Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. yesterday "fired off a letter" to Yankees President Randy Levine "slamming the team's 'draconian new ticketing policy,' which disallows print-at-home tickets," according to Botte, Red & Slattery of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. Diaz accused the Yankees of "going for the 'blatant money grab,'" while Levine accused Diaz of "being a fair-weather fan." Levine said, "We cut off (Diaz's) funding requests. The only time he comes to Yankee Stadium, when he comes for official ceremonies, he doesn't stay for the games" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/25). Levine yesterday at his law office in Manhattan met with StubHub President Scott Cutler for about an hour to discuss the team's recent decision to stop accepting print-at-home tickets. The Yankees' shift to only accept hard tickets or mobile barcodes threatens to impair StubHub's ability to promote ticket sales on its marketplace for one of its most popular draws. But Levine in a statement called the session with Cutler "a good and productive meeting" and said the pair "agreed to keep talking." Levine: "We will update everyone when we have news." StubHub in its own statement said, "We appreciate the Yankees' willingness to meet and have an open dialogue with regards to their ticketing policies. We were encouraged by the tenor of the conversation" (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).
FEELING JUST FINE: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Andrew Beaton noted "more than 1,500 fans crowded" the Mets' first open Spring Training workout -- the most since '88, when the team moved its spring operation to Port St. Lucie, Fla. St. Lucie County Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky said that the team has "already sold between 8,000 and 10,000 more tickets to games than it did this time last year." The city owns Tradition Field and "leases it to the Mets in exchange for a portion of the revenues -- 50% of parking, 30% of tickets, 20% of concessions and 14% of souvenirs, among other streams." From '11-14, these revenues "averaged $729,000," and that total is "expected to rise dramatically this year." Beaton: "When the Mets are good, Port St. Lucie feels much better" (WSJ.com, 2/24).
