Yankee Stadium: The Only MLB Ballpark to Ban Bike Helmets
Yankees sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton wouldn’t step up to the plate without a helmet. But for their fans watching in the stands, and especially those who arrived at the game on bicycles, helmets are strictly disallowed.
The New York Post reported last week that helmets of almost any kind-bicycle, motorcycle, or baseball-are not permitted in Yankee Stadium. The reason for the ban is unclear, and Yankees staff didn’t respond to either the Post or Bicycling when asked for comment. Reportedly, every other New York-area pro sports arena either allows helmets inside or gives visitors the option of storing them for free.
Though Yankees fans can’t bring their helmets inside the ballpark, they can stash them in rented lockers at a sporting-goods store across the street for $20 per game, adding a hefty surcharge to the average ticket price of $101.
Tim Blumenthal, executive director of the advocacy group People for Bikes, grew up in New York cheering for the Yankees, but he’s not a fan of the team’s helmet ban.
“I haven’t heard any explanation for the ban,” Blumenthal told Bicycling. “Leaving a game can take a long time, which is why nearly every other team in the league encourages alternative forms of transportation, including bikes.”
New York bike advocates like Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, agreed, ripping the team’s “totally ridiculous” policy.
“A sports team like the Yankees should be encouraging healthy, active transportation instead of discouraging it,” White told the Post. “It’s 2018. Biking is as mainstream a mode of transportation as driving or riding the train. It’s not polluting the air or taking up valuable parking space. The Yankees need to get with the times.”
Across North America, only a small handful of pro sports stadiums-such as Toronto’s BMO Field and Omaha’s TD Ameritrade Park-have similar bans on bike helmets. It’s believed the Yankees are the only Major League Baseball team to ban them outright. The San Diego Padres doesn’t allow motorcycle helmets inside Petco Park, but riders can check them at guest services for free prior to entry. New York’s other MLB team, the Mets, allows fans to take bike helmets to their seats at Citi Field.
Michael Anderson, public relations manager for the Cincinnati Reds, didn’t know about the Yankees’ helmet ban until contacted by Bicycling. “As an avid cyclist, I find this very disappointing,” he said.
The Reds are among the more bike-friendly teams in the MLB, with several bike-share stations (appropriately known as Red Bikes) located within a few blocks of Great American Ball Park, including one directly across the street from the main entrance. Red Bike executive director Jason Barron said he sees a significant bump in ridership both before and after game time.
Milwaukee Brewers fans can pedal the off-road Hank Aaron Trail to Miller Park, where they’ll find plenty of bike parking. The Yankees’ hated rival, the Boston Red Sox, offers free valet bike parking, as do the San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chicago Cubs. (In fact, Cubs utilityman Ben Zobrist occasionally rides his cruiser bike to Wrigley Field in full uniform.)
But good luck taking bike share to Yankee Stadium. Citi Bike docking stations only go up to the edge of Harlem, about two miles south and across a river from the ballpark. The service area for a new dockless bike-share program in the Bronx ends more than a dozen blocks north.
The Yankees may have clinched the wild card this season, but their fans who bike are being left holding the bag. Or, in this case, the helmet.
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