Tiger Woods takes a stab at ticket prices at the new Yankee Stadium..

[salsadancer7]

I could not agree with him more. It is simply amazing(and not surprising) that major league owners simply cater less and less to the families and more toward the wealthy.

Tiger boosts free admission for kids

Updated: July 4, 2009, 12:38 PM ET
ESPN.com news services

Noting the new problems the New York Yankees have had filling the high-priced seats at their new ballpark, Tiger Woods is boosting golf's efforts to attract young fans to go see the game in person at the tournament he's hosting this weekend.

"We don't want to have what happened at Yankee Stadium," Woods said Friday at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., site of the AT&T National. "Tickets are so overpriced that you can't bring the family. We want to have everyone come out and enjoy being in a family atmosphere, walk around, have a good time and not have it cost an arm and a leg."

The AT&T National, which Woods hosts, is admitting children under 12 free this week, following suit with a growing trend in golf. Last month's U.S. Open at Bethpage Black on Long Island allowed in kids under 12 for free, as well, and provided reduced rates for teenagers.

The British Open long has had a policy of free admission for kids.

Woods said letting children on the course for free gives them exposure to the game they might otherwise never enjoy.

"Well, I mean, we want to have kids come out here and enjoy golf," Woods said. "A lot of these kids may not have an opportunity to ever be on a golf course or play golf. This is their introduction to the game, and we want it to be memorable. We want them to come out."

[ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=4305858"]Tiger Woods takes swipe at Yankee Stadium prices, boosts free admission for kids at his tourney - ESPN[/ame]

 

[Paul Wozniak]

I applaud you Mr. Woods.

 

[Ramy]

Good job Tiger!

 

[JAG72]

I do really like how golf is handling this. A month ago at the Memorial, kids 12 and under could get in free with a paying adult.

 

[SamCdbs]

How easy it is to be generous with other people's money.

Let's see. Forbes says Woods make $100M/year. A reasonable Yankees ticket is $80. There are 1.4M people under 12 in the NYC SMSA. That is less than 10% of Woods income per year. Write a check, Tiger.

Letting kids in free to a golf tournament, which are held in the country and which have, for this purpose, an infinite capacity, is one thing. Letting kids take up a seat in a stadium with only 50K seats is quite another.

 

[yaz96]

How easy it is to be generous with other people's money.

Let's see. Forbes says Woods make $100M/year. A reasonable Yankees ticket is $80. There are 1.4M people under 12 in the NYC SMSA. That is less than 10% of Woods income per year. Write a check, Tiger.

Letting kids in free to a golf tournament, which are held in the country and which have, for this purpose, an infinite capacity, is one thing. Letting kids take up a seat in a stadium with only 50K seats is quite another.

What's your point, are you dissing Tiger or his charity?

He is not referring to those reasonable priced seats. He is referring to the over-priced seats that are mostly empty every game..............

 

[anders5189]

Golf tounaments are some of the cheapest events to attend, excluding majors. I've gone to tournaments and not payed more than $40 to attend, and once you're there you can roam the course and go where you want to. Even the cheapest tickets to other sporting events relegate you to crappy seats in the nosebleed sections.

I sort of agree with Sam about the Yankees tickets. They aren't running a charity. Besides when was the last time the Yankees didn't sell out a game?

 

[yaz96]

Those new high priced seats close to the field are not always sold out.....you can see them empty when the games are televised.

And another thing, shouldn't it be reasonable to take your family to a ballgame without taking another mortgage on the house?

NFL and some MLB tickets are getting to be ridiculous, not priced for the common man (fan) to be able to afford.

 

[anders5189]

Those new high priced seats close to the field are not always sold out.....you can see them empty when the games are televised.

Apparantly the Yankees didn't see the financial crisis coming. Those field level seats were not meant for Joe Six Pack from Brooklyn. They were meant for the Bernie Madoff's who, sadly , had to cancel their season tickets.

And another thing, shouldn't it be reasonable to take your family to a ballgame without taking another mortgage on the house?

NFL and some MLB tickets are getting to be ridiculous, not priced for the common man (fan) to be able to afford.

I feel you, but it's a sign of the times. If you want to take the family out to a ballgame without mortgaging the house there's always minor league baseball. Or there's Pittsburgh. Seriously, the Yankees are one of the most famous teams in pro sports and have a $200 million payroll. They also play in the biggest, and one of the wealthiest cities in America. As long as people show up to the games the prices are reasonable. OTOH, I don't think a family of 4, or even 40, would have any trouble getting into a Marlins game.

 

[riffjim4069]

I too applaud Mr. Woods' effect to make attending the AT&T National more affordable for familes. In fact, the AT&T National is a class act! I attended today's 3rd round free-of-charge along with a friend (we're retired military), his wife and daughter today. We had a great time, saw some outstanding golf, and Lockheed Martin provided drinks and snacks. I plan to attend next year if I am in town.

 

[SamCdbs]

What's your point...

He is referring to the over-priced seats ............

And he has no business referring to anything about the Yankees' private business.

 

[salsadancer7]

And he has no business referring to anything about the Yankees' private business.

...yeah, shame on him for stating his opinion about the state of affairs about how over priced family entertainment has gotten....

He can talk and state his opinion about anything he likes.....I do remember him AND YOU having the right to do that....

 

[meathead76]

And he has no business referring to anything about the Yankees' private business.

I agree
who wants to go see a washed up bunch of 'roided chokers

 

[Paul Wozniak]

Those new high priced seats close to the field are not always sold out.....you can see them empty when the games are televised.

And another thing, shouldn't it be reasonable to take your family to a ballgame without taking another mortgage on the house?

NFL and some MLB tickets are getting to be ridiculous, not priced for the common man (fan) to be able to afford.

The Detroit Tigers are offering a parking pass, a hot dog and a ticket, for just $5 total, currently. At least one franchise realizes that fannies in the seats are better for revenue than empty seats.

 

[dishcomm]

How easy it is to be generous with other people's money.

Let's see. Forbes says Woods make $100M/year. A reasonable Yankees ticket is $80. There are 1.4M people under 12 in the NYC SMSA. That is less than 10% of Woods income per year. Write a check, Tiger.

Letting kids in free to a golf tournament, which are held in the country and which have, for this purpose, an infinite capacity, is one thing. Letting kids take up a seat in a stadium with only 50K seats is quite another.

Excdrcising your free speech rights . Ok
Here's mine. Your position is very unpopular and leaves you open to criticism
SO why do you find it necessary to trash an effort such as this?
Is it that you don't like Woods?
Or is it that you find it necessary to take a contrary postition on all issues?

 

[dishcomm]

Those new high priced seats close to the field are not always sold out.....you can see them empty when the games are televised.

And another thing, shouldn't it be reasonable to take your family to a ballgame without taking another mortgage on the house?

NFL and some MLB tickets are getting to be ridiculous, not priced for the common man (fan) to be able to afford.

all 4 major sports have ticket price issues.
NHL teams that play to 90% of capacity on avg discount tickets in different ways to get those seats sold.
I get emails every week from my favorite team about seat discounts.
Family packs are very popular. Those include ticket, soft drink and one item (burger, dog usually) all one price.
However the overall sentiment is ticket prices have gone far beyond the reach of the common person.

 

[Paul Wozniak]

Excdrcising your free speech rights . Ok
Here's mine. Your position is very unpopular and leaves you open to criticism
SO why do you find it necessary to trash an effort such as this?
Is it that you don't like Woods?
Or is it that you find it necessary to take a contrary postition on all issues?

:up:up:up

 

[BillD1984]

How easy it is to be generous with other people's money.

Let's see. Forbes says Woods make $100M/year. A reasonable Yankees ticket is $80. There are 1.4M people under 12 in the NYC SMSA. That is less than 10% of Woods income per year. Write a check, Tiger.

Letting kids in free to a golf tournament, which are held in the country and which have, for this purpose, an infinite capacity, is one thing. Letting kids take up a seat in a stadium with only 50K seats is quite another.

Anyone else see the irony in this?

 

[SamCdbs]

Vice-President Humphrey said "your right to speak freely does not imply a duty on others to take what you say seriously." I agree with that.

Woods is a shill for the Nike Corporation. Have a comment on how much Nike shoes cost, Woods? Woods is represented by IMG. Have a comment on how much IMG charges for the EPL, which it owns?

If Woods makes twice what he made last year next year, great. It just bugs me that a person that is the benficiary of the modern sports system want to play "friend of the little guy" with something that he has no control over.

 

[salsadancer7]

Vice-President Humphrey said "your right to speak freely does not imply a duty on others to take what you say seriously." I agree with that.

Woods is a shill for the Nike Corporation. Have a comment on how much Nike shoes cost, Woods? Woods is represented by IMG. Have a comment on how much IMG charges for the EPL, which it owns?

If Woods makes twice what he made last year next year, great. It just bugs me that a person that is the benficiary of the modern sports system want to play "friend of the little guy" with something that he has no control over.

He maybe a shill for Nike...but I bet he WOULDN'T whine about someone stating their opinions about how expensive Nike shoes are if they wanted to express themselves like SOME have here....

Oh and BY THE WAY, MOST of his money does NOT come from ticket sales at all the major events he participates...they come endorsements.

...can the same be said by the Yankees? Or any OTHER professional franchise..?!!

...I have no issues with athletes making as much as possible because they have sacrificed and work hard to be the best in the world. I DO have issues with owners of professional franchise moaning and bitch about being broke and losing money...then turnaround and give some journeyman hack a contract WAY more than they should...then raise prices in everything in their concrete playground...and then state they 'are always looking out for the fans' .....:rant: