The new stadium slated to replace Shea Stadium has been renamed Citi Field after a deal was negotiated with Citi Bank for naming rights to the tune of $20 million per year. Not bad for a team already looking at $400 million in income over the next two decades. There will also be a Delta Airlines area of the new stadium and another large area right behind home plate. There will be many amenities available to fans upon the opening of the new field.Once Opening Day 2009 rolls around, the new Jackie Robinson Rotunda will be unveiled – this is the entrance to the stadium; you may notice a certain resemblance to the entrance of the long lost Brooklyn Dodgers stadium, Ebbets Field.
While there are a number of benefits which will be available to fans at the new stadium, increased seating will not be one of these amenities. Citi Field will have a seating capacity of 45,000, down from Shea’s 57,000. The improvements which Citi Field features include seven additional elevators, 80 more restroom facilities, 2 more restaurants, 700 additional wheelchair accessible seats and 9 extra luxury suites.
Citi Field will feature some other benefits which are not readily apparent until you visit the park; the seats will be larger for added comfort. One of the best things about Citi Field is that the Mets have committed to stay in Queens until 2049; welcome news to New York baseball fans. It may be a little surprising, but Citi Field nearly didn’t happen so quickly – the city’s lost bid to host the 2012 Olympics paved the way for the New York Mets to build a new stadium. The stadium may not have been built so quickly had this not been the case.
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.
Soon Citi Field will be completed and fans will be able to see and enjoy the park in person. Shea stadium will be missed of course, but we’ll always have our memories. The opening of Citi Field will be a new era in Mets history – and you could be a part of it!
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