![]() | |
![]() Citi Field in 2019 | |
Address | 41 Seaver Way |
---|---|
Location | Flushing, Queens, New York City |
Coordinates | 40°45′25″N 73°50′45″W / 40.75694°N 73.84583°W |
Public transit |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Owner | New York Mets [2] |
Operator | New York Mets |
Capacity | 41,922 (2012–present)
[3] 41,800 (2009–2011) 45,000+ (including standing room) |
Record attendance | 45,186 (
2013 All-Star Game)
[4] 44,859 ( 2015 World Series) [5] 44,466 (Regular season) [6] |
Field size | Left field line - 335 feet (102 m) Left center - 358 feet (109 m) Deep left center - 385 feet (117 m) Center field - 408 feet (124 m) Deep right center - 398 feet (121 m) Right center - 375 feet (114 m) Right field line - 330 feet (101 m) ![]() |
Surface | Kentucky Bluegrass |
Construction | |
Broke ground | November 13, 2006 |
Opened | March 29, 2009 April 3, 2009 ( exhibition game) April 13, 2009 (regular season) | (college game)
Construction cost | US$900 million ($1.23 billion in 2022 dollars [7]) |
Architect | Populous (formerly HOK Sport) |
Structural engineer | WSP Cantor Seinuk [8] |
Services engineer | M-E Engineers, Inc. [8] |
General contractor | Hunt/ Bovis Lend Lease Alliance II (a joint venture) [8] |
Main contractors | International Concrete Products |
Tenants | |
New York Mets (
MLB) (2009–present) New York City FC ( MLS) (2020–present, part-time) [9] |
Citi Field is a baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City, United States. It opened in 2009 and is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. The stadium was built as a replacement for the adjacent Shea Stadium, which opened in 1964.
Citi Field was designed by Populous. The $850 million baseball park was funded with $615 million in public subsidies, [10] including the sale of New York City municipal bonds that are to be repaid by the Mets with interest. The payments will offset property taxes for the lifetime of the park. [11] [12]
The first game at Citi Field was on March 29, 2009, with a college baseball game between St. John's and Georgetown. [13] The Mets played their first two games at the ballpark on April 3 and 4, 2009 against the Boston Red Sox [14] as charity exhibition games. The first regular season home game was played on April 13, 2009, against the San Diego Padres. Citi Field hosted the 2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, marking the second time the Mets have hosted the event (the first being in 1964, the inaugural season of Shea Stadium). [15]
The naming rights were purchased by Citigroup, a New York financial services company, for $20 million annually.
Since the 1990s, the Mets were looking to replace Shea Stadium. It had originally been built as a multi-purpose stadium in 1964. While it had been retrofitted as a baseball-only stadium after the NFL's New York Jets left for Giants Stadium after the 1983 season, it was still not optimal for baseball, with seating located farther away from the playing field compared to other major league ballparks. [16] The team unveiled a preliminary model of the ballpark in 1998; it featured a retractable roof and a movable grass field, which would have allowed it to host events including conventions and college basketball. The Mets also considered moving to Mitchel Field or Belmont Park in Nassau County, Long Island; Sunnyside Yard in Queens, or the West Side Yard in Manhattan. [17]
In December 2001, shortly before leaving office, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani announced "tentative agreements" for both the Mets and the New York Yankees to build new stadiums. Of the $1.6 billion sought for the stadiums, city and state taxpayers would pick up half the tab for construction, $800 million, along with $390 million on extra transportation. [18] The plan also said that the teams would be allowed to keep all parking revenues, which state officials had already said they wanted to keep to compensate the state for building new garages for the teams. [19] The teams would keep 96% of ticket revenues and 100% of all other revenues, not pay sales tax or property tax on the stadium, and would get low-cost electricity from New York state. [19] Business officials criticized the plan as giving too much money to successful teams with little reason to move to a different city. [19]
Michael Bloomberg, who succeeded Giuliani as mayor, exercised the escape clause in the agreements to back out of both deals, saying that the city could not afford to build new stadiums for the Mets and Yankees. Bloomberg said that, unbeknownst to him, Giuliani had inserted a clause in this deal that loosened the teams' leases with the city and would allow the Mets and Yankees to leave the city on 60 days notice to find a new home elsewhere if the city backed out of the agreement. [18] [19] At the time, Bloomberg said that publicly funded stadiums were a poor investment. Under Bloomberg, the New York City government would only offer public financing for infrastructure improvements; the teams would have to pay for the stadiums themselves. Bloomberg called the former mayor's agreements " corporate welfare." Giuliani had already been instrumental in the construction of taxpayer-funded minor league baseball facilities MCU Park for the Mets' minor league Brooklyn Cyclones and Richmond County Bank Ballpark for the Staten Island Yankees.
The final plans for what is now Citi Field were created as part of the unsuccessful 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 and track and field. The Olympic Stadium project on the West Side was estimated to cost $2.2 billion, with $300 million provided by New York City and an additional $300 million from New York State. If New York had won the bid, Citi Field would have been expanded to Olympic events while the Mets would have played at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx for the 2012 season. [20] By then, however, the failure of the West Side Stadium proposal had effectively ended New York's chances of winning the 2012 games. [21]
The projected cost of the new ballpark 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 Mets own the stadium through a wholly owned subsidiary, Queens Ballpark Company.
On March 18, 2006, the New York Mets unveiled the official model for the new ballpark. By July 2006, initial construction of the new park was underway in the parking lot beyond Shea Stadium's left-field, with a projected finish of late March ahead of Opening Day 2009.
By April 13, 2008, all of the structure for the Jackie Robinson Rotunda was in place with the arched windows receiving their paneling and glass. By September 2008, most of the Citi Field signage had been installed. [22] By December 1, 2008, all of the seats and the playing field had been installed. [23]
During the 2010 off-season, the bullpen area in right-center field underwent a complete renovation. When the edifice opened in time for the start of the 2009 MLB season, the Mets' bullpen was in front of the visiting bullpen, leading to an obstructed view of the field from the visiting bullpen, which the San Diego Padres complained about during the Mets' first regular-season home series. The bullpens were turned 90°, with pitchers throwing toward the field instead of parallel to it. [24] More Mets team colors, player banners and logos were also added throughout the ballpark, including revamping the "Let's Go Mets" slogan on the Citi Vision board so that the word "Mets" appears in its traditional script instead of the same font as the rest of the slogan. [25] Additionally, the height of the home run boundary line directly in front of the Home Run Apple in center field was reduced from 16 feet (4.9 m) to 8 feet (2.4 m) in an attempt to produce more home runs. [26]
During its first three seasons, the large field dimensions caused Citi Field to play as an extreme " pitcher's park", and home-runs at the stadium were among the fewest in the Major Leagues. Mets' general manager Sandy Alderson changed Citi Field's dimensions in time for the 2012 MLB season in order to make it more friendly to hitters. [27] Changes included building an 8 feet (2.4 m) wall in front of the high 16 feet (4.9 m) wall in left field that many had dubbed the "Great Wall of Flushing", removing the nook in the " Mo's Zone" in right field, and reducing the distance in right center field from 415 feet (126 m) from home plate to 390 feet (120 m). The new walls are colored blue in order to address fan complaints that the old black walls with orange trims did not reflect the colors of the Mets. [28] The Mets have also created a new seating section located in between the old and new left field walls called the Party City Party Deck, renamed the M&M's Sweet Seats in 2016 after change of sponsorship, and can accommodate 102 additional fans. [3]
The center and right-center outfield wall were brought in to 380 feet (120 m) for the 2015 season. [29]
On March 21, 2019, the Mets announced on Twitter that Citi Field's permanent address would be changed to 41 Seaver Way, in honor of former Mets Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver whose number was 41. [30] [31] The ceremony was held on June 27, 2019 and was part of the weekend set aside for celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1969 World Series champion Mets.
In 2023, the right field fence was moved in 8 feet (2.4 m), removing the nook and creating a new fan experience, [32] and the scoreboard in center field was replaced with a new one measuring 17,400 square feet (1,620 m2), the largest in any MLB ballpark. [33]
Citi Field has a capacity of 41,922. It has over 15,000 fewer seats than Shea Stadium. All the seats in the park are green – in an homage to the Polo Grounds, longtime home of the baseball Giants and the original home of the Mets – as opposed to Shea's orange, blue, red and green assortment. [34] The exterior facade is reminiscent of Ebbets Field (which was long sought by then-Mets owner Fred Wilpon, a Brooklyn native).
Citi Field's interior design is primarily influenced by the Pittsburgh Pirates' PNC Park, which was the favorite ballpark of Mets COO Jeff Wilpon. Other influences include Great American Ball Park, Coors Field, and Citizens Bank Park. Citi Field is the only ballpark in Major League Baseball to feature orange foul poles instead of the standard yellow, a unique characteristic that was carried over from Shea Stadium. [35]
Citi Field features an overarching bridge motif in its architecture, as New York City is linked by 2,027 bridges and is reflected in the Mets logo, as the team is the symbolic bridge to the city's past National League teams, the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers. [34] In the outfield section of the ballpark, there is a pedestrian bridge named Shea Bridge that resembles the Hell Gate Bridge. [25]
Similar to Shea Stadium, Citi Field's field dimensions ensure it is a pitcher-friendly park. The Coca-Cola Corner, originally known as the Pepsi Porch, hangs over the field in right field, extending far beyond the indentation of the Clubhouse and is inspired by Tiger Stadium's right field porch. The Pepsi sign that sat atop the area (2009-2015) was modeled after the one alongside the East River in Gantry Plaza State Park; it was replaced by Coca-Cola's logo in 2016 upon assuming the role of a Mets sponsor. [36]
In 2012, the Mets added the Party City Party Deck in left field because they moved the fences in. The Party Deck is very similar to The Royals' Pepsi Party Porch.
Delta Air Lines signed a multiyear deal on September 15, 2008, to sponsor an exclusive section in Citi Field. The Delta Sky360 Club is a 22,500-square-foot (2,090 m2) restaurant-cafe-bar-lounge complex that also houses 1,600 premium seats behind home plate stretching from dugout to dugout. [37]
The front entrance of Citi Field features a rotunda named after Brooklyn Dodgers legend Jackie Robinson and honors his life and accomplishments. Engraved into the rotunda's 160-foot-diameter (49 m) floor and etched into the archways are words and larger-than-life images that defined Robinson's nine values: Courage, Excellence, Persistence, Justice, Teamwork, Commitment, Citizenship, Determination and Integrity. [35]
Robinson's famous quote: "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives" is engraved into the upper ring of the rotunda. There is also an 8-foot (2.4 m) sculpture of Robinson's number 42. [34] The formal dedication of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda was held as part of Major League Baseball's official celebration of Jackie Robinson Day on April 15, 2009. [38]
Another tradition from Shea Stadium carried over into Citi Field is the Home Run Apple. When a Mets player hits a home run, a giant apple, which has a Mets logo on the front that lights up, rises from its housing in the center field batter's eye. The new apple that was constructed for Citi Field is more than four times the size of the previous one and was designed by Minneapolis-based engineering firm Uni-Systems. [39]
During the 2009 season, the original Shea apple was located in Bullpen Plaza, just inside the Bullpen Gate entrance. In 2010, it was relocated outside the ballpark in Mets Plaza to the area between the Jackie Robinson Rotunda and the entrance to the Mets–Willets Point subway station. [40]
On April 15, 2022, at their season home opener, the Mets unveiled a statue of Tom Seaver created by sculptor William Behrends. It is located in Mets Plaza, next to the Shea Stadium Home Run Apple. [41] [42]
Behind the center field scoreboard is the FanFest area, an expanded family entertainment area that includes a miniature wiffleball field replica of Citi Field called Mr. Met's Kiddie Field, a batting cage, a dunk tank, video game kiosks and other attractions. [43] [44]
Citi Field offers a wide choice of eateries. Taste of the City is a food court located in the center field section of the ballpark. It features food from restaurateur Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group and includes a variety of stands, including Shake Shack (burgers, fries, shakes), Blue Smoke (barbecue), El Verano Taqueria (Mexican cuisine), Catch of the Day (featuring seafood from chef Dave Pasternack of Esca), and Box Frites (Belgian French fries); the Shake Shack stand also has the New York skyline replica that topped the old scoreboard at Shea Stadium above it. [34] [45] The World's Fare Market is located on the field level in right field and features sushi from Daruma of Tokyo, sandwiches and pastries from Mama's of Corona, Chinese cuisine from Tai Pan Bakery and Korean food from Café Hanover. [45] [46] Citi Field also offers a choice of fresh fruit at several stands around the stadium. [47]
In 2010 Citi Field upgraded the food choices on the Promenade Level behind home plate. Blue Smoke BBQ and Box Frites both open a second location.
Restaurants and clubs are also available in every level of the ballpark. The 350-seat Acela Club (now Porsche Grill) located in left field on the Excelsior Level, is the dining highlight of the new park and features a full view of the playing field as well as food from Drew Nieporent's Myriad Restaurant Group, renowned for Nobu and Tribeca Grill. [34] Admission into the high-end luxury Porsche Grill and Delta Sky360 Club, and including the other semi-luxury clubs are exclusive to high-end ticket holders only, and some restaurants enforce that reservations be made. A McFadden's Restaurant and Saloon opened at Citi Field in 2010. It is located directly under the Good Humor FanFest and is open to the public year-round. [48] [49]
The Mets Hall of Fame & Museum is located adjacent to the Jackie Robinson Rotunda on the first base side and opened on April 5, 2010. The museum includes plaques honoring the inductees of the New York Mets Hall of Fame, the team's World Series trophies from 1969 and 1986, as well as artifacts on loan from noted collectors, former players and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. [50] The museum boasts several displays including autographed memorabilia, original scouting reports on players such as Darryl Strawberry, and handwritten notes from the team's first manager Casey Stengel. In addition to this the team has installed interactive touchscreens, television screens, and timelines that guide visitors through various aspects of the franchise's history.
Business Insider praised the stadium for its aesthetics and named it one of the top 100 venues in sports, while BaseballParks.com called it "perfect" and especially lauded the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. [51] Reviewers also praised the many culinary offerings at Citi Field's concession stands. [52] [53] [54]
Despite the modern amenities, the new Citi Field was not without criticism. Fans complained of obstructed views and an overemphasis on the celebration of the Brooklyn Dodgers' legacy over the history of the Mets. [55] [56] [57] Mets owner Fred Wilpon, a Brooklyn native, had grown up a Brooklyn Dodgers fan and admitted to going overboard. Legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin wrote in The New Yorker,
When Citi Field opened, the Brooklyn focus drew some criticism. After all, the Dodgers left Brooklyn in 1957, and Ebbets Field was demolished shortly thereafter. Only the very oldest fans have any first-hand memory of the place. The Mets, who had been in existence for almost a half century, were virtually ignored in their own home. 'All the Dodger stuff—that was an error of judgment on my part,' Wilpon told me. [58]
In response to these criticisms, the team installed photographic imagery of famous players and historic moments in Mets history on the Field and Promenade levels as well as the display of team championship banners on the left-field wall during the 2009 season. They also constructed a Mets Hall of Fame and Museum prior to the 2010 season, located adjacent to the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, and changed the color of the outfield wall from black to Mets blue prior to the 2012 season, which many Mets fans had campaigned for. [59] The team also worked on fixing the obstructed views in the Promenade level. [60]
During its first three seasons in existence, Citi Field played as an extreme " pitcher's park", and was cited as the cause of the decreased offensive production of David Wright and Jason Bay. Wright hit only 10 home runs in 2009 after hitting 30 or more in each of the previous two seasons, [61] while Bay had the worst offensive production of his career in his first season with the Mets in 2010, hitting only 6 home runs, with an on-base percentage of just .347, and a career low .402 slugging percentage. [62] Jeff Francoeur, who played with the Mets during their first two years at Citi Field, criticized the ballpark's dimensions, calling it "a damn joke." [63] During the 2011 season, Citi Field allowed 1.33 home runs per game, the third lowest total out of the 16 National League ballparks. [28] The team responded by altering the ballpark dimensions for the 2012 season, creating a much more neutral ballpark. Wright's 2012 offensive numbers improved due to the alterations. "It's a huge difference", Wright said. "It allows you to relax and know you don't have to try to hit the ball a mile to see results. And at the same time, if you do hit the ball well and you see results, instead of a 400-foot (120 m) flyout, you're 1-for-1 and feeling good about yourself." [64]
Citi Field is located in the borough of Queens, adjacent to the neighborhoods of Corona, which lies to its west, and Willets Point and Flushing to the east. Flushing Bay is to the north, and the rest of Flushing Meadows–Corona Park is to the south. Because it lies within the Flushing postal zone, and because of its location in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Citi Field is frequently referred to as being in Flushing proper.
Citi Field is accessible via the
New York City Subway via the
IRT Flushing Line (
) at the
Mets–Willets Point station, and the
Long Island Rail Road station on the
Port Washington Branch also called
Mets–Willets Point.
New York Water Taxi operates a free ferry to the stadium from
Pier 11/Wall Street and the
East 34th Street Ferry Landing before every game.
[65] For selected games,
SeaStreak provides ferry service between
Highlands, New Jersey and the stadium. Both ferry services use the slips at the
World's Fair Marina, located approximately 0.25 miles (0.40 km) north of Citi Field. The park is also close to several major thoroughfares, including the
Grand Central Parkway, the
Whitestone and Van Wyck Expressways, the
Long Island Expressway,
Roosevelt Avenue,
Northern Boulevard and Astoria Boulevard.
Since the construction of Citi Field began, satellite parking lots in Flushing Meadow Park (access from College Point Boulevard) have been opened. Some of these have been designated as park and rides, used by commuters connecting to the
trains and the
Q19,
Q48 and
Q66 buses.
[1]
In 2020, Columbia Transportation started a commuter service, the Queens-Riverdale Commuter Route to the Southfield Parking Lot, mainly for commuters from Queens to go to before boarding the bus to Columbia. This service was discontinued in December 2021.
Bold indicates the winner of each game.
Highest attendance at Citi Field | ||||
Rank | Attendance | Date | About | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 45,186 | July 16, 2013 | National League 0, American League 3 | 2013 MLB All Star Game |
2 | 44,859 | November 1, 2015 | Mets 2, Royals 7 (12 innings) | 2015 World Series (Game 5) |
3 | 44,815 | October 31, 2015 | Mets 3, Royals 5 | 2015 World Series (Game 4) |
4 | 44,781 | October 30, 2015 | Mets 9, Royals 3 | 2015 World Series (Game 3) |
5 | 44,747 | October 5, 2016 | Mets 0, Giants 3 | 2016 National League Wild Card Game |
6 | 44,502 | October 18, 2015 | Mets 4, Cubs 1 | 2015 NLCS (Game 2) |
7 | 44,466 | April 30, 2016 | Mets 6, Giants 5 | Regular season record |
8 | 44,384 | April 3, 2017 | Mets 6, Braves 0 | 2017 Opening Day |
9 | 44,287 | October 17, 2015 | Mets 4, Cubs 2 | 2015 NLCS (Game 1) |
10 | 44,276 | October 12, 2015 | Mets 13, Dodgers 7 | 2015 NLDS Game 3 |
11 | 44,189 | March 29, 2018 | Mets 9, Cardinals 4 | 2018 Opening Day |
12 | 44,183 | October 13, 2015 | Mets 1, Dodgers 3 | 2015 NLDS Game 4 |
Bold indicates the winner of each game.
Highest regular season attendance at Citi Field | ||||
Rank | Attendance | Date | Game result | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 44,466 | April 30, 2016 | Mets 6, Giants 5 | |
2 | 44,424 | April 4, 2019 | Mets 0, Nationals 4 | 2019 Home Opener |
3 | 44,384 | April 3, 2017 | Mets 6, Braves 0 | 2017 Home Opener |
4 | 44,189 | March 29, 2018 | Mets 9, Cardinals 4 | 2018 Home Opener |
5 | 44,099 | April 8, 2016 | Mets 7, Phillies 2 | 2016 Home Opener |
6 | 43,947 | April 13, 2015 | Mets 2, Phillies 0 | 2015 Home Opener |
7 | 43,928 | September 29, 2018 | Mets 1, Marlins 0 | David Wrights Last Game |
8 | 43,875 | August 10, 2019 | Mets 4, Nationals 3 | |
9 | 43,857 | August 13, 2022 | Mets 1, Phillies 0 | |
10 | 43,820 | April 15, 2022 | Mets 10, Diamondbacks 3 | 2022 Home Opener |
11 | 43,630 | September 19, 2015 | Mets 0, Yankees 5 | |
12 | 43,602 | September 18, 2015 | Mets 5, Yankees 1 | |
13 | 43,571 | September 20, 2015 | Mets 2, Yankees 11 | |
14 | 43,462 | May 27, 2016 | Mets 6, Dodgers 5 | |
15 | 43,336 | July 9, 2022 | Mets 5, Marlins 4 | Keith Hernandez Number Retirement |
16 | 43,323 | July 3, 2019 | Mets 1, Yankees 5 | |
17 | 43,255 | August 29, 2015 | Mets 1, Red Sox 3 | |
18 | 43,144 | September 11, 2021 | Mets 7, Yankees 8 | 20th anniversary of 9/11 attacks |
19 | 42,996 | August 1, 2015 | Mets 3, Nationals 2 |
Bold indicates the winner of each game.
Progression of attendance records at Citi Field | ||
Regular Season | Mets | Overall |
---|---|---|
41,007 – April 13, 2009 Mets 5, Padres 6 | ||
41,103 – May 25, 2009 Mets 5, Nationals 2 | ||
41,221 – June 25, 2009 Mets 3, Cardinals 2 | ||
41,278 – June 26, 2009 Mets 1, Yankees 9 | ||
41,302 – June 27, 2009 Mets 0, Yankees 5 | ||
41,315 – June 28, 2009 Mets 2, Yankees 5 | ||
41,382 – May 21, 2010 Mets 1, Yankees 2 | ||
41,422 – May 23, 2010 Mets 6, Yankees 4 | ||
42,020 – July 1, 2011 Mets 1, Yankees 5 | ||
42,042 – July 2, 2011 Mets 2, Yankees 5 | ||
42,080 – April 5, 2012 Mets 1, Braves 0 | ||
42,122 – June 23, 2012 Mets 3, Yankees 4 | ||
42,364 – June 24, 2012 Mets 5, Yankees 6 | ||
42,516 – July 3, 2012 Mets 11, Phillies 1 | ||
42,516 – July 3, 2012 Mets 11, Phillies 1 |
45,186 – July 16, 2013 N.L. 0, A.L. 3 2013 All Star Game | |
43,947 – April 13, 2015 Mets 2, Phillies 0 | ||
43,947 – April 13, 2015 Mets 2, Phillies 0 |
44,276 – October 12, 2015 Mets 13, Dodgers 7 2015 NLDS Game 3 | |
44,287 – October 17, 2015 Mets 4, Cubs 1 2015 NLCS Game 1 | ||
44,502 – October 18, 2015 Mets 4, Cubs 1 2015 NLCS Game 2 | ||
44,781 – October 30, 2015 Mets 9, Royals 3 2015 World Series Game 3 | ||
44,781 – October 31, 2015 Mets 3, Royals 5 2015 World Series Game 4 | ||
44,859 – November 1, 2015 Mets 2, Royals 7 (12 innings) 2015 World Series Game 5 | ||
44,099 – April 8, 2016 Mets 7, Phillies 2 |
44,859 – November 1, 2015 Mets 2, Royals 7 (12 innings) 2015 World Series Game 5 | |
44,466 – April 30, 2016 Mets 6, Giants 5 |
On November 13, 2006, it was announced that the ballpark 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 New York metropolitan area and the first in the city itself to be named for a corporate sponsor. At the time, the Meadowlands Arena in New Jersey's Meadowlands Sports Complex had carried the Continental Airlines name. The deal includes an option on both sides to extend the contract to 40 years, and is the most expensive sports-stadium naming rights agreement ever, subsequently equaled by MetLife Stadium's $400 million deal. [66]
At the groundbreaking for Citi Field, it was announced that the main entrance, modeled on the one in Brooklyn's old Ebbets Field, would be called the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, possibly due to campaigns to forgo naming rights revenue and name the ballpark after Robinson. The Mets are spending more than $600 million for the new ballpark, 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. [67]
The Citigroup naming rights deal, the most lucrative in history to that point, was criticized during the late-2000s financial crisis amid $45 billion of taxpayer funds loaned to Citigroup by the U.S. federal government in two rescue packages. [68] Congressman Elijah Cummings of Maryland, who served on the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, stated in regards to the Citi Field naming rights deal, "This type of spending is indefensible and unacceptable to Citigroup's new partner and largest investor: the American taxpayer.... I strongly urge Citigroup to find a way out of this contract and instead spend that $400 million on retaining its employees and restoring confidence in its operations." [69] [70] [71] The Wall Street Journal reported on February 3, 2009, that Citigroup considered breaking the naming rights deal. Instead, Citi stated that no government TARP funds would be used in the sponsorship deal. [72] The naming rights controversy reemerged in a New York Times opinion piece when details about owner Fred Wilpon's involvement in Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme came to light and a lawsuit was filed on behalf of victims of Madoff's investment scandal in 2011. [73] Citigroup paid back the loan in full, with interest, by 2014. [74]
Stadium Name | Shea Stadium | Citi Field |
---|---|---|
Opening Day | April 17, 1964 | April 13, 2009 |
Capacity | 57,405 | 41,922 (45,000 with standing room) |
Seat width | 19" to 20", 19" average | 19" to 24", 21" average |
Legroom | 32" | 33" to 39" |
Average concourse width | 21 ft (6.4 m). | 43 ft (13 m). |
Wheelchair seating | 174 | 830 |
Club seating | 4,327 [75] | 7,800 |
Luxury suites | 45 | 54 |
Restaurants (total capacity) | 2 (528) | 4 (3,334) |
Team store | 2,600 sq ft (240 m2). | 7,201 sq ft (669.0 m2). |
Public concourse toilets | 568 (217W/345M/6F) | 646 (305W/327M/14F) |
Attendee per toilet ratio | 101 | 70 |
Public elevators | 4 (Otis Traction) | 11 (9 Otis Gen2, and 2 Otis Hydraulic) |
Field dimensions (feet) | Left field line – 338 Left field 1 – 358 Left Field 2 – 371 Left center – 396 Center field – 410 Right center – 396 Right field 2 – 371 Right field 1 – 358 Right field line – 338 |
Left field line – 335 Left field (2009–2011) – 371 Left Field – 358 Left center (2009–2011) – 384 Left center – 370 Center field – 408 Right center (2009–2011) – 415 Right center – 380 Right field (2009–2011) – 378 Right field – 375 Right field line – 330 |
Between 2012 and 2016, the Mets had a post-game concert series entitled "Mets Concert Series" after selected games. Unlike the concerts where the performance was the sole attraction of the evening, "Mets Concert Series" events were considered promotional dates, and admission to the concert was included in the price of the game ticket. The stage was set up in shallow center field.
Date | Winning Team | Result | Losing Team | Tournament | Spectators |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
June 7, 2011 | ![]() |
1–1 | ![]() |
Friendly | 39,656 |
July 26, 2011 |
![]() |
1–0 |
![]() |
World Football Challenge | 20,859 |
August 15, 2012 | ![]() |
3–0 | ![]() |
Friendly | 31,901 |
June 2, 2013 | ![]() |
2–0 | ![]() |
26,170 | |
October 22, 2017 |
![]() |
2–2 |
![]() |
Major League Soccer | 20,113 |
October 23, 2019 |
![]() |
2–1 |
![]() |
Major League Soccer | 19,829 |
October 17, 2022 |
![]() |
3–0 |
![]() |
Major League Soccer | 18,066 [93] |
On January 12, 2021, the Mets and the Mayor Bill De Blasio announced that Citi Field would become a mass vaccination center during the COVID-19 pandemic beginning on January 25. Originally located in the Delta Club, the location was later moved to the former site of McFadden's. Run by the city's public hospital system, the site administered over 200,000 vaccinations. [94]
New York City FC today announced that the Club has moved four regular season games to Citi Field for the upcoming 2020 MLS season.
{{
cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link)
@CitiField is getting a permanent address change! We will be officially renaming 126th Street to honor #TomSeaver. More info to come at a later date. #Mets
Citi Field's permanent address will become 41 Seaver Way for the jersey number Tom Terrific wore, the sources said.
Events and tenants | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by | Home of the New York Mets 2009 – present |
Succeeded by current
|
Preceded by | Host of the
Major League Baseball All-Star Game 2013 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Host of the NHL Winter Classic 2018 |
Succeeded by |