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Attendance Up Slightly At New Yankee Stadium

NEW YORK (AP) — Helped by price cuts among the most expensive seats, the Yankees' home attendance went up 1.2 percent in the second season at their $1.5 billion ballpark.

The Yankees averaged a major league-leading 46,491 for 81 regular-season home games, up from 45,918 in the stadium's opening season, when New York was second to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Total attendance this year was 3.77 million, up from 3.72 million.

Still, attendance is down from 4.29 million in the final season at the old Yankee Stadium, an average of 52,928. The original Yankee Stadium had a capacity of about 57,000 in its final year, and the new ballpark has 50,086 seats and a capacity of 52,325.

New York slashed prices by up to $1,250 per ticket per game this year for seats closest to the field, which have access to various levels of free food plus soft drinks. The $375 field-level tickets, many of which went unsold last year, were cut to $300 and in all New York lowered the cost of 3,400 field-level seats.

Eighty-four percent of seats had identical prices as part of season tickets, 13 percent decreased and just 3 percent went up — in the section just to each side of the premium seats in the second deck.

Sales were helped by a World Series title in the ballpark's first season.

"We're always trying to be responsive to our fans," Yankees president Randy Levine said. "The main thing is, of course, putting a championship product on the field, but again, it's remaining flexible on all levels, including affordability and convenience."

The Yankees had 15 sellouts this year, up from seven last season but down from 58 in old Yankee Stadium's final season.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.

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