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Metro-North's Yankee Station Falls Short of Expectations

by Matthew Schuerman

NEW YORK, NY November 03, 2009 —The Yankees still have a chance to finish the season strong as they head back to the Bronx this week, but a new MetroNorth station built to serve the new ballpark in the Bronx came up a little short of expectations. WNYC's Matthew Schuerman has more.

REPORTER: MetroNorth officials say they had hoped to get 6,000 riders a day by the season's end, but instead finished with 5,000. Vice President for Planning Robert MacLagger says poor attendance at the new stadium was to blame.

MACLAGGER: There were some issues with the ticket prices that they did not fill all of the seats or come close to it until some of the big games against the Red Sox and the post-season.

REPORTER: Ridership on non-game days also has fallen short of expectations, about 200 riders arrive or depart from the station. But MacLagger says it takes time for a station to gain popularity, and that the trend is going in the right direction. The $91 million station was built with MTA and city funds. For WNYC, I'm Matthew Schuerman.


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