NYRA's changes won't spoil Saratoga Race Course season
Jul 19, 2015 18:35:33 GMT -5
Post by Evelyn on Jul 19, 2015 18:35:33 GMT -5
I had to post this because of his take on "enhanced experience" LOL He is completely correct! But that's part of the really bad PR BS from the current NYRA. I also don't care about the admission and reservations costs. ($5 general admission, Del Mar is $6). Never used the picnic tables because I don't go to the track to watch TV. And nothing - not even this horseracing ignorant NYRA - can spoil The Spa!
NYRA's changes won't spoil Saratoga Race Course season
By Pete Iorizzo
Albany Times Union
It doesn't bother me that Saratoga Race Course will be charging patrons who wish to reserve seats in the restaurants and the new carousel sports bar, because I'd rather bring my food, anyway.
And I'm not upset that fans now can pay to reserve picnic tables, because the folding chair I can carry into the backyard usually suits me just fine.
Of course, if I did want to reserve a picnic table for Travers Day, I think the $100 it would cost might be well worth avoiding a 4 a.m. wake-up call, followed by a Running of the Bulls-style dash to stake my claim.
I went to Citi Field a few weeks ago and spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $35 on two hot dogs, a pretzel and a bottle of Aquafina. When fans get upset about price gouging, I get it.
But I don't think what the New York Racing Association is doing at Saratoga qualifies as price gouging. And some of the claims that NYRA is prying every penny out of its longtime customers seem exaggerated.
My preferred way to visit Saratoga is as follows: I park on the street in the adjacent neighborhood, then walk a few blocks to the track, my cooler of food and beverage in tow. I find a seat in the backyard. And, my total cost for the day, without any bets is $5.
By the standards of every other major league sport, that ain't bad.
In fact, if I wanted a track view, I could even spring for the grandstand or clubhouse seat and not pay any of the newly introduced fees.
anywhere in the track, from the swanky luxury boxes to the lawn, I could enjoy a few of the new amenities, such as the much-improved sound system and the high-definition television monitors.
We've gone to the whip many times when criticizing NYRA for going 13 consecutive years without turning a profit before finally making money in 2014.
But now that NYRA has found ways to maximize the revenue from its most popular attraction (Saratoga), it's being accused of price gouging.
Some fans, it seems, want to have it both ways: They want costs as historic as the building, with profits that can keep the sport viable in the modern sports landscape. That's an impossible standard.
Even NYRA's much-maligned changes to the season seat policy hardly seem overbearing. Previously, if you bought a reserved season seat, you paid the admission charge separately whenever you visited the track. This year, though, in addition to paying for the seat, you also must buy a season admission pass ($35 for grandstand, $55 for clubhouse).
Some season ticket holders are upset, arguing they're now essentially paying admission on the days they're not using their seats.
But a season admission pass only needs to be used seven times before it becomes equal to the value of separately paid admissions. And if you've got a season seat, it seems likely you'll visit the track at least seven times.
The new policy also puts NYRA's season-ticket policy in line with virtually every other sports venue. You can't buy Yankees season tickets but only pay for the games you want to attend. And how would you like to be an NFL season-ticket holder: Those teams make fans buy tickets to preseason games, too, often at regular-season costs.
What's actually more bothersome than any of the pricing changes is NYRA's way of selling it all as an "enhanced guest experienced," the cringe-worthy corporate speak that understandably makes the average racing fan roll his eyes.
I've never gone to the track and said, "Gee, I hope I have an enhanced guest experience today."
But giving folks the option of reserving a picnic table for a fee hardly makes Saratoga the sterile, corporate environment that too many major league sports venues have become.
What better way to see a cross section of society than a visit to the track: the families in the backyard, the dolled-up socialites in the restaurants, the high rollers in the suits. Therein lies Saratoga's charm.
Enjoying the view from my folding chair, my feet propped on a cooler, is an enhanced enough experience for me.
NYRA's changes won't spoil Saratoga Race Course season
By Pete Iorizzo
Albany Times Union
It doesn't bother me that Saratoga Race Course will be charging patrons who wish to reserve seats in the restaurants and the new carousel sports bar, because I'd rather bring my food, anyway.
And I'm not upset that fans now can pay to reserve picnic tables, because the folding chair I can carry into the backyard usually suits me just fine.
Of course, if I did want to reserve a picnic table for Travers Day, I think the $100 it would cost might be well worth avoiding a 4 a.m. wake-up call, followed by a Running of the Bulls-style dash to stake my claim.
I went to Citi Field a few weeks ago and spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $35 on two hot dogs, a pretzel and a bottle of Aquafina. When fans get upset about price gouging, I get it.
But I don't think what the New York Racing Association is doing at Saratoga qualifies as price gouging. And some of the claims that NYRA is prying every penny out of its longtime customers seem exaggerated.
My preferred way to visit Saratoga is as follows: I park on the street in the adjacent neighborhood, then walk a few blocks to the track, my cooler of food and beverage in tow. I find a seat in the backyard. And, my total cost for the day, without any bets is $5.
By the standards of every other major league sport, that ain't bad.
In fact, if I wanted a track view, I could even spring for the grandstand or clubhouse seat and not pay any of the newly introduced fees.
anywhere in the track, from the swanky luxury boxes to the lawn, I could enjoy a few of the new amenities, such as the much-improved sound system and the high-definition television monitors.
We've gone to the whip many times when criticizing NYRA for going 13 consecutive years without turning a profit before finally making money in 2014.
But now that NYRA has found ways to maximize the revenue from its most popular attraction (Saratoga), it's being accused of price gouging.
Some fans, it seems, want to have it both ways: They want costs as historic as the building, with profits that can keep the sport viable in the modern sports landscape. That's an impossible standard.
Even NYRA's much-maligned changes to the season seat policy hardly seem overbearing. Previously, if you bought a reserved season seat, you paid the admission charge separately whenever you visited the track. This year, though, in addition to paying for the seat, you also must buy a season admission pass ($35 for grandstand, $55 for clubhouse).
Some season ticket holders are upset, arguing they're now essentially paying admission on the days they're not using their seats.
But a season admission pass only needs to be used seven times before it becomes equal to the value of separately paid admissions. And if you've got a season seat, it seems likely you'll visit the track at least seven times.
The new policy also puts NYRA's season-ticket policy in line with virtually every other sports venue. You can't buy Yankees season tickets but only pay for the games you want to attend. And how would you like to be an NFL season-ticket holder: Those teams make fans buy tickets to preseason games, too, often at regular-season costs.
What's actually more bothersome than any of the pricing changes is NYRA's way of selling it all as an "enhanced guest experienced," the cringe-worthy corporate speak that understandably makes the average racing fan roll his eyes.
I've never gone to the track and said, "Gee, I hope I have an enhanced guest experience today."
But giving folks the option of reserving a picnic table for a fee hardly makes Saratoga the sterile, corporate environment that too many major league sports venues have become.
What better way to see a cross section of society than a visit to the track: the families in the backyard, the dolled-up socialites in the restaurants, the high rollers in the suits. Therein lies Saratoga's charm.
Enjoying the view from my folding chair, my feet propped on a cooler, is an enhanced enough experience for me.