Yankee Stadium Bans the iPad

[Andy Chalk]

Yankee Stadium Bans the iPad

A little heads-up for anyone thinking about catching a game at Yankee Stadium: Leave the iPad at home.

After reports that iPad-packing baseball fans were being turned away from iPads [http://www.mlb.com/nyy/ballpark], too.

"Such items will be prohibited from being brought into Yankee Stadium. There is no storage area for these items," the policy states [http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/nyy/ballpark/security.jsp]. "Guests arriving by mass transit should take particular care not to bring any prohibited items, as no exceptions will be made."

I can't imagine why laptops would be banned from Yankee Stadium as a matter of security, nor why iPhone [http://www.apple.com/ipad/] than a laptop. It's apparently okay to bring them onto planes, so why not to a baseball game?

On the other hand, you're going to see a baseball game so why are you bringing an iPad with you in the first place? I've never been able to fathom the mindset of all those dill holes who get seats behind home plate and then spend the entire game yammering on their cellphones. If things are really that much more interesting elsewhere, maybe you should go there and free up the seats for people who actually want to watch the game.

In fact, I have the perfect compromise solution: Don't ban iPads, just ban idiots. Same net result from a policy we can all feel good about.


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[GrinningManiac]

Well, who the hell would BRING an Ipad to a game?

Also, this being America, mabye they don't want expensive, fragile personal belongings on site in case they break and the stadium gets, naturally, sued out of its mind

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

I've never been able to fathom the mindset of all those dill holes

Never imagined you as a Beavis/Butthead fan...

In fact, I have the perfect compromise solution: Don't ban iPads, just ban idiots. Same net result from a policy we can all feel good about.

Hell, don't make it just for baseball. That should be the law of the land.

 

[Low Key]

They are worried that someone will bring a webcam along and broadcast the game to a bunch of people for free. I know phones can record video too, but it's not streaming so it's not live. They make money from the ad revenue generated by TV ratings and obviously ticket sales. In essence Andy, it's like someone using an ad blocker on this site.

 

[Eri]

In fact, I have the perfect compromise solution: Don't ban iPads, just ban idiots. Same net result from a policy we can all feel good about.

Isn't that what this ban is doing?


Ba-dum-tish

 

[Danpascooch]

Weird, Can't think of any reason why

 

[Sneaklemming]

You know... this makes it sound like your are implying that people who have ipads are idiots...

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

I agree if someone brings anything other than team items, money for concessions and maybe a cell phone for calls and texts to people to get to the games they shouldn't be permitted inside the stadium.

 

[Stryc9]

It's more and an issue of the stadium not wanting to be held responsible for when some jackass drops and breaks his device, or leaves his seat to use the bathroom or get another overpriced beer and comes back to find someone has stolen his laptop\ipad and then proceeds to sue the stadium for his losses because he's too stupid to take proper care of his belongings.

 

[Danpascooch]

They are worried that someone will bring a webcam along and broadcast the game to a bunch of people for free. I know phones can record video too, but it's not streaming so it's not live. They make money from the ad revenue generated by TV ratings and obviously ticket sales. In essence Andy, it's like someone using an ad blocker on this site.

Makes sense

 

[Sixties Spidey]

Ban both idiots AND iPads. Hell, it's a win win situation the way I see it.

 

[Bretty]

Poor apple freaks.

But I have to say that I am upset! LAPTOP USERS ARE BEING DISCRIMINATED AGAINST!!!! QQ

8)

too funny

 

[ewhac]

I can't imagine why laptops would be banned from Yankee Stadium as a matter of security, nor why iPads [http://www.apple.com/ipad/] would be included in their number since based on what very little I know of them, they're more like a fat iPhone than a laptop.

It's actually quite simple. And idiotic.

Major League Baseball "owns" the exclusive rights to everything that happens at baseball games. That means they have the exclusive right to issue licenses (and collect money) for broadcasting rights, and impose conditions. Originally this was to partly compensate for depressed ticket sales "lost" to television broadcasts of the game (and also why there is/used to be a transmission blackout radius inside of which you couldn't view the game, to encourage you to go to the stadium, buy a ticket, and see it there).

But now the restrictions have just gotten silly.

If you let in just any yokel with a laptop (with built-in webcam and microphone), then you'd get all kind of amateur-hour sportscasters trying to "steal" MLB's games. Heck, even play-by-play reports via Twitter could eat in to your ticket sales and/or licensing fees.

So, baseball stadiums are a no-tech zone. And yes, it's idiotic.

 

[SimuLord]

If they banned idiots, nobody would go to Yankee games except when the Sox were in town, and it'd be a home game for Boston.

YANKEES SUCK! GO SOX!

(why yes, I was born and raised in Beantown, how'd you know?)

 

[jtesauro]

This actually came up for me last season. We're at work, my buddy says he got us yankees tickets, let's go after work, I say sure. He's a big fan, I'm fairly ambivalent, but ok, why not, my friends are fun to hang out with no matter where we go and it's not like we're paying for the tickets. The catch is I bring my laptop to and from home with me, so when I left, I brought it. They wouldn't me in the stadium with the bag.

This only pissed me off because this was a recent development, the prior visit to the stadium this hadn't been an issue.

I'll credit the Yankees for being one of the premier ball clubs out there, but they've proven time and time again they could give a shit about their fans.

 

[SurfKansas]

Being neither a fan of the iPad or the Yankees, it's hard for me to get worked up over this. But, there are some legitimate reasons for a real baseball fan to bring an iPad to a game.

* Pull up player stats
* Catch up on scores from another in-progress game in between pitches

OK, I can only think of two reasons - and both can be done on a much-more-portable iPhone or Droid phone.

Or, you could just enjoy the game without having to display your Apple-ness to everyone around you.

 

[Tabloid Believer]

But an iPad doesn't have a camera built-in. Strange. Oh well.

As for why someone would bring an iPad...as was stated above me, I could see bringing one to pull up stats and ESPN while watching the game. As well as keep track of other games. It would be great for Fantasy Baseball as well. If there was a stats gathering app for the iPad, it would be very useful for that as well.

 

[samsonguy920]

Most of those bringing laptops and iPads, I'm thinking, are the one married to their jobs. Who work them 24/7 and don't believe in anything longer than a coffee break. I like that rule, since it makes those zombies choose their job or their love of the game. You can't have both.

 

[DrunkMc]

A reason I could see is people going straight to the game from work or school and not wanting to leave their iPad at their office or school. Also, lots of people take mass transportation to a baseball game and would want entertainment on the way to the game.

 

[Cryo84R]

Man, doesn't take much to bring the haters out, does it?