According to Deadspin's Timothy Burke, Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick forced fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers to change clothes or find a different seating location when the teams met in their series opener on Friday night.
The fans, who were seated in Chase Field's expensive Batters Box Suite — price ranges from $3,250 to $3,500 to rent the suite — right behind home plate, could be seen all decked out in Dodgers blue when the game began.
However, as the inning went along, ushers were seen bringing Diamondbacks gear to the suite, which the fans willingly changed into in order to keep their seats. It's also said Kendrick arrived at the scene sometime during the inning and could be seen (and heard) having an animated discussion.
As a result of the incident, Deadspin reached out to the Diamondbacks to clarify what exactly happened and why. Here's the team's official response.
Due to the high visibility of the home plate box, we ask opposing team's fans when they purchase those seats to refrain from wearing that team's colors. During last night's game, when Ken Kendrick noticed the fans there, he offered them another suite if they preferred to remain in their Dodger gear. When they chose to stay, he bought them all D-backs gear and a round of drinks and requested that they abide by our policy and they obliged.
So the broadcasters in Arizona have a dress code, and apparently the fans do too.
Interesting.
Of course I understand how frustrating it can be to see the opposing team's colors and gear proudly displayed in your higher priced seats, It looks, well, bad, and even embarrassing when it happens night after night (not that it does in Arizona). But come on, really? You already have their money, as long as they're not wearing something offensive (division rival colors and logos don't count) why not let them wear what they want?
And really, is this good for business? I know you want Diamondbacks fans to see their colors back there. I know that helps sell the product. But do you want fans from other teams to catch wind of this and decide they'd rather not splurge for the expensive seats. Maybe they don't have trouble selling them. If not, that's great. But I sure wouldn't want to narrow down the list of potential customers.
To me it's just... odd.
Maybe you disagree though. Feel free to fire away with your thoughts in the comments section.
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