Bringing an infant to a football game may cost you up to $800, according to the New York Giants.
Football tickets are already very expensive, but one Giants fan, Sarah Zadoyko-Bartee, wasn’t expecting to have to pay a full-price ticket to bring her infant to a game with her husband and two kids. In a post shared on her personal Facebook page, which was first reported by New Jersey 101.5, the active NJ Army National Guard member shared her experience attending the Giants’ preseason game earlier this month, where she was told that she would have to pay $800 for her infant to enter the stadium with her.
“I am so beyond disappointed in the NY Giants,” she said in the post. “My husband and I are Club Seat season ticket holders and last night we went to the pre-season Bears vs. Giants game. At the gate we presented our tickets and were stopped and asked if we had a ticket for our 14 week old son. There is no such thing as a lap seat ticket so we are expected to purchase a full price seat. A seat that he is physically incapable of sitting in and for a club that he cannot enjoy the food in.”
Zadoyko-Bartee, who is a breastfeeding mother, went on to note that she can not sacrifice time away from her newborn since her family lives about an hour and a half away from the stadium. So, if she wants to be an active fan this season, she would have to spend time apart from her child and pump while at the game.
“This policy is discriminatory against Mother’s with babies that are exclusively breastfed and dependent on them for nourishment,” she went on to say. “I have 2 other children (4 and 6 years old) that I have happily purchased additional seats for a few games this season. I am not trying to smuggle a toddler in or pretend my 6 year old is a lap child, I am trying to enjoy a game and care for my infant. This is supposed to be a family event. I should not have to choose between being a fan or caring for my infant.”
Per the MetLife Stadium’s website, the team’s policy notes that all guests must have a ticket to enter the stadium. All other events, including New York Jets football games, allow children up to 34″ inches to enter the stadium free-of-charge while accompanied by an adult. So why do the Giants have such a strict infant ticket policy? They’re not alone — the Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Pittsburgh Steelers also has a strict policy which requires every game attendee, regardless of age or size, to have a paid ticket.
However, every other team in the league allows infants into the stadium for free or with a lap pass – varying between ages one and two in their specific policy guidelines.
