Citi Field
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This article or section is about a planned or proposed stadium. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the stadium approaches. |
| Citi Field | |
|---|---|
 Artist's rendering of Citi Field. |
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| Location | Roosevelt Avenue Flushing, New York |
| Broke ground | November 13, 2006 |
| Opened | Opening Day 2009 (planned) |
| Owner | City of New York |
| Operator | New York Mets |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction cost | $610 million |
| Architect | HOK Sport |
| Former names | |
| New Mets Ballpark (Ground breaking-November 12, 2006) | |
| Tenants | |
| New York Mets (2009–) | |
| Capacity | |
| 45,000 (approx.) | |
| Dimensions | |
| Left Field - 335 ft (102 m) Left Center - 379 ft (116 m) Center Field - 408 ft (124 m) Right Center - 391 ft (119 m) Right Field - 330 ft (101 m) |
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Citi Field is the new Major League Baseball stadium for the New York Mets to be 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 World's Fair. It has been designed by HOK Sport.
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[edit] Plans for a new Mets ballpark
The creation of the plan for the stadium came after the veto of the plan for the construction of the West Side Stadium and was part of the failed New York City 2012 Olympic bid. It will, however, be built despite New York's loss of the Games. The Olympic stadium project was estimated to cost $2.2 billion with $180 million provided by the 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, and the Mets would have played their baseball season at New Yankee Stadium. However, due to London winning the Olympic bid, the location of the stadium was slightly altered so it could not expand to an Olympic stadium had New York won a future bid.
[edit] Design and construction
The new stadium is planned to have a capacity of 45,000 and have an exterior facade reminiscent of Ebbets Field (a feature also at Coors Field and Safeco Field, which was long sought by 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 adjacent to a Long Island Rail Road and 7 Train 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 hopeful finish in time for Opening Day 2009 in late March of that year.
[edit] Home of the Mets
This stadium would be the third stadium in which the Mets would play 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. In 1964, they moved to their current home, Shea Stadium, which in the recent frenzy of ballpark building, is now the sixth-oldest stadium in the MLB, and the fourth-oldest in the National League. (When the new Washington Nationals ballpark opens for the 2008 season, Shea will be the fifth-oldest stadium in MLB, and third-oldest in the NL.)
[edit] Naming rights
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 (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, named for a corporate sponsor, 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 was the most expensive sports-stadium naming rights agreement ever, topped only by Barclays' $400 million deal with the Nets for the Brooklyn arena.[1]
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.[2]
Mets fans unhappy with the naming of Citi Field have, according to MSNBC newscaster Keith Olbermann, "already nicknamed Citi Field something that rhymes with 'city' but which we can't say (on television)."[3] Fans were hoping for a break since their current home, Shea Stadium, has been referred to as "Shame Stadium".
[edit] Planned stadium facts
Comparison between Shea Stadium and Citi Field (From the New York Mets website)
| Shea Stadium | Citi Field | |
| Opening Day | 1964 | 2009 |
| Capacity | 57,330 | 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 | 58 |
| 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 | 12 |
| 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 - 391 Right field - 330 |
[edit] References
- ^ Associated Press . Sports Illustrated Online. Mets hold groundbreaking. Accessed November 13, 2006
- ^ New York Daily News Mets honor Robinson at new home. Accessed November 14, 2006
- ^ MSNBC.com Worst Persons in the World: Flight 5283. Accessed December 13, 2006
[edit] See also
- Prudential Center, a proposed arena in Newark, New Jersey for the New Jersey Devils, under construction
- Barclays Center, a proposed arena in Brooklyn for the current New Jersey Nets, under construction
- New Yankee Stadium, a proposed baseball stadium in The Bronx for the New York Yankees
- New Meadowlands Stadium, a proposed football stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey for the New York Giants and New York Jets.
- West Side Stadium, a failed proposal for a stadium and business complex over the MTA's Hudson Yards
[edit] External links
- Mets.com Citi Field Website and Construction Webcam
- Citi Field Construction Photos
- Official New York Mets Website
- Official Mets Release
- Mets Ballparks from Mets Media Guide
| Preceded by Shea Stadium 1964–2008 |
Home of the New York Mets 2009– |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
