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Citi Field

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Template:Future stadium

Citi Field
This file may be deleted after Tuesday, 4 March 2008.
 
Rendering of Citi Field.
Rendering of Citi Field.
Map
Former namesNew Mets Ballpark (Planning-November 12, 2006)
Location126 St. & Roosevelt Ave.
Flushing, New York
OwnerCity of New York
OperatorNew York Mets
Capacity45,000 (approx.)
Field sizeLeft Field - 335 ft (102 m)
Left Center - 379 (116)
Center Field - 408 (124)
Right Center - 383 (119)
Right Field - 330 (101)
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke groundNovember 13 2006
OpenedOpening Day April 2009 (planned)
Construction cost$610 million
ArchitectHOK Sport
Tenants
New York Mets (MLB) (2009-)

Citi Field will be the new Major League Baseball stadium for the New York Mets that is being built in Willets Point in the New York City borough of Queens as a replacement for Shea Stadium, which was constructed in 1964 adjacent to the site of the 1964-1965 World's Fair. It has been designed by HOK Sport. Citi Field is scheduled to open for the 2009 baseball season, coinciding with the opening of the New York Yankees' new stadium in The Bronx. Citi Field will reportedly be granted an All-Star Game.

Plans for a new Mets ballpark

The original plans for what will now be Citi Field were created as part of the New York City 2012 Olympic bid. After plans for a West Side Stadium fell through, New York looked for an alternate stadium to host the opening and closing ceremonies. The Olympic stadium project was estimated to cost $2.2 billion with $180 million provided by New York City and New York State. If New York had won the bid, the stadium would have been expanded to host the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as other sporting events.

Design and construction

File:Citiandshea 3-29-08 036.jpg
Shea Stadium (left) and Citi Field. 3/29/08.

The new stadium is planned to have a capacity of 45,000 (~ 41,000 seats, ~ 4,000 standing room) and have an exterior facade reminiscent of Ebbets Field (which was long sought by Mets owner Fred Wilpon, a Brooklyn native) with an interior that many have stated evokes design features of recent ballparks, most notably Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The projected cost of the new stadium and other infrastructure improvements is $610 million, with the Mets picking up $420 million of that amount. The agreement includes a 40-year lease that will keep the Mets in New York until 2049. The stadium will be accessible via the Long Island Rail Road (Shea Stadium station) and the New York City Subway 7 train (Willets Point-Shea Stadium station), as the current facility is. On March 18 2006, the New York Mets unveiled the official model for the new stadium. By July 2006, initial construction of the new park was underway in the parking lot beyond left-field, with a projected finish ahead of Opening Day 2009 in late March. By August 2008, the New York Mets and Daktronics will be installing 12,000 square feet of integrated scoring and video boards throughout the stadium. As of March 10th, all the structure for the Jackie Robinson Rotunda is now into place. [1] According recent reports, the construction is far ahead of schedule, but won't open until 2009.

Home of the Mets

This stadium would be the third stadium which the Mets would call home during their nearly 50 year history. The Mets played the 1962 and 1963 seasons at the Polo Grounds, which had also been the home of the New York Yankees and New York Giants.[2] In 1964, they moved to their current home, Shea Stadium, which in the recent frenzy of ballpark building, is now the fifth oldest stadium in Major League Baseball, and the third oldest in the National League.

Naming rights

File:Citi Field 10-12-07 010.jpg
Citi Field under construction. 10/12/07.

On November 13 2006, it was officially announced that the stadium would be called Citi Field, named for Citigroup Inc. Citigroup will be paying $20 million a year for the naming rights to the park over the next 20 years. This made Citi Field the second major league sports venue in the area named for a corporate sponsor (after Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey, but preceding Prudential Center in Newark and Barclays Center at Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn), officially becoming the first in New York City itself, aside from two minor league ballparks (KeySpan Park and Richmond County Bank Ballpark). The contract includes an option on both sides to extend the contract to 35 years, and is the most expensive sports-stadium naming rights agreement ever, subsequently equaled by Barclays' $400 million deal with the Nets for their planned arena in Brooklyn. [3]

At the groundbreaking for Citi Field, it was announced that the main entrance, modeled on the one in Brooklyn's old Ebbets Field, will be called the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, possibly due to campaigns to forego naming rights and name the ballpark after Robinson. The Mets are spending more than $600 million for the new stadium, which New York City and New York state are also supporting with a total of $165 million for such costs as infrastructure and site preparation. On February 24, 2008, the Mets and Citigroup unveiled the new Citi Field logo. [4]

Planned stadium facts

File:Shea relation Citi Field.jpg
Relation of Citi Field, right, to Shea Stadium.

Comparison between Shea Stadium and Citi Field (From the New York Mets website)

Shea Stadium Citi Field
Opening Day 1964 2009
Capacity 57,333 45,000 (approx.)
Seat width 19" to 20", 19" average 19" to 24", 21" average
Legroom 32" 33" to 39"
Average concourse width 21 ft. 43 ft.
Wheelchair seating 174 830
Luxury suites 45 54
Restaurants (total capacity) 2 (528) 4 (3,334)
Team store 2,600 sq. ft. 7,200 sq. ft.
No. of toilets 568 646
Public elevators 4 11
Field dimensions (feet) Left field - 338
Left center - 371
Center - 410
Right center - 371
Right field - 338 		Left field - 335
Left center - 379
Center - 408
Right center - 383
Right field - 330

Miscellany

  • For Christmas 2007, WFAN talk show host (and Mets fan) Joe Beningo received from his co-host (and fellow Mets fan) Evan Roberts a message saying that he will have a brick in his honor on the walk to Citi Field that will say "Oh the Pain! Lets go Mets!-Joe Beningo!"

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The Official Site of The New York Mets: Official Info: Press Release
  2. ^ Mets Ballparks: 1962–Present, MLB.com. Accessed May 8, 2007.
  3. ^ Wolf, Barnet D. (2007-04-29). "The Name Game: Company banners flying on more college stadiums, arenas". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2007-05-20.
  4. ^ "Mets honor Robinson at new home". New York, NY: Daily News. 2006-11-14. Retrieved 2006-11-14.


Preceded by Home of the
New York Mets
2009 – 		Succeeded by
N/A


40°45′24.5″N 73°50′44.5″W / 40.756806°N 73.845694°W / 40.756806; -73.845694

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