Compared to the frenzy of reactions to the new Yankee Stadium and whether the Steinbrenners screwed the pooch on this one (verdict here: pretty much), there’s been relatively little chatter about the Mets‘ new Citi Field beyond some gripes about obstructed views and discussion of the fate of the old apple. So I was eager to check out the place myself last night, at what in Flushing used to be called Second Opening Day.
First, some caveats: Citi Field is a typical HOKPopulous modern stadium, with all that goes with that: Field-level seats close to the action, a wall of luxury/club seating in the middle, an upper deck that’s higher than you’d expect at old-time ballparks, overly quirky outfield dimensions, more places to buy overpriced food than some (present company included) might think necessary. The Mets owners have been fond of comparing their new taxpayer-aided home to Ebbets Field; the comparison doesn’t hold much better here than it did for Miller Park, which made the same claim.
That said, it’s immediately clear that the Mets got most of the details right here, especially compared to their rivals across the East River. The Jackie Robinson Rotunda may be a bit of a ham-fisted nod to history (it didn’t help that last night was Jackie Robinson Night, with a pregame ceremony featuring people wearing jerseys with words like “COMMITMENT” and “INTEGRITY” on their backs), but it’s nicely human-scaled and functional compared to the Yanks’ gratuitous Great Hall. Thanks to a relatively teensy 42,000 capacity, the upper deck isn’t quite so distant as in the Bronx, about the equivalent of the back of the old Shea mezzanine — Mr. Met could almost even reach it last night with his T-shirt cannon — though the lessened seating has helped contribute to hikes in ticket prices.
And most of all, unlike the Yanks’ new home, Citi Field reeks of baseball. There’s plenty of attractive brick and steel, the scoreboards are useful but not overly imposing, and even the non-game attractions let you know that you’re at a baseball game, not a mall: free batting cages and a Wiffle ball diamond out beyond centerfield for the younger set. (This was such an insanely huge hit last night, with my son among others, that I wonder if the Yankees are at risk of losing an entire generation of New York baseball fans here.) It may not seem like using brick-colored cinderblocks instead of grey ones should make a big difference, but it does.
The other thing that immediately stood out: As predicted from ticket pre-sales, the upper deck was packed, while the $60-and-up seats down below were half-empty, an odd sight at a baseball game. It’s hard to say if this was more a function of overpriced seats going unsold or season-ticket buyers staying home on a chilly spring night (it actually wasn’t bad for Flushing — I didn’t put my gloves on until the 6th inning), but looking at StubHub, there are plenty of seats availablefor most games for below face value. (Last night, for that matter, I sat in $30 seats that I paid $24 for on the Hub.) If we see a similar scenario after Yankee Stadium opens for business today, it seems likely that the New York teams are going to need to adjust their ambitious pricing plans to reflect the new economic reality — either that, or Mr. Met is going to need a stronger T-shirt cannon.
Joe Beningo has made his entire broadcasting career on how much it sucks to be a Mets and Jets fan.
I mean, as a fellow Mets/Jets fan, I know what he means, but no, he's never ever ever happy. I imagine he found some problem with the '86 team--that they came so close to losing it, maybe.
I was at Citi Field last night and liked it fine: from the outside, nicer/newer/cleaner, and I dug the way the corridors on the lower levels open on the field (I wasn't sitting down there, but still). The funny angles in right are indeed HOKey, but not the end of the world. I just wish they hadn't done away with the orange seats, in lieu of that found another way to give the place a bit of personality. Maybe personality is something that takes a little time...
I disagree with the "overpriced" food comment. While the food may be pricey at Citifield it is well worth the money. Granted, I may be a bit of a food snob but after years of your best options being dry burgers that had been under a heat lamp for 3 days and greasy sausage and peppers it is pretty cool to have a Shake Shack, Blue Smoke, Taqeria (Floyd Cardoz-Tabla) and Catch of the Day (David Pastenak-Esca) to snack on before the game. The beer selection is also improved as you can get Brooklyn Lager and Toasted Ale amongst others.
The new food selection is actually the highlight of Citifield for me.
I had a "large box" of Frites french fries, which was actually a cup that held maybe 10 oz, for $6.50. It was pretty good, but not anywhere near $6.50 good. And I didn't bother to try the $5.50 slice of pizza. (I don't eat red meat, so Shake Shack and Blue Smoke don't have anything to offer me, but I may try the $9 flounder sandwich at Catch of the Day another time.)
That said, a bottle of water at Citi is "only" $3.75, not $5 like at Yankee, so it's definitely an improvement. And the guards happily let me bring in my own sandwiches and (sealed plastic) water bottle, so it's not like I have to eat the food there if I don't want to, which is key.
I had the fries last night too, and I generally don't think the prices are unreasonable. That said, the food court is as far as possible from the stadium entrance, at least from the subway/Rotunda side. It took a good 10-15 minutes to get from there, through the crowds, to my seats in the Promenade (upper deck) Level behind home plate on the third base side. Add that to the long, long lines (I only had fries because all the other lines were way too long to bother with, even pre-game), and I can't imagine returning to that part of the ballpark very often at all. Also, did anyone else find it strange that the entirety of left and left-center field was shrouded with smoke from Blue Smoke BBQ by the middle of the game? If that's going to happen every night, well... I'm glad my seats aren't in the left field bleachers.
Right, but you used to spend the same amount for crappy fries at Shea. They may be overpriced in relative terms but at least they are good. I has the Frites too and thought they were solid. So far at Catch of the Day I have the Lobster Roll (now that is overpriced at 17 bucks but figured I would try it once and it was good, but not exactly ball park food) and the Shrimp Po'Boy, which I believe was 13 bucks but really good.
BTW Blue Smoke has chicken wings and pulled pork for non-red meat eaters. I had the wings, don't remember how much they cost, but they were good.
Oh, the fries were overpriced at Shea, too. I pretty much never buy ballpark food, which is one reason why I don't get much out of having more places to buy it.
I think the criticism of CitiField has been way overblown. I've been there three times already (exhibition game, workout day for season ticket plan holders, Opening Day) and I think - compared to ballparks nationwide - the prices are very reasonable ($5.75 for a Shake Shack Burger, $5 for a regular beer, $3.75 for a soda), the seats are roomy even in my upper deck locale, and the free kid friendly stuff (batting cages, wiffle ball, dunk tank featuring someone in the opposing team's jersey) is great fun. The place to me seems extraordinarily fan friendly - far more so than Shea was. And yes, the seats in farmost left and right lose sight of their respective corners, but the upper deck is so much closer to the field than it was at Shea that there is that inherent tradeoff. The complaints I have heard about crowds strike me as reactionary -- of course the concourses are packed; everyone's checking out the new digs! I give CitiField a solid grade, especially when I take into account that my 15 game weekday ticket package (with playoff options) for this year actually cost me about $40 less than my 13 game Sunday package did at Shea last year.
I don't think the upper deck is all that much closer than at Shea, actually — and certainly not when you account for the smaller capacity. What they've basically done is lopped off the upper deck and made the back of the mezzanine the new upper deck.
Can't wait to see the criticisms of Target Field in Minnesota next year. Exited, but it is going to be cold. I know this isn't about citi field...but I'm from Minnesota and am pumped, cold or not. Sick of this damn dome.
Thought that Citi Field looked pretty cool on tv though.
I went to the Phillies-Nationals game last night and noticed the high correllation between prices and seating. The $300+ seats behind home plate were virtually empty, while the upper deck was fairly packed. I'm not sure if that was the case last year, owing more to the lousiness of the baseball team than the economy. I haven't seemed to notice it so blantantly at other stadiums, however.
I caught my first game at Citi yesterday. The concourse and general baseball atmosphere that Neil writes about are HUGE improvements over Shea. But I was disappointed with the obstructed views in the "cheap" seats. Overall a great atmosphere, isn't the most important reason you go to Citi Field to SEE a baseball game? I imagine they're going to have as hard of a time selling $30 obstructed view seats as they are the $500+ tickets as soon as the "new" wears off. Just really seems out of touch with reality.
I was there on Friday and thought it was a huge improvement over Shea. I interned with the Mets last year and and after not going to Shea very often, I'm a Yankees fan, realized how dirty it was. The only thing I didn't like was the fact that you couldn't check out any of the sections you were not sitting in.My friend wanted to see if you were able to see pop ups from the back of the middle tier and the guy wouldn't allow us. I also wanted to check out the group tickets section in LF where they have the picnic tables and the guy wouldn't even let me walk into the wheelchair seating part. It was just a big turn off to me, but overall it's a really nice stadium.
My 7 year old and I have been twice and loved it. Both times half-way up in upper deck, close to home plate. Huge upgrade over Shea (where we also sat in upper deck behind home plate) in several ways: more comfortable seats with leg room and cupholders. Easier access from subway. Vastly better scoreboard and sound system. Pleasant, wider, open concourses. Improved food and service, even the regular hot dog stands. More bathrooms that are more kid-friendly! The upper deck at Shea was had too few bathrooms and amazingly (this is only important if you go with young boys) not one "kid sized" urinal! I also liked the Rotunda, which admittedly is a bit hokey, but makes a handsome entrance, impressed my son and inspired a great conversation about Jackie.
A couple gripes: the good food and kids activities are deep in center field, a very long walk from train and infield upper deck. And with the smaller size, I expected the upper deck to be closer to the action than Shea. But unfortunately we felt no more "intimate" than the Shea upper deck. No worse either.
Out at the Ballpark: A Visit to the New Yankee Stadium
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A much more positive review of Citi than Beningo and Roberts from WFAN.
http://podcast.wfan.com/wfan/1689587.mp3
Has Joe Benigno EVER been happy with anything Mets related?
No.
Sounds like if they throw a giant neon Seaver and Piazza on the outside of the place, Beningo will be sated.
Me, I'm holding out for the waffles.
Joe Beningo has made his entire broadcasting career on how much it sucks to be a Mets and Jets fan.
I mean, as a fellow Mets/Jets fan, I know what he means, but no, he's never ever ever happy. I imagine he found some problem with the '86 team--that they came so close to losing it, maybe.