| 03 May 2010
In the past couple of months, we have created some fairly extensive standing room only ticket guides for Yankee Stadium, both here on NYYSI and for our other gig over at FanSnap.com. Unfortunately, this post is going to contradict some of our previous advice, especially regarding the value of the "cafe seats" at our favorite standing room only spot - section 120AS.
We were at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, standing behind the aforementioned section 120AS, and we noticed that these "cafe seats" behind the wheelchair section were empty. Curious about the regularity of this occurrence, we asked the security guard on duty. Interestingly, she told us someone was ticketed in those seats, but upon arrival complained about the view and had since been moved elsewhere. Apparently, this was the type of person who threatened letters to the front office, so the security guard quickly diffused the situation by finding them a seat with a better view - a rare show of good customer service at Yankee Stadium.
Intrigued by the situation, we quickly sat down in the seat in question to shoot some video and take some photos. On this day, the wheelchair accessible section directly in front of section 120AS was completely full and the the view definitely suffered because of it:
The view while sitting down in section 120AS, Row 28s, seat 2 at Yankee Stadium
As seen above, sitting down in this highly uncomfortable metal chair resulted in an unmanageable view of the game. Of course, this could easily be rectified by standing up (thus putting the "standing" back in standing room only tickets), but people pay $75 for these tickets with the idea that there will be seats.
The view while standing behind section 120AS, Row 28s, seat 2 at Yankee Stadium
Luckily, this is not the case with all of the "cafe seating" on the field level. Other sections feature barstool-style seating which is high enough to see over any wheelchair section obstructions:
Barstool-style "cafe seating" at Yankee Stadium
The bottom line is, your mileage may vary regarding the standing room ticket experience throughout Yankee Stadium. In our previous posts, we have may have overstated the value of the $75 "cafe seats," especially in section 120AS. During games with an empty wheelchair section, or if you don't mind standing, the value will be there, but it isn't as much of a no-brainer as we have made it out to be in the past. Hopefully our posts haven't led to any regrettable ticket-purchasing decisions. Before buying any standing room only tickets at Yankee Stadium, be prepared for the ocasional obstruction, and remember that you only bought standing room tickets because all of the seats were sold out and you really wanted to be there.
