Fans of the 29 other MLB teams have had their chance, now its time for Yankees fans to fire up their computers, hammer their F5 key and snatch up individual tickets for 2010 home games at Yankee Stadium. Three hours from now, ticketmaster.com will magically refresh and a bevy of ticket options will be at your fingertips. Here are some tips on how to beat the bots and make sure that you don't leave the sale disappointed.
- Lower your expectations. Unless you have a ridiculously fast internet connection with multiple browsers open (and four arms), you are unlikely to score inexpensive tickets to multiple premium games. Decide on the one game you can't stand to miss and get your F5 key ready.
- Know your inventory and target specific seat categories. Gone are the days that seats throughout the stadium are ripe for the picking when tickets go on sale to the public. Between season ticket sales and presales, the Yankees have already sold well over 3 million tickets for the 2010 season. Conveniently, with the advance of websites such as Fansnap and Stubhub, you can now accurately forecast which sections of the stadium have yet to be put on sale. For example, if you click over to Fansnap's map of opening day tickets, you can see the sections without flags don't have any tickets for sale. This is a strong indicator that the Yankees have yet to release tickets in those sections. You can also scroll over different sections and if you only see 8 tickets for sale, it is very likely that the Yankees have more tickets to release in that section.
- Prepare your Ticketmaster.com account. Ticketmaster has started to allow for more time on each step of the ticket purchasing process, but it is still a race to beat the clock if you are a slow typer. Before the sale, make sure you are logged into Ticketmaster.com, and if you feel comfortable, load your credit card information onto your profile. This will give you peace of mind when the clock strikes noon.
- Work off of a cheat sheet. For some reason, Ticketmaster doesn't use a "breadcrumb" linking system that allows you to easily click back to a search results page. If you attempt to get tickets to a game and it is sold out, you are forced to start your search over again. Take the time now to create a document with a list of games that you're interested in and the direct link to that sale page. It will prove invaluable.
- Don't sweat the CAPTCHA. Most people's worst Ticketmaster nightmare is the "CAPTCHA." We've all had a situation where we can't quite make out one of the letters in those annoying, nonsensical phrases and it cost us tickets. Here's a dirty little secret: you don't have to get the word exactly right. The system is engineered to weed out computer programs, but it doesn't require an exact match. If you spell most of the phrase correctly, you'll move on to the next screen. If you notice a minor typo, just keep going, rather than wasting time deleting the letters and re-typing them. If you don't believe us, try it out on another event before the sale. You'll see.
- Don't use the "best available" dropdown unless you have a LOT of money to burn. If only there was a "cheapest available" drop down. We'd be all over that. Unfortunately, there isn't, and if you choose "best available" for tickets at Yankee Stadium, you are going to end up with $1,000 Legend Suites. For 2010, it looks like Ticketmaster has split out premium seating options into separate URLs for each game, but there are still plenty of expensive seats on the regular sale page. Feel free to use "best available" if money isn't an issue for you, but you have been warned!
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File this under Yankee Stadium ticket office blunders. The "exclusive" presale password for 2010 Yankees tickets (intended for minor league season ticketholders) has become inclusive - the Yankees have listed the password on a public-facing website for all to see.
It appears that the Yankees have protected this page from indexing in Google, but fans who are searching rabidly to find the presale password in time for today's 12 PM sale are sure to find it eventually. In other words, if you are a minor league season ticketholder, don't expect to have an easy time scoring tickets to the premium games. There will likely be thousands of humans (and ticket broker robots) competing for the same tickets.
Minor league season ticketholders obviously aren't pleased about this development, but those who feel minor league season ticketholders don't deserve their own presale are nodding their heads and smiling. For everyone else, this just means another chance to score tickets to the hottest games before they go on sale to the general public.
Update: Its official. 2010 Yankees tickets will go on sale Friday, March 19 at noon.
Well, that was the most boring title of a blog post ever. Anyway, the facts are the facts, and Joe Six-Pack the general public will have their opportunity to purchase 2010 Yankees tickets on Friday, March 19 at 12 PM (the time is not yet confirmed, but we assume that Ticketmaster will stay consistent with the other presales). This information is FINALLY the real deal, and it comes via Leonora (something of a female Stadium Insider). She's the author of the highly underrated "The Girl That Loves Andy Pettitte" blog and a Staten Island Yankees season ticketholder. This afternoon, the following email from the baby bombers landed in her inbox:
Dear _____,Well, now they’ve gone and done it. The New York Yankees just had to bring home their 27th World Championship. You know what that means? We’re going to have to wait in really, really long lines for tickets this year. Except for you, of course. YOU GET TO CUT IN LINE In recognition of your continued participation and support, you get an exclusive opportunity that not too many get: first dibs at New York Yankees tickets — before the general public.
Yup! That is not a typo. As a Staten Island Yankees season ticket holder, you get the exclusive opportunity to purchase New York Yankees tickets on Wednesday, March 17, 2010, from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. — before they go on sale to the general public on Friday, March 19, 2010.Prior to purchasing tickets during any scheduled Pre-On-Sale, you will be required to enter a password. The password will be limited to use on your designated Pre-On-Sale date, as set forth above, ONLY. Please make certain that you enter the password exactly as it appears on the screen because the password is case sensitive.
For the second year in a row, the Staten Island Yankees have scooped the real Yankees regarding the general public onsale date. Something is wrong with this picture.
Speaking of the general public sale - spoiler alert - tickets for the "premium games" are going to be hard to come by. We're basing this on today's season ticketholder presale which wasn't very fruitful for most (unless you had multiple browsers and an extremely fast internet connection). Blocks of four affordable tickets were nearly impossible to come by against premiere opponents.
Pro-tip: from what we heard, tickets were available in some of the more expensive (and unique) locations such as the Audi Yankees Club and the Batter's Eye Seats. There isn't much inventory in those locations to begin with, but not many people think to check there. Tickets in both spots will run you over $125 per seat.
For reference purposes, here are the OFFICIAL 2010 Yankees ticket sale dates:
- Monday March 15 - Season ticket holders (all plans) presale
- Wednesday March 17 - Minor league season ticketholders presale
- Friday March 19 - General public on sale
Pretty much the same as last year's dates, and as usual, the Yankees are the last team in MLB to put their tickets on sale.
You may have noticed that we haven't commented on the demolition of Yankee Stadium much in the past couple of months. As the destruction escalated, countless news outlets and blogs had it covered and we didn't really have much to add. While many people have agonized about having to see the structure toppled tier by tier, we made peace with the structure's demise a while ago. After all, baseball hasn't been played there for 18 months and the faster the old structure is gone, the sooner the kids of the Bronx get their park land back.
Of course, this comes with a caveat. While the old, post-renovation Yankee Stadium is hardly the original landmark structure that opened in 1923, there is a piece of it that deserves to be preserved. That piece is Gate 2 and by now, most people have heard of the efforts to save it. What you may not know is that those efforts have all but failed, and it is about to face the wrecking ball . The plans laid out by the guys over at Save The Yankee Gate 2 Committee seemed like a no-brainer, but the decision makers in New York City didn't agree.
As you can see in the video below, time is quickly running out.
Let's not allow Yankee Stadium to become the next Ebbets Field, Polo Grounds or original Penn Station. Join in the grassroots efforts to make a last minute save of Gate 2.
It seems that the folks in the ticket office are burning the midnight oil, trying to get ready for the 2010 season. Yankees.com was just updated to announce the 2010 Yankees season ticket licensee pre-on-sale. The date is March 15 at 12 PM eastern time:
According to that info, all ticket plans will have their presale at the same time, different from previous seasons when there was a tiered system with full season and 41-game plan holders getting first dibs. This year is shaping up to be a free-for-all, with everyone going after the same limited supply of tickets. The Yankees always hold a certain number of tickets for the general public on-sale (date of that sale still not announced), so expect a lot of frustration on Monday.
Also of note is the 12 pm start-time for the sale. The Yankees usually have the sale at 10 am which is a tough time for the business crowd. The 12 pm start allows fans to schedule their lunch breaks, guaranteeing even more of a logjam for the premium games.
Finally, the announcement specifically states that "as a 2010 New York Yankees Season Ticket Licensee, [we] will have an opportunity to purchase Tickets to designated individual 2010 Games." It is very interesting that the verbiage doesn't say that there will be tickets for all games. Perhaps they don't have enough inventory of premium games to offer during the presale? Will opening day tickets even be available? We'll have to wait until Monday to find out, but let us know what you think in the comments.
It was a long time coming, but the Yankees finally released the 2010 promotional dates on Yankees.com. As always, the highlight of the promotional schedule is bat day - Sunday May 16th, when the Minnesota Twins visit the Bronx. Also featured is Mariano Rivera Figurine night on Friday, June 11 sponsored by Sports Authority. Any collectible item representing the great Mariano Rivera is worth arriving early to the ballpark for and previous entries in this series (Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams) have been of extremely high quality.
The rest of the schedule is littered with to be announced "promotional items," and filler like "27-time World Champions Ice Cream Bowl Day."
Old Timer's Day falls on Saturday July 17th (as previously reported).
As usual, there aren't any really exciting promotions that will be the sole-attraction drawing people to the ballpark. Of course, when over 3 million tickets are sold before tickets officially go on sale, the need for promotions is minimal. Are there any promotions we didn't mention that you're looking forward to? Let us know in the comments
(Full promotional schedule by clicking the "read more" button.)
Yesterday, news broke that the Yankees had already sold over 3 million tickets for the 2010 season before single game tickets were even sold to the general public. Today, we receive word that our infamous Yankees season ticket canceler has contributed to that number.
Let's head to the Twitter:
And here ends the saga of the Yankees fan who captured the attention of the interwebs with his ill-conceived idea of canceling season tickets over the team signing Randy Winn. We just wonder what year of seniority he gave up in this whole ordeal.
During the 2009 season, we never had the opportunity to watch a game from the unique "Batter's Eye Seats" at the new Yankee Stadium. Thanks to an awesome deal from Goldstar.com, that is about to change.
A couple of weeks back, we pointed out a pretty good deal on Audi Yankees Club seats through Goldstar.com and many of those dates sold out already. 2010 Yankees Tickets aren't even officially on sale, but today we're pointing you in the direction of a hot deal on "Batter's Eye Seats," as low as $45 per ticket for select dates. Even more exciting is that some pretty good games are available at the bargain-basement price, including a Memorial Day matinee against the Indians. Gameday face value for these seats is $125, so this is $80 off - considerable savings Service fees are fairly steep at around $15 per ticket, but you're still getting a decent deal.
Back in 2009, The Yankees quickly slashed prices on these seats when they realized the $125 price tag wasn't realistic. They offered regular "e-savers," lowering the price to around $75-$80. At the time, we cautioned our readers not to bite and to let the Yankees continue lowering prices. It took nearly a year, but it looks like the Yankees have finally taken our advice and placed the "Batter's Eye Seats" at a more reasonable pricepoint.
A quick note about Goldstar.com - it seems that they work with events and venues to purchase tickets at wholesale costs, and then they make money on their added service fees. Based on that understanding, it seems that the Yankees sold Goldstar these "Batter's Eye Seats" for no more than $45, and most likely even less. There is also an opt-in for MLBAM emails at checkout, so that is likely part of the deal for MLB. Regardless, it just goes to show what the true market value is for these seats, especially for non-premium games.
Even at $60 with fees, these seats aren't for everyone. For most non-premium games, seats directly to your left and right will be going for less than $20 each. For "Stadium Insiders" who want to check out some of the unique seating options at the new Yankee Stadium, its a no-brainer!
Update (1:50 PM): A spokesperson from Goldstar.com has reached out to us to clarify their relationship with the Yankees:
I hope you don't mind but I thought I would chime in about how Goldstar works with its venue partners. Our partners set aside an allotment of tickets to sell on their behalf. The venue then receives the cost of the ticket and we charge a small service fee to our members when they purchase the ticket. So, we don't actually purchase the tickets. Goldstar makes money on the service charge. The average service fee (factor in all 900-1200 events on the site) is roughly $4.50. And, it is free to join Goldstar as you may have seen. We are partnered with about 4,000 venues across the country. Our membership is significantly female and under the age of 40. We’re dedicated to reaching new audiences in all genres of live entertainment. So everybody wins.
Glad we cleared that up!
no commentsThe Yankees ticket office is plodding along through the yearly ticketing process, and it appears they are finally up to adding new season ticket holder business. According to an email from 7 AM today:
EXCLUSIVE TICKET LICENSEE TICKET OFFER
Dear Season Ticket Licensee,
We are pleased to offer New York Yankees Season Ticket Licensees the opportunity to purchase Full and Partial Plans today, Wednesday, March 10 from 10 am to 7 pm, prior to them being offered to the general public.
The Yankees reserve the right, at any time, to modify, and/or revised its Season Ticket Benefits, in its sole and absolute discretion. Other restrictions apply and tickets and offers are subject to availability and modification (as determined by the Yankees, from time to time).
Every year around this time, the Yankees announce their mostly unimpressive slate of promotional dates for the upcoming season. The 2010 promotional calendar hasn't yet been posted on Yankees.com, but some early season dates were revealed on today's Spring Training broadcast.
The first of many "cap nights" will be on Thursday, 4/15 when all fans in attendance receive an H&R Block-sponsored, 27-time world champion commemorative hat. Nothing to get excited about here - just the basic cheap giveaway hat with a gaudy H&R Block logo, as well as the words "27-time" above the Yankee logo and "world champions" below the logo.
Our favorite yearly promotion was also announced during today's broadcast. Calendar weekend will be on 4/17 and 4/18 when the Texas Rangers come to town. All fans in attendance for both games will receive a Yankee Stadium wall calendar (sponsored by Subway for the second straight year). These calendars are great for spicing up a drab office cubicle and include birthdays of your favorite Yankees. It is the one giveaway item that we'd pay for if we missed.
The Yankees clearly don't need promotional dates to sell tickets and it shows in their lack of promotional creativity (seriously - how many hat days can there be every season?). The bronze statuette series a few years back was a good idea and quickly became a fan favorite. Unfortunately, the Yankees don't believe in bobble head days or any of the fun promotions that most other teams offer. Of course, there will be bat day (not yet announced), but we don't expect anything too exciting to be announced.
Remember back in the 80's when the Yankees used to have a "glove day?" All kids in attendance would receive a crappy pleather glove to take home and play catch with. Those were the days.
