Mayor Bloomberg tested the patience of the Jinx Gods yesterday when he mentioned that he had already begun planning the World Series ticker tape parade before the team had even won the ALDS. But fans face an even more irritating prospect: even if they were somehow able to scrum up playoff tickets (costing a couple hundred dollars), they're now going to be facing increased prices for the privilege of parking near the stadium. Increases of nearly seventy-five percent.
Prices at Yankee Stadium garages will increase from $23 to $40 starting with tonight's Game 3 against the Twins. And that amount will likely increase even more if the Yankees do make it to the World Series. "It's absolutely despicable that the average working man who's trying to put food on the table for his family can't treat them to a night of baseball in the Bronx because of the added cost," fan Christopher Berry told the News.
It might be a strategy that loses more money that gains though: during the regular season, the garages had major problems filling the 9,000 spaces. About forty percent of the spaces went empty as parking revenues only reached half of their projections, probably because everyone was taking the train: "Anyone who doesn't take the train to a game these days is crazy. The hassle and now the expanded cost of parking is getting just too much. It's just not worth it," said accountant Alberto Guerra.
