All-Star Prices Rile Some Fans of Yankees

Yankees fans are voicing outrage about the unprecedented prices for tickets to the upcoming All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium.While local fans lucky enough to be chosen in an online lottery will pay between $150 and $725 for what will be the last All-Star Game at the House That Ruth Built — the team is relocating to its new stadium next year — some season ticket holders have been told they must purchase expensive, all-inclusive packages if they want to attend the game.Among the events the eligible season ticket holders must agree to pay for on All-Star Weekend are the Taco Bell Legends and Celebrity Soft Ball Game, according to the Yankees Web site. Those season ticket holders must also buy an additional two tickets to the DHL FanFest for every one ticket they buy for the actual All-Star game, according to the Web site.“It’s pathetic and just another example of how longtime fans are getting priced out,” a season ticket holder whose family has retained the same seats for 46 years, Will Dunnigan, 51, said before last night’s game against the Detroit Tigers.An online invoice for one season ticket holder with seats in the Main Reserve section showed that each package that includes one ticket to the actual All-Star Game, known as a Full Strip, costs $1,195.The ticket prices do not appear to be slowing buyers eager to attend the historic game on July 15. Full Strip tickets for the game were selling for an average of $1,200 each on StubHub.com yesterday, and a Field Box seat had sold for $14,500, the most expensive ticket sold in the company’s history, a StubHub.com corporate communications specialist, Joellen Ferrer, said.Mr. Dunnigan, who said he had not been aware of the All-Star Game ticket prices, said rising prices are driving him away from his lifelong passion, Yankee baseball. He said the Yankees told him that similar season tickets at the new Yankee Stadium would cost $250 each next year, up from the $150 for his current tickets.“This is my last year as a Yankee fan,” he said. “I may never see the inside of that new stadium.”Ticket prices for the All-Star Game are up from last year in San Francisco, when seats ran between $75 and $285. Prices will likely decrease for the All-Star Game next year in St. Louis.“They will be adjusted for St. Louis. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity — instant memorabilia, instant memories,” Major League Baseball’s chief operating officer, Bob DuPuy, told the Associated Press. “The regular-season ticket prices in New York are substantially higher than they are in St. Louis.”A season ticket holder, who said he has kept tickets behind the plate for the last 10 years, Peter Meizels, said he was disappointed that the Yankees hadn’t informed him about the possibility of attending the game. When asked if he’d like to be a part of the festivities, Mr. Meizels, 45, said: “Of course, it’s only happened twice in 30 years.A spokesman for the Yankees directed calls regarding All-Star Game tickets to Major League Baseball. A spokesman for Major League Baseball said all ticket information is available on the organization’s Web site.All-Star Game tickets on StubHub.com are currently priced much higher than those sold for recent Yankee playoff runs. The average ticket for home games against the Cleveland Indians in last year’s American League Division Series sold for $210, while the average selling price yesterday for All-Star Game seats was $300, Ms. Ferrer said.While tickets on StubHub.com were on sale for between $750 and $25,000 yesterday, the average selling price was $300. Ms. Ferrer said asking prices are likely to drop.“As this time last year, the average price for the All-Star Game was well over $1300 and eventually dropped to $740 by game time. We expect a similar trend, though ticket prices will likely be higher with the game being held at Yankee Stadium in its last season” she said in an e-mail message.

All-Star Prices Rile Some Fans of Yankees

All-Star Prices Rile Some Fans of Yankees

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