Thursday, April 2, 2009

CitiField Stadium

By Denise I Smithson

Citi Field, the new New York Mets stadium which will replace Shea Stadium got its new name after a negotiation over naming rights with Citi Bank; netting the team $20 million per year! Not too shabby for a team which is projecting an income of around $400 million over the next twenty years. Delta Airlines also reached an agreement with the Mets organization and has received naming rights for a significant portion of the park, right behind home plate. The new stadium will feature a number of amenities to fans over those offered by Shea Stadium. The new Jackie Robinson Rotunda will be unveiled on Opening Day 2009, greeting visitors to the new home of the Mets. A look at the photos of this planned rotunda reveals an homage to the entrance of the late, lamented Ebbets Field, former home of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

However, one of the things which will not be incorporated into the new home of the Mets will be increased seating. In fact, there will be only 45,000 seats in Citi Field, as opposed to the 57,000 in Shea Stadium. Despite this, there will be a number of amenities and improvements in Citi Field; among them are seven more elevators, for a total of 11, 9 additional luxury suites, 2 more restaurants, 700 more wheelchair accessible seats and nearly 80 more restrooms.

The seats at the new stadium will also be a little larger, making for a more comfortable day at the ballpark. All of this is great, but the best news of all for New York baseball fans is that the Mets are committed to remain in Queens until at least 2049. Incredible as it may seem now that Citi Field is an inevitability, but the new stadium may not have happened, at least not so soon were it not for New York Coty losing its bid to host the 2012 Olympics. This paved the way for the Mets to build a new stadium.

It's hard to believe that this may have never happened so soon considering the original plans were built around winning the bid to hold the 2012 Olympics. However, everything fell through and eventually opened the door to the Mets organization for a new stadium. Granted, it would have happened anyways, but the timing couldn't have been better. So take a look at all the images of construction and the computerized blueprint of what the finished product looks like.

Before long, you'll be able to see Citi Field in person and enjoy all of its amenities. While Shea Stadium will be missed, the memories will live on - and of course, Citi Field will mark a new era for the New York Mets; will you come and be a part of it?

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