MLB, Yankees Unveil Plans For '08 All-Star Game Festivities
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MLB last night began fan balloting for this July’s All-Star Game, set for Yankee Stadium, and league officials said early ticket sales for the DHL FanFest that surrounds the midsummer event are running 70% ahead of last year’s record-setting pace. The event drew an all-time best of 125,000 in '07 in S.F., and a turnout of well above 150,000 is expected this year for the five-day run at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. “You’re going to have huge amounts of fan interest in a market like this,” said MLB President & COO Bob DuPuy, who along with the Yankees yesterday announced several elements of the planned All-Star events. “The Yankees and Mets are going to draw eight million people this year. That’s a huge base to start from. And then once you get into all the additional fans coming into town, it’s going to be a huge deal.” FanFest will remain at five days this year. MLB considered enlarging the event to seven days after the strong success in S.F., but could not secure the additional days at the Javits Center. The event, however, will expand from roughly 300,000 square feet in S.F. to 450,000 square feet this year.
TICKET MASTERS: The FanFest sales bump is occurring despite ticket prices that have increased from $22 for adults and $17 for seniors, military and children, to $30 and $25 this year. The ticket price increases stretch throughout the All-Star events, as seats for the July 15 game itself rose to $150-$725, up from $75-$285 last year. Prices for the Monday Home Run Derby and workout day range from $100-$650, up from $50-$225 in '07, and the Sunday, July 13 Futures game will cost $50-$225, up from $22.50-$125 for last season. The prices mark another move to capitalize on the heavy nostalgia surrounding the last year of the current Yankee Stadium, and will be shifted back downward for next year’s game in St. Louis. The Yankees’ season-ticket base, representing more than 38,000 full-season equivalents and already paying some of the highest ticket prices in baseball, will have the first opportunity to purchase tickets, while a public lottery for All-Star Game and Home Run Derby tickets began last night at MLB.com and will conclude June 16.
NAMES & FACES: Meanwhile, the Yankees and MLB yesterday presented N.Y. Mayor and Boston native Michael Bloomberg an All-Star workout jersey, leading Bloomberg to joke, “When nobody’s looking, I’m going to bury it in Fenway Park.” MLB Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III and Senior VP/Sales & Marketing Dan Farrell, continuing an extended shadowing effort in preparation for the '09 All-Star Game, were on hand for yesterday’s events at Yankee Stadium (Eric Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal).
MORE INFO: DuPuy yesterday noted that 70% of tickets for the All-Star Game and workout, as well as the Home Run Derby and the Futures game, "will be made available to either Yankees season-ticket holders or the general public (through a lottery), with the rest reserved for MLB." Yankees SS Derek Jeter, co-Chair Hal Steinbrenner and Baseball HOFer Yogi Berra all were on hand at the news conference. Yankees President Randy Levine said that the Yankees will donate "more than $7[M] from the workout day to local and national charities" (N.Y. POST, 4/30).
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