lines, merchandise ran out.
• Food purchase was nearly impossible. The vendors were completely unprepared for a soccer crowd rushing for provisions at halftime. I left my seat right at the 45' mark at the end of the first half and got in line for a burger at Juniors. An eternity later, and with a kid melting down, I returned to my seat at the 60' mark. It is completely unacceptable. It was even worse for the people in the pizza line to my left. After about 20-25 minutes in line, and with the second half having just kicked off, it was announced to them that they'd completely run out of pizza. I kid you not.
• Parking was a disaster. Upon trying to leave our lot, the gate was broken. There was a long (15 minute) delay finding someone who could open it. Then, they insisted on checking out each car one-by-one and manually opening the gate, leading to more long delays.

None of this was enough to ruin a great experience, but none of it is acceptable either. The Yankee organization is a proud one, and these guys try to do the best work. Hopefully, they are aware of these problems and will improve over the course of the season.

 

[Kevin]

By the time I got back from food it was the 80th minute -_-

 

[Tiger Jones]

It was the very first home game in the team's existence, lines for merch were always going to be crazy. What can they do in that regard? If demand is high, it's high. Every team store I went to was fully staffed and all registers were running at full steam. As far as food, the lines are always long throughout the middle of any baseball game, unfortunately that's what waiting for concessions is at any big sporting event. Eat before, either outside the stadium or inside but before the game begins. You'll miss all the lines. And parking can be bad depending on what lot you're in, the ones further away from the stadium are always much cheaper and easier to get in/out of. Unfortunately traffic is always going to be a mess, that's why you should always PT it when you can. I get being upset but there's really nothing they can do to speed up any of the things you were unhappy with.

As for the metal detectors, it's unfortunate that they even have to be used and since this was the very first time they were using them at the stadium I'm sure that accounted for the longer than usual lines. It will hopefully improve as time goes on.

 

[Gene]

Eat before, either outside the stadium or inside but before the game begins. You'll miss all the lines.

And save a fortune.

My son went to get something to eat at half time, but came back empty handed because of the lines. About the 60 minute mark he tried again and came back 20 minutes later with 2 'dogs and a water...........$19.00. ugh

 

[Kevin]

It was the very first home game in the team's existence, lines for merch were always going to be crazy. What can they do in that regard? If demand is high, it's high. Every team store I went to was fully staffed and all registers were running at full steam. As far as food, the lines are always long throughout the middle of any baseball game, unfortunately that's what waiting for concessions is at any big sporting event. Eat before, either outside the stadium or inside but before the game begins. You'll miss all the lines. And parking can be bad depending on what lot you're in, the ones further away from the stadium are always much cheaper and easier to get in/out of. Unfortunately traffic is always going to be a mess, that's why you should always PT it when you can. I get being upset but there's really nothing they can do to speed up any of the things you were unhappy with.

As for the metal detectors, it's unfortunate that they even have to be used and since this was the very first time they were using them at the stadium I'm sure that accounted for the longer than usual lines. It will hopefully improve as time goes on.

I've never had to wait so long for food at any event I've went to. The Red Bulls games, Knicks, Yankees all combined didn't take that long. They were unprepared which is fine but you're making it seem like this is what happens at every single sporting event. You think day one at a restaurant opening or any retail opening theyre just going to say lets get by with just enough people, nothing extra?

 

[Tiger Jones]

I've never had to wait so long for food at any event I've went to. The Red Bulls games, Knicks, Yankees all combined didn't take that long. They were unprepared which is fine but you're making it seem like this is what happens at every single sporting event. You think day one at a restaurant opening or any retail opening theyre just going to say lets get by with just enough people, nothing extra?

At peak times, yes, this is what happens at every heavily sold sporting event I've been too. Rangers and Knicks during any intermissions, Yankee games in the middle. That's why I don't leave my seat during those times, it's not worth it. Either do your business right before or not at all. Just my opinion.

 

[Kevin]

At peak times, yes, this is what happens at every heavily sold sporting event I've been too. Rangers and Knicks during any intermissions, Yankee games in the middle. That's why I don't leave my seat during those times, it's not worth it. Either do your business right before or not at all. Just my opinion.

Yankee stadium sits 50k there were not 40K yesterday. there were empty seats in section 014 all around me. MSG sits 18k so you can not tell me that you've been on 30 minute lines at an event that seats half of what we had yesterday at a sold out capacity.

 

[Lewis_H]

At peak times, yes, this is what happens at every heavily sold sporting event I've been too. Rangers and Knicks during any intermissions, Yankee games in the middle. That's why I don't leave my seat during those times, it's not worth it. Either do your business right before or not at all. Just my opinion.

In any Soccer stadium in Europe there would be riots if they didnt have the infrastructure setup for the half time rush! No one would even think of leaving during the middle of the half to get food or drink. They really need to re think their setup for the soccer games there. I know if shouldn't be as bad in the future but they greatly underestimated the number of people who would be there!

However I would add that we don't really have or expect such meal size foods, I saw someone with a bucket of chicken, give me a meat pie and chips (sorry fries) any game and I will be happy!

 

[Bronn FC]

Something else, and I'm not sure much can be done about this but the beer/peanut/hot chocolate vendors who walk up and down the aisles blocked my view of the field several times. At a baseball game where action is minimal that's not a problem, but a soccer match has a constant flow and it was frustrating having my view obstructed by these guys (who I don't blame) several times. I can't recall if this is done at Ranger games but I never remember it being an issue so it could have something to do with the angle of the seating at YS.

 

[Vires]

Its like none of you have ever been to a baseball game. We play in a baseball stadium, which was designed for a baseball team.

First off, the merch will completely fix itself, as the season rolls on less people will be in the shops. The team store at Yankee games is practically empty.

Second, Entrance to the stadium - don't go to Gate 6 as theres where EVERYONE goes, its right there when you get out from the subway, the further you walk towards home plate the short the lines get.

Lastly, Yankee stadium will never handle the halftime rush. There is nothing they can do, not now not ever. First, baseball does not have the same kind of rush so the facilities were not built for that. Second, there are food vendors walking around at Yankee games that service a good portion of the crowd removing their need to go to the windows.

PS

Forgot parking, its the south Bronx, parking will always be a nightmare - take public transportation.

 

[Lewis_H]

Something else, and I'm not sure much can be done about this but the beer/peanut/hot chocolate vendors who walk up and the aisles blocked my view of the field several times. At a baseball game where action is minimal that's not a problem, but a soccer match has a constant flow and it was frustrating having my view obstructed by these guys (who I don't blame) several times. I can't recall if this is done at Ranger games but I never remember it being an issue so it could have something to do with the angle of the angle of the seating at YS.

Yeah that was very annoying - especially as where I was seated you could get off your lazy ass and get a beer for half the price if you walk 50 ft. Had some guy stand up in front of me for a couple of minutes shouting for the hot chocolate guy...

 

[Nicholas Constantino]

Something else, and I'm not sure much can be done about this but the beer/peanut/hot chocolate vendors who walk up and down the aisles blocked my view of the field several times. At a baseball game where action is minimal that's not a problem, but a soccer match has a constant flow and it was frustrating having my view obstructed by these guys (who I don't blame) several times. I can't recall if this is done at Ranger games but I never remember it being an issue so it could have something to do with the angle of the seating at YS.

This is what annoyed me the most. My view was blocked a lot during the game.

 

[doctorhoosier]

• Merchandise stands were insufficiently stocked and staffed. The long lines to get an opening day scarf or other memento were impossible to overcome, and where there weren't long lines, merchandise ran out.
• Food purchase was nearly impossible. The vendors were completely unprepared for a soccer crowd rushing for provisions at halftime. I left my seat right at the 45' mark at the end of the first half and got in line for a burger at Juniors. An eternity later, and with a kid melting down, I returned to my seat at the 60' mark. It is completely unacceptable. It was even worse for the people in the pizza line to my left. After about 20-25 minutes in line, and with the second half having just kicked off, it was announced to them that they'd completely run out of pizza. I kid you not.

Spot on.

Add to that - despite announcing that you could buy two beers at a time, they set a one beer maximum for the supporters section (and the supporters section only). Meaning that in order to buy a brew for me and my buddy, I had to abandon my GA seat to wait in line for fifteen minutes, come back with one beer, and then tell my buddy to go wait in line for fifteen minutes.

In addition, I waited in line for twenty minutes to find out that not only are the long-sleeve jerseys $175, but the card readers were down, so I had to wait in line for 10 minutes to find an ATM, and then give them $200 in cash after coming back through the line.

Yankee Stadium was not at all ready for this. I had a fantastic time, but the stadium was more of an issue than anything.

Its like none of you have ever been to a baseball game. We play in a baseball stadium, which was designed for a baseball team.

Come on, Vires. There are definitely some policy issues in place that extended far beyond "It's a baseball stadium - deal with it". The stadium policy makes it a lot harder on the crew to handle the volume than it had to be.

They were insufficiently staffed, for sure, and the systems they had were only somewhat operational.

 

[Tiger Jones]

Yankee stadium sits 50k there were not 40K yesterday. there were empty seats in section 014 all around me. MSG sits 18k so you can not tell me that you've been on 30 minute lines at an event that seats half of what we had yesterday at a sold out capacity.

I'm not saying the length of time to wait is the same but rather those are the peak times and you can wait upwards of 20 minutes or more depending on what you're looking to get and where in the arena (talking about MSG here). As for YS, yes they were not sold out but my experience has always been to avoid the food lines during the peak times. They are often very slow and I have waited over 20 minutes for food in the middle of a game. I'm sure it was even worse yesterday as the rush is a given based on the break in play. I'm not trying to pick a fight I'm simply saying that you can't go for food at halftime and not expect to miss a portion of the game.

 

[roxfontaine]

• There were huge delays trying to enter the stadium.

I got into the stadium and to my seat in less than 5 minutes. True story. I entered the stadium at 3pm.

• Merchandise stands were insufficiently stocked and staffed.

The team store had 2 people at every register. They were working their asses of for us. I actually mentioned this guy Francisco and how efficient he was. There was even a girl who had an iPhone doing card purchases through it. The wait was long but it is what it is. I spoke to another staff member who said she's never seen anything like it. She said Yankees opening day PALES in comparison.

• Food purchase was nearly impossible.

It's game one. Give them a couple of games to figure out what the soccer demographic likes. It's different. To say that no other event has such a long wait is just nonsense. You ever tried to get Blue Smoke or Shake Shack at CitiField?

• Parking was a disaster.

Who drives to YS?

 

[Tiger Jones]

Something else, and I'm not sure much can be done about this but the beer/peanut/hot chocolate vendors who walk up and down the aisles blocked my view of the field several times. At a baseball game where action is minimal that's not a problem, but a soccer match has a constant flow and it was frustrating having my view obstructed by these guys (who I don't blame) several times. I can't recall if this is done at Ranger games but I never remember it being an issue so it could have something to do with the angle of the seating at YS.

Agree here, I'm the second row in a section and they tended to just stand right in front of me at times. Annoying but not unexpected.

 

[Kevin]

I'm not saying the length of time to wait is the same but rather those are the peak times and you can wait upwards of 20 minutes or more depending on what you're looking to get and where in the arena (talking about MSG here). As for YS, yes they were not sold out but my experience has always been to avoid the food lines during the peak times. They are often very slow and I have waited over 20 minutes for food in the middle of a game. I'm sure it was even worse yesterday as the rush is a given based on the break in play. I'm not trying to pick a fight I'm simply saying that you can't go for food at halftime and not expect to miss a portion of the game.

Can we all just agree there's opportunity in YS with soccer games but hats off to the foot soldiers who were there to help us through the long lines. The merch people were shivering and hands were just shaking non stop. Applause for you fine folks on the ground.

 

[Tiger Jones]

Can we all just agree there's opportunity in YS with soccer games but hats off to the foot soldiers who were there to help us through the long lines. The merch people were shivering and hands were just shaking non stop. Applause for you fine folks on the ground.

Absolutely. Things can always run more smooth. Honestly, the people who work the concessions probably don't care how fast they're going. It's a pretty shitty job all things considered.

 

[Nicholas Constantino]

• There were huge delays trying to enter the stadium.

I got into the stadium and to my seat in less than 5 minutes. True story. I entered the stadium at 3pm.

• Merchandise stands were insufficiently stocked and staffed.

The team store had 2 people at every register. They were working their asses of for us. I actually mentioned this guy Francisco and how efficient he was. There was even a girl who had an iPhone doing card purchases through it. The wait was long but it is what it is. I spoke to another staff member who said she's never seen anything like it. She said Yankees opening day PALES in comparison.

• Food purchase was nearly impossible.

It's game one. Give them a couple of games to figure out what the soccer demographic likes. It's different. To say that no other event has such a long wait is just nonsense. You ever tried to get Blue Smoke or Shake Shack at CitiField?

• Parking was a disaster.

Who drives to YS?

I also experienced very little problems, like you. I got to my seat not too long after I was on line, and the store by my section was empty (literally just me and my girlfriend) for about 20 minutes while we looked around. The cash register broke and the cashier gave me change out of his own pocket.
The only thing I will say is that there are a lot of people who drive to Ys, myself included, that found parking rather difficult. But not so difficult that it hampered my experience in any way, which overall was excellent.

 

[roxfontaine]

It's just so frustrating hearing all of the nitpicking, @Nicholas Constantino. Don't do things at the most non-optimal times and in the most non-optimal way and be upset about non-optimal results. What about the positives?

How awesome was that tifo? Pretty awesome!
How great was the crowd? Pretty awesome!
How about those whole stadium "Ole!" moments? Sweeeeeet!

It was ALL good yesterday.