Competition Squashed

I never thought I would enter the checked bag business, but that is sort of what we have just done. We identified that a bowling alley across the street from that old building was checking bags for fans and charging a fee. If you know me, you know I am a competitor. Nobody is going to take ancillary revenue from fans except us.

So to swiftly eliminate this competitor we have adopted a new policy that allows you to take a bag into the stadium without a fee. Like Southwest airlines, your bag enters free from now on at my Yankee Stadium. We have also adopted a new slogan for this policy: "It's In" (meaning your bag, get it?). So come to Yankee Stadium and grab your bag. It's in.

Calculator Night!

I am proud to remind fans that August 29th will be calculator night. All fans 18 and under will receive their very own Sharp pocket calculator. Now kids will be able to calculate numbers without having to get out their cell phone or computer! Kudos to our friends at Sharp for such a useful and educational giveaway.

Old Stadium Seats

This is just a reminder that old seats from that building across the street from my new stadium are still available. There are still 39,320 seats left to be purchased and can be obtained in pairs only. You can get them here for a really great price of $1,499 - that's only a few hundred dollars more than you would pay now to attend just ONE game in the Legend's Suite area of Yankee Stadium.

Also, my friends at Steiner are still selling stadium sod as well. This authentic sod is grass that was exclusively walked on by the grounds crew of Yankee Stadium from the February to March 2009 time-frame. You can buy it here and it retails for $120. Here is what it looks like (the rulers are not included):

I urge fans to purchase these items quickly. Steiner's lease on the warehouse where they keep all this stuff is up soon and we honestly did not expect to have all this great inventory still available. So hurry before this once in a lifetime opportunity is gone forever!

Muhammad Ali

Several members of the press last week questioned why Muhammad Ali had to wear a credential to the stadium. I still do not understand the thought process behind these questions. Have you not read your own stories over the past 4 months?

Our security people have been trained not to allow anyone into the Legends Suites without the proper identification, which may include a Legends Suites ticket, a valid credential, or an American Express Centurion card. I don't care if you are President Obama - no ID, no Legend Suite. Rules are rules.

Don't believe me? Here is a photo I took myself of Paul O'Neill and Suzyn Waldman being denied admittance because they lacked the proper credentials:

E-Mail from Fans 8/10/09

I thought it would be a good PR gesture to answer some questions e-mailed to me by fans:

Joel S: Why do you continue to play Kate Smith's God Bless America in the 7th inning when most of your fans especially the young ones hardly know who she is?

Lonn: Because it is my favorite rendition of the song.


Mark F: Why do you call the seats behind home plate Legends Suites if they are more or less just seats?

Lonn: If we called them Legends Seats, I don't think many would pay the price we are asking. By positioning them as suites, we lead the corporations who buy them into thinking they are giant, enclosed, air-conditioned, heated rooms. They never really ask so it is not misrepresentation on our part. I would know because I am an attorney.


Tyler K: What's with your hairdo?

Lonn: You mean that I never change it up? Have you heard of Donald Trump? He has been successful his whole life by sticking with one hairdo. I have had this hairdo my entire life...since I was 6...and I have been successful my whole life. I don't think it is a coincidence.


Andy M: After having some season ticket holders at the stadium in early July to provide suggestions for improving the stadium we have noticed no improvements.

Lonn: Well that is categorically untrue. Since then, we have moved the digital time clock to the scoreboard left of the main HD board and moved the ball, strike, and out count to the main board on the bottom right.

Ball, Strike, Out Count

Several fans and members of the media pointed out that the location of the balls, strikes, and outs (B/S/O) should be shown on the ribbon board behind home plate, besides its current location along the ribbon board behind the foul poles. As you know, we have sold all rights to the ribbon board to several sponsors including the Daily News, Pepsi, and Boar's Head. Fans should consider themselves lucky that we are able to display the current game information that we do on the ribbon board. In fact, we have to pay each of those sponsors a fee to display non-advertising next to their advertisements on the ribbon board.

While I sort of understand the reasoning behind putting B/S/O behind home plate, it is in the natural field of vision for most fans. As such, it is prominent real-estate for our sponsors and I cannot allow it to be desecrated with game info you can already find elsewhere. But as a compromise, we have moved the B/S/O to the bottom right corner of the large HD scoreboard in centerfield.