Yanks call off November stadium event
ByWhen Brian Roberts hit Mariano Rivera‘s last pitch on Sept. 21 to Cody Ransom, the Yanks’ time at Yankee Stadium came to a close. While the Yanks had been planning on a November send-off to the Stadium, the team has decided to call off the celebration, as amny blared to subway riders this morning.
While the story’s headline is completely misleading — anyone at the Stadium finale knows the House that Ruth Built didn’t go out with a “whimper” — Garett Sloane has all the relevant details. Basically, the Yankees aren’t offering up much, but the team’s one excuse — that the Sept. 21st game should be the last event at the Cathedral — sounds good to me.
Sloane writes:
The team had promised a final salute in November, which fans speculated would be a star-studded goodbye to the doomed stadium.
“The Yankees were considering having a charitable event at Yankee Stadium,” team spokesman Howard Rubenstein told amNewYork, reading from a prepared statement. “However, the Yankees realize that the final event at Yankee Stadium should be a baseball game, which in fact took place on Sept. 21, 2008.”
…Rubenstein would not elaborate on why the charitable event was cancelled and what exactly was planned, but the tribute was reportedly set for Nov. 9. Instead, the team will donate $500,000 to Baseball Assistance Team, an organization that helps struggling families in the baseball community.
As it should be, the final event at Yankee Stadium was a Yankee game. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Meanwhile, if you want to see the Stadium one last time, tours are now available through the end of October. It’ll be the last chance anyone has of seeing the an 85-year-old baseball temple.
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Looks like the Yanks are too worried about the economy or staidum costs dropping 500k instead of the event
You know, as soon as you posted the expanded tour schedule last week, I went on their site to get tickets, and right up until yesterday they were only selling them through this Friday. Now the rest of the month is all sold out. Did I miss something? Looks like I’m gonna have to spend a small fortune on ebay.
They added more dates. I just checked for the end of the month and could get some. Are you sure they’re all sold out? It’s quite possible they sold out in the last 20 minutes or so. I don’t know if they’re doing November tours.
They’re sold out for weekends, and I don’t think you can get more than a single ticket to any of the others.
Thanks to last week’s heads up I am going on a tour today at 1 PM although my first choice of Friday, October 10 was sold out by the time I got there to buy a ticket. I’ll let everyone know if the Joe DiMaggio sign is really gone.
At this point I kind of need a weekend date cause I can’t take any time off of work. I’ve been trying to keep on top of this, with a lot of help from you guys, and I still couldn’t get tickets. I’ve got a bid in on ebay right now for Monday at 1pm, so none of you f-ers out bid me please! I’ve never been on a tour so I need to go!
This from Daily News’ scribe, Mark Feinsand:
http://www.nydailynews.com/spo.....an_so.html
My problem with that — and why I picked the amny article instead — is that Feinsand’s article is all conjecture. Those performers were all rumored; nothing was set in stone; and this move reeks of economics.
Considering the terrible economic position, the Yanks would be hardpressed to find 56,000 fans to sit outside on a cold November day as the Yanks do a non-sports send-off to the stadium. They had a great day last month. Leave it at that.
I see your point about the economy. However, don’t you think that the romance of attending the final event at Yankee Stadium could be an outweighing factor?
I agree with Jamal. I have no doubt in my mind that they would have had no problem filling the Stadium.
I think they made the right move canceling it though.
It should, but we’re in such a situation that it might not.
It’s not just that people can’t afford such an event, but that those that can are not going to want to be seen spending their money on something that many will consider very trivial.
Yeah, this event had all the makings for a big letdown after how well the last game went.
“Rubenstein would not elaborate on why the charitable event was cancelled and what exactly was planned…”
Worlds biggest tag-team gangbang with Suzyn Waldman and Morgana the Kissing Bandit.
My mother is Morgana. You are SO getting an email.
Mike, Ben and Joseph will not put up with these personal attacks!!!11!!!
You too?!? My long lost brother!!!
Would have loved a concert, but ending with baseball feels more appropriate.
Yeah, the problem with a concert in musical genre. You do a concert with McCartney, Billy Joel, Jay-Z and Springsteen, and the crowd is only there to listen to the artist they respectively like…
…which means that 75% of the time, you’re wishing they artist on stage will just wrap up his bullshit set and move on.
You think Springsteen fans want to listen to a half hour of Jay-Z, or vice versa? Yeesh.
I’d watch a concert of both Springsteen and Jay-Z. I realize though that I’m not the norm in that regard.
If the Jonas Brothers wern’t going to be there, then there is no way that I would be there! They are dreamy!
Dude, you’re such a LAME! All us cool kids call ‘em the JoBros.
I give them their proper respect.
A talent for the ages, I say!
You’re from NJ, aren’t you?
Ouch. Insulted.
New York City born and bred.
You’d fit in nicely in our proud state.
Hey, I’m from NJ. Live in NY now, though.
Joseph, Ben has insulted us all with his personal attacks. Ban him immediately.
I can’t believe they called off the farewell
Not all is lost. I heard you can buy an actual minute from the final day/game in Yankee Stadium. It’s part of an ultimate fan package that includes an autographed baseball, commemorative certificate and other Yankee items. Can you imagine owning your own minute from the game? Sounds pretty cool! I will try to find more info on it.
“Can you imagine owning your own minute from the game? Sounds pretty cool!”
Sounds like a trick to part you with your money.
This is an economic and a PR move. If they Yankees decide NOT to go after Teixeira, Ramirez, and Sabathia, there is no question that they would be taken over the coals by both fans and the media for having this party.
I honestly am of the opinion that you will start to see a decline in salaries starting this offseason, because of the bad economic conditions. I think the Scott Boras understood this crystal clear when he took a $41m, 4 year contract, for Kyle Lohse, instead of testing “The Market”. I do not accuse Lohse of being Sabathia, but this is only the SECOND time EVER, that he declined to go free agency (Greg Maddox with the Braves was the other). This is a something to consider.
I do not have internal Yankee documents forecasting projected profits for the new stadium. However, I think it is fair to say that with the decline in the average person’s disposable income, FEWER dollars will be generated at the new stadium than was projected before. One way that you can offset the loss, is to dump salaries (Obviously Pavano and others will be gone). But another more subtile way, is not to cause salaries to increase by getting into bidding wars, or by making outlandish offers like Texas did for Arod. Is that collusion? No it is not, because a team like the Yankees can work independent of major league baseball by showing what you expected to make, and what the new numbers are (If they are audited by some arbitrator).
I really think that cost containment, in all areas will be the rule, not only for the Yankees and MLB, but for all sports as well. Until economic conditions improve.
Is anyone considering that the new stadium may be behind schedule and that we may not have seen the last game in yankee stadium? They wouldn’t want to compound that kind of embarrassment with another send off, right?
Several days after Joe Torre declared his will to attend the closing ceremony of the Yankee Stadium in November, the Yankees confirmed that there would be no such ceremony?
What a convenient concidence.
No doubt it will help Hank stop howling and whimpering.