PA SPORTSTICKER BASEBALL NOTE

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer

NEW YORK(AP) -- The price of New York Yankees tickets on the resale market plummeted this week following the team's decision to give free extra seats to people who bought the team's priciest season plans.

Legends Suite seats for Friday night's game against the Los Angeles Angels that originally sold for $500 could be had for $144 shortly before 5 p.m. on StubHub.com. Legends seats in section 16, row 9, behind the first-base dugout were available for $199, down from their $850 original price.

All the sharp discounting wasn't just among the Legends seats, which include access to three restaurants and lounges with free food and soft drinks. Field level seats to the plate side of the first-base dugout could be had for $50, down from their $325 price as part of season tickets.

"We're seeing an unprecedented number of season-ticket holders selling. The market has been flooded. It is a buyer's market for baseball fans," said Mike Janes, chief executive officer of FanSnap.com, an Internet search engine that finds tickets on resale sites.

Rain on Friday afternoon might have depressed the price of tickets for that night's game, and more rain was possible later in the weekend.

For Saturday's game, seats that originally sold for $500 were available for $150 Friday on StubHub and $850 seats could be had for $225. Field level seats the Yankees sold for $325 behind the plate were listed at $60.

There were similar prices for Sunday's game.

"The market has flipped," Janes said. "Supply has totally exceeded demand. That's why you see this downward pressure on ticket prices."

In response to empty seats in the best sections at their new stadium, the Yankees on Tuesday cut the prices of a few seats and decided to give free tickets to those who had bought season plans for seats worth $325 a game or more.

Resale prices were far higher for Monday night, when the Boston Red Sox are scheduled to play at the new Yankee Stadium for the first time. The cheapest $500 seats were $475 on StubHub and the $850 seats were at list or higher.

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