Earlier this year, the Yankees banned the use of print-at-home tickets, which meant fans looking to buy or sell seats at the last minute would now need to use the Yankees’ own marketplace, which allows tickets to be transferred to a smartphone but uses minimum prices to prevent them from being sold too cheaply. Fans generally hated the new policy, but the backlash got worse when Yankees COO Lonn Trost defended the team’s premium ticket holders, arguing that people who buy expensive seats get frustrated when someone else buys one nearby for less money. “And quite frankly,” he added, “the fan may be someone who has never sat in a premium location. So that’s a frustration to our existing fan base.” And so with the Yankees set to open their 2016 season this week, John Oliver dedicated a few minutes of his HBO show to the team’s new policy, and wanted to make sure that the riffraff still has the opportunity to sit in pricey seats
The show bought a pair of tickets to the Yankees’ first three home games right behind home plate, and Oliver said they’ll sell them for just 25 cents each to fans who promise to dress “like you have never sat in a premium location before.”
Interested fans were encouraged to tweet images of what they’d wear to the game using the hashtag #IHaveNeverSatInAPremiumLocation, and already the entries have begun to roll in.
The Yankees’ home opener, originally scheduled for Monday afternoon, has been postponed until Tuesday at 1:05 thanks to a forecast of inclement weather.
