Yankees Say "NO" to iPad
(SPORTS TECHNOLOGY)
Who knew the iPad has been on the market long enough to already cause trouble, but it seems to have made a name for itself at Yankee Stadium. A recent Information Week article reported on a post on an Internet forum maintained by the blog IGN. Apparently, SpaceKatGal – a baseball fan – was turned away at the gates of Yankee Stadium, told the iPad was not allowed.
"Why on earth would they have this policy? Terrorism concerns? I couldn't get an answer. I snuck it in under my jacket. I bring it to Fenway all the time and they don't care," wrote the fan.
Apparently, the Yankee’s consider the iPad just another laptop. Such devices are banned from the stadium, just like firearms, knives, video cameras and beach balls. What about the iPhone (News - Alert) and HTC? No word on these devices yet, but we’re not tearing down doors to ask – just in case.
Yankee officials claim that computers really are a safety issue. They believe that a fan glued to Facebook (News - Alert) or some other similarly-addictive app – could be caught unaware by a foul ball or flying bats that could be headed in their direction.
The policy for Major League Baseball is to leave it up to individual teams as to whether or not to allow iPads into their stadiums. Some may like to point out that rival team, the Mets, allows iPads into Citi Field, but this may have something to do with the giant Apple (News - Alert) that heads toward the sky each time the team hits a home run.
Another iPad-friendly team is apparently the Seattle Mariners – even if they are in the heart of Microsoft (News - Alert) country. The California Angels also allow the device. For those stadiums that do ban the device, it seems the impact has yet to be felt in Apple sales.
While it is easy to understand how this can be a safety issue within stadiums – and no ball team wants to be sued by the distracted fan – but teams could be missing out on a key marketing opportunity here.
Not only could teams strike a lucrative deal with Apple, they could incorporate mass postings (think Facebook and Twitter) into games and other events that would drive additional revenues. Granted, the Yankees probably don’t have to focus on strengthening their brand, but at mortgage rate pricing for game attendance, such an approach could offset absorbent costs.
In other iPad news, the latest Apple device is selling out in stores. Released in April 2010, Apple had sold 1 million iPads by May 3. It runs unique iPad applications as well as those for the iPhone and iPod touch, including e-book readers.
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Kelly McGuire
