Bad news Yankees

Saturday, April 25, 2009 | 2:06 a.m.

Each new Major League Baseball season comes with a batch of story lines that stir passion and debate. Will the champion Philadelphia Phillies successfully defend their World Series crown? Can the Chicago Cubs finally break their century-old dry spell? Will another famous slugger be added to the long list of reputed steroid users?

When it comes to fan interest, though, no topic in baseball generates more discussion than the New York Yankees, the sport’s most storied franchise and winner of 26 world championships.

It is why the new $1.5 billion Yankee Stadium, which opened this month, was one of the most eagerly anticipated American sports facilities in decades. Befitting the proud Yankee tradition of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle, the stadium was billed as an opulent palace with tickets for individual games priced as high as $2,625.

But a stadium conceived and designed during the nation’s economic boom years — when corporations spent lavishly on luxury suites to entertain clients — has suddenly become a symbol of financial collapse. As the Associated Press reported Wednesday, the much-hyped pricey seats in the exclusive suites are mostly empty and even lower-priced seats have been reduced by online ticket brokers due to slumping demand.

You know things are bad when Yankee left fielder Johnny Damon told the AP that players understand why the stadium has empty seats. “It’s tough for, you know, business owners to justify those seats,” Damon said. “It’s either have those seats or lay off people from work ...”

The Yankees should adjust to the harsh economic times, even if only temporarily, by lowering ticket prices to accommodate their loyal fans. Many of those people are struggling with layoffs and home foreclosures just like other Americans.

The alternative is to watch a stadium grow emptier and emptier with each passing game, which would be bad not only for the Yankees but also for baseball in general. The nation desperately needs the type of good news a high-profile stadium filled with cheering fans can help deliver.