New Mets Ballpark
Encyclopedia : N : NE : NEW : New Mets Ballpark
New Mets Ballpark is the working title for a planned 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.
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 New York City and New York State. Construction is hoped to be finished in time for the 2009 baseball season.
The new stadium is planned to have a capacity of 45,000 and have an exterior façade reminiscent of Ebbets Field with an interior that many have stated evokes design features of newer ballparks, most notably Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The projected cost of the new stadium and other infrastructure improvements is $610M, with the Mets picking up $420M of that amount. The agreement includes a 40-year lease that will keep the Mets in New York until 2049.
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.
In addition, the New York Yankees also plan to open a new Yankee Stadium on opening day 2009.
On March 18, 2006, the New York Mets unveiled the official model for the new stadium.
According to the Mets, the new stadium will not retain the name "Shea." The team will instead sell naming rights to a corporate sponsor. Despite the organization's stated intentions, fans and public officials have started a campaign to name the stadium for civil rights pioneer and Brooklyn baseball legend Jackie Robinson [Jeff Feinman. Queens Tribune Online]. Push for Robinson Stadium Begins. Accessed June 11, 2006.
Planned stadium facts
Comparison between Shea Stadium and the New Mets Stadium. (From the New York Mets website).
| Shea Stadium | New Mets Stadium | |
| Opening Day | 1964 | 2009 |
| Capacity | 57,333 | 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. |
| # 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 |
References
External links
- [Official New York Mets Website]
- [New York Times Article] (must be a member to access this article)
- [Official Mets Release]
- [Mets Ballparks from Mets Media Guide]
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.