I was having a debate over at RAB with a commenter about the social stratification in the new Yankee Stadium, and a thought came to me that I think is a particularly important point that has not yet been brought up.
Let me tell you a story about a Stadium that had one area that only certain ticket holders could access. They had different concessions, different restrooms, and actually entered through a different gate. They were throughly segregated from the other patrons, and looked disdainfully at the fans in the rest of the park. I am referring to Yankee Stadium, but not the one you are thinking of and have heard roundly criticized for the last few months. I am talking about the previous incarnation, just across the street.
The bleachers in the old Stadium might as well have been in a different park. You accessed it through a separate entrance, and could not enter the rest of the park from that area. There were fewer restrooms, less concession stands, and no alcohol. My point is that the Stadium has always been stratified by class. The difference is that instead of excluding the less advantaged and those not willing to spend much on tickets (yours truly included), they are excluding the extremely wealthy. That is an improvement in my book.
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5 Responses to One Last Thought On The New Stadium
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TIQ IQ
And as a bleacher season ticket holder, this is the main reason why you’ll never hear me complain about the new ballpark.
As long as you’re not in an obstructed-view seat, I guess. Though then you’d only be paying $5.00 for the privilege, so I guess that’s not too shabby.
As long as everyone has equal opportunities to beer and other essentials…sounds fair to me.
Part of me kind of liked the fact that we were in our own section, cut off from the rest of the park. I DO like being able to wander around and check out the new stadium now, though. “Box Seats Suck!!”
Very creative way of looking at class warfare, I like it.
Been to one game this year, it was in the “Box Seats”…as a guest. Would I pay that much for a seat…not on your life! Next time I go I’ll be able to wander around and see much more of the place, because it’ll be my money paying for the seats…$5 anyone!
Nice turn Moshe, very nice.