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.

Notre Dame Football Game(s)

Peter Abrahamson of the Lower Hudson River Street Blues Blog posted recently asking if we knew we would host football games when I designed the stadium. That's a very stupid question. Of course not. Why would I be thinking about football when I was trying to design a BASEBALL stadium??

Mr. Abrahamston then wondered how much revenue we would take in from renting my stadium out for football. If you owned a stadium would you want people knowing how much you charge to use it? If you owned an apartment would you want people knowing how much you charge for rent?

Center Field Wall

As most of you know, the centerfield wall at my stadium remains unsold. I want everyone to know this is because Major League Baseball requires us to provide a solid background in the center of the outfield to allow the batter to see the ball. They prohibited us from selling ad space there and it has been really bothering me. That is in my estimate around $25 million of unsold space going to waste.

What a better way to advertise to the affluent ballplayer than to have your company's logo directly in their field of vision during every at bat? I have been going back and forth with MLB and we have come to an agreement that allows us to sell limited ad space on the centerfield wall a bit off-center. Stanley, the official tape measure of the New York Yankees, has purchased the first of these spaces on the centerfield wall and we are happy to have them aboard.

We are currently in negotiations with several shampoo manufacturers who wish to purchase the opposite side of the centerfield wall. The team does not currently have an official shampoo and players have indicated to me that they were unsure of which shampoo we have contractually obligated them to use. Once this becomes official I will let them know and we will hold a press conference to announce it to the general public.

To Our Legend's Suite Accounts

This message is for our valued Legend's Suite account holders. When you purchased your suite , we promised you exclusivity - that nobody would sit in your suite at any time for any reason, except you. We take this policy very seriously because you are our most valued fan. I have attached a photo below so that you may see that even when the stadium is being rented for non-sports purposes your suites are protected.

This photo is from the NYU graduation ceremony that took place just a few days ago. As you can see, your suites were guarded to ensure the graduates did not mess them up in any way. We value your business and hope this demonstrates our commitment to protect the exclusivity of your purchase.

Legends Suites Ticket Prices

Rebecca from the blog "This Purist Breeds Pinstripes" wrote some very mean things yesterday about our valued Legends Suite ticket holders. In her post she wrote that only those with salaries over $100,000 matter to the Yankees. This is simply untrue.

First of all, it does not even make any sense. It costs over $100,000 to purchase a Legends Suite season ticket and that is if you are attending by yourself. If all you earn is $100K, you are definitely not getting into the Legends Suites area of my stadium. You are better off on the Main level with people that have incomes similar to you. Our target customer earns at least $500,000 per year and is willing to commit to purchase at least two Legends Suites.

Lobel's

I received a few e-mails from fans asking why the Lobel's stand was on the field level when most fans were located in upper levels. The Lobel's stand is located on the field level because the fans on the field level are the ones that can afford it. If you can't afford $300 for a field level seat how are you going to stand there and convince me that you can afford a Lobel's sandwich?

However, for the few of you that for whatever reason do not have field level seats and can still afford a Lobel's sandwich, you do not need a field level ticket to purchase a sandwich from the Lobel's stand. It is located near section 130.

Daily News Guy

Yesterday some Daily News media guy named John Madden wrote an open letter to The Boss. He addressed it to George Steinbrenner. Is this guy living under a tree? George does not even call anymore. I run the operations and Brian runs the team. So I will assume he intended to write the letter to me and will address it as follows.

The basis of his so-called letter is that the common fan is not wanted in the restaurants and seats closest to the field. This could not be further from the truth. The common fan simply cannot afford the price of admission for these areas. That is not my fault. I only set the seat prices. I do not set your income.

He went on towards the end to say that the Legends Suites are mostly empty. This is not true as well. Sure there were a handful empty on opening day. But since then we have given away enough tickets to fill the Legend's section for the remainder of the season.

Paul O'Neill

The newspapers are all up in arms about our security people ejecting Paul O'Neill from the indoor batting cages this past weekend. Am I missing something here? The batting cages are for Yankees on the current roster to practice their hitting. It is certainly not my fault that Mr. O'Neill retired. Nobody forced him to hang it up at 40. He retired about 25 years earlier than most people yet you expect me and our security team to show him sympathy? I am almost 65 and I still work 12 hour days.

I don't understand the mentality of some people. If you owned an indoor batting cage, would you want a retired Paul O'Neill standing there watching you?

Incorrect Changes Yesterday

I reported yesterday changes to some ticket plans and trusted a copy sent over to me by an intern, now former intern. It turns out that copy was changed to be a funny joke of some sort. I am not laughing. The correct changes can be found here.

Exciting New Seat Prices

The Yankees have now publicly disclosed my new ticket pricing policy instituted today. In light of unprecedented sales of Legend's Suites and Luxury Boxes, we are slashing prices to show that we truly care about our income-challenged fans.

For the 2009 regular season only, the following price adjustments and benefits are being adopted effective immediately for a few hundred Legends Suite and Delta Sky 360 Suite Licensees.

1. The full season Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses in the first row in Sections 15A- Seats 1 thru 5, 15B - Seats 1 thru 9 except 5, and 25 - All seats except those with a gold crown on the seatback will be reduced from $2,500 to $1,250 per regular season home game played at Yankee Stadium, located at River Ave & E. 161st, Bronx, NY 10451, USA. All fans hereto who hath have purchased such in and as is considered full, defined as a complete 81 game home schedule played at Yankee Stadium, located at River Ave & E. 161st, Bronx, NY 10451, USA., season Suite and Ticket Licenses of aforementioned Sections as listed above will receive, at their choice, a refund of the dollar amount paid in US Dollars that exceeded the variance in price as compared between such time that the License was purchased and today (April 28th, 2009), or a credit to their Yankee Ticket Account which will be applied to next season's regular rates.

2. The full season Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses in the first row in Sections 11, 12, 13, 27B, 28 and 29 will be reduced from $1,000 to $650 per regular season game. All fans who have purchased such full season Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive a credit. No refunds.

3. All fans who purchased full season $2,500 Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses in the first row, in Sections 16 - 24A, will receive an equal number of complimentary Legends Suite Seats in the first row in Sections 16 - 24A for each of the remaining regular season games during the 2009 regular season. The Complimentary tickets can be used to admit a human being, or a crowd-enhancement prop such as a large drum.

In addition, for 2009, so as to encourage fans to purchase full season ticket plans in the Field Level Sections 115 - 125, the Yankees are also adopting a program affecting a few hundred seats. And, for our fans who have already purchased, on a full season basis such Field Level seating priced at $325 Sections 115 - 125, the following program is being adopted effective immediately:

1. All fans who have purchased full season plans priced at $325 per regular season game will receive complimentary regular season tickets within Sections 115 - 125 for remaining regular season games during the 2009 regular season as follows:

1. If you purchased two (2) or three (3) full season tickets you will receive two (2) tickets for every other regular season game, commencing with either the Thursday evening game on April 30, 2009 or the Friday evening game on May 1, 2009 and alternating every other 3 games for the remainder of the season.

2. If you purchased four (4) or five (5) full season tickets you will receive two (2) half-season tickets for every regular season game during the balance of the remainder of 2009 regular season, commencing with the Thursday evening day game on April 30, 2009.

3. If you purchased six (6) regular half-season or seven (7) full season tickets you will receive three (3) regular tickets for every half game during the balance of the full 2009 regular season, commencing with the Thursday evening game on April 8, 2009.

4. If you purchased ten (10) or more full season tickets, or 5 full season tickets and 20 or more half-season tickets, or 8 full season tickets and 3 or more half-season tickets, and 5 or more Saturday plan tickets, you will receive forty (40) tickets for every 3 regular season games during the balance of the 2009 regular season, commencing with the Thursday evening game on April 30, 2009.

HD Scoreboard Additions

I am proud to announce that beginning last week the large HD scoreboard in centerfield now displays the player's height, weight, age and birthplace during their first at-bat. Stats of lesser importance such as batting average, home runs, and OPS (outs per series?) have been moved to the left side scoreboard. I did not realize this when we planned to do it, but we are the only stadium in baseball to feature only physical attributes on the main scoreboard. How cool is that?

For those of you who want consistency, during subsequent at-bats, how the player fared during his prior at bats will still be shown on the main scoreboard in bright yellow 6' tall lettering.

Great Night

What a great night to be part of the Yankees! Tonight's paid attendance was 45,167 bringing in revenues of over $3.4 million. Concession sales were $7.9 million, and security successfully prevented 62 fans (55 kids!) from intruding on the Legends Suites. I couldn't ask for a better day. I did not have a chance to see how the team did but our ace Ching Mang Wing pitched so I have a lot of confidence in the end result.

Art of Peter Max

Of all the new stuff at the new Yankee Stadium this announcement is one I am most excited about. Get this, you are going to be able to buy artwork at the stadium! Starting opening day week, we are opening the "Art of Peter Max" exhibit and store on the field level. I truly believe this is a welcome addition to our offering of fine amenities for our Legends Suites ticket holders and the lesser people that come to the stadium. Here is a photo:

Blog

Welcome to my blog. Everyone seems to be writing blogs these days but most of the information is untrue. I thought our valued fans would want to hear how it really is straight from the donkeys mouth, so we commissioned a committee and determined a blog written by myself would be a profitable venture for the organization.

You are going to love my new stadium. It is exactly like the old stadium so purists will feel right at home. The seats are blue, the grass is green, the bleachers are there, and there are scoreboards too. Plus there's the frieze (or facade as some of you continue to call it) and monument park is even out there somewhere (I apologize that I do not recall its exact location. I cannot see it from my office, which is on the suite level behind home plate). It is really just like the old place. Even better, 100% of the tickets are priced under $3000 so Yankee baseball will continue to be an affordable experience for our high-class fans for years to come.

New this year are Architecturally Shadowed seats. These seats, which go for only $12, are located in the bleacher section closest to the Mohegan Sun sports bar. They challenge the fan to use their imagination in guessing what is occurring on the opposite side of the field! We thought this would add to the excitement of watching a Yankees game and we are proud to do this for our most basic fans. These seats will also have exclusive up-front views of our 46" Sony LCD flat panel TVs in the bleachers, showing the live YES broadcast! This will allow you to see if what you guessed is happening is in fact happening live on the field.

Thank you for reading. More updates will follow.