Monday, May 11, 2009

Madden: Please, fix Yankee Stadium, Boss

Most of the time I disagree with Bill Madden, this is not one of those times. This weekend in the Daily News he decided to write an open letter to George Steinbrenner pointing out many of the problems with the new place, and suggestions on how to fix it. Madden rightfully throws most of, if not all the blame on Lonn Trost. After all, this new stadium was his project.

You all know my complaints with the new place, so I won't get into that. Also, Madden pretty much lays everything out in his letter. But I'd really love to know what The Boss thinks of all this. Does he care? Does he even know? I know one thing; the old Boss would be pissed.

I also hope the people in charge of this organization haven't lost their way as much as it appears that they have. Forget the baseball side of things for a moment, but it appears that the entire organization has lost its soul. Are Hank and Hal really going to continue to allow weasels like Lonn Trost and Randy Levine ruin the Yankees brand? Because it sure looks like that's what they're doing.

11 Comments:

Anonymous said...

Its pretty obvious Hal and Hank dont care as much as George did. So you got Levine and Trost ruining the business side of the yankees.And you got Cashman ruining the baseball side of the yankees. Doesn't look too good

Rad said...

I think the Boss puts so much stake in the fans that he would have something done if he finds out about this letter, his kids are a different story. I think Hank & Hal are all about the bottom line and could care less about obstructed view seats and fans complaining about tickets prices. I love the team and hate to see the great stadium getting such bad press. i hope this issue is resolved by next season.

Rich said...

the whole idea of the new stadium goes against the real fans wishes- the only thing that real Yankee fans want like me is a place to see the game, not go to a stadium and have freaking private clubs and restaurants and an art exhibit, thats why the old stadium was perfect in my opinion, it let us influence the game in our favor, George always used to say that remember the fans are the ones who made you successful, now these corporate bullshit "fans" are getting benefitted in the new stadium while they don't even buy all the tickets. look at the bleachers and upper deck every game and compare it to the luxory boxes, what is more crowded?

Ross said...

I actually followed up on this letter by Madden in a post on NSI today... Go and check it out, I think you'll enjoy it.

Greg Cohen said...

Nice post Ross, just checked it out.

There's so many things they need to fix that I don't really know where to start. Completely rebuilding the Mohegan Sun Bar would be a nice first step.

NY Sports Jerk said...

People really need to get over this stadium, because there is literally nothing you can do about it at this point. They're going to be playing there for the next 50years, and frankly if they use the extra income to win the World Series 10 times during that period, I don't care one bit.

Yeah, there's things I'd do differently if I was building the Stadium, but all of this complaining isn't going to accomplish anything. The market for tickets will dictate prices after this year. They clearly overestimated the demand for the Legends seats, and they'll get it right in the future.

I've been to the new Stadium twice, and I liked it more on my 2nd visit. I like sitting in the upper deck or bleachers anyway, so what do I care if I can't afford seats down low? Let someone else buy em, I don't care if they're $1000 or $250, I'm not spending that much for a baseball game anyway.

I'm just so sick of this entire subject. The Yankees don't care what the blog community thinks of the Stadium. And for all the talk about how George loved the "common" man, this is the same guy who commonly used to fire some of his office staff to save money.

This whole romanticization of the past has got to stop.

Greg Cohen said...

Well, that's not necessarily true NYSJ.

Look at US Cellular. That place looks ten times better today than it did when they opened it. A lot has been fixed, and the same can happen at the new YS too.

NY Sports Jerk said...

The only think the Yankees have EVER understood is money. If people stop going to the Stadium because they don't like it, the Yankees will change it.

I'm going to go because despite all the complaints, the Stadium is a great setting to watch a game, and I have literally no desire to be in a sports bar or museum while a game is going on outside.

Greg Cohen said...

NYSJ,

I'm still going to go too, because I love watching Yankee baseball live no matter where it is. However, I'd rather go to the old stadium any day of the week. The fans at the new stadium are generally awful unless you're sitting with the bleacher creatures. Even the left field bleachers are full of idiots who'd rather get a noodle bowl than watch the game. I've been there five times and I really don't think watching a game there compares to the old place.

rpb said...

NYSJ,
Many stadiums have been improved after opening. Detroit & Chicago are two that come to mind but many others over the years. Infact after 76, Yankee stadium was improved a number of times. So there is hope that outside of the "flat grade seating" many of the obstructions and other flaws can be eliminated and the stadium can be improved for the average fan. This includes getting rid of the building in center, having a smaller "exclusive" area between the on deck circles only, and fixing the handicap platform that obstruct views. Other improvements should include monumnet park , the great hall, and of course the pricing of seats.

Greg Cohen said...

rpb,

One of the thing I actually do like about the new place is the great hall. What don't you like about it? And what would you fix?