Today, the Mets announced a variety of changes to Citi Field.
1) The first base VIP entrance will be named after Gil Hodges; third Base VIP will honor Tom Seaver; left Field VIP will be named after Casey Stengel; and the outfield bridge will be named Shea Bridge.
2) The Mets Hall of Fame & Museum will be located adjacent to the Jackie Robinson Rotunda and accessible from both inside and outside the ballpark. According to the team press release, “A re-formed Mets Hall of Fame Committee will evaluate potential inductees, and is comprised of a combination of media members with a long-standing connection to the club and Mets front office staff,” including Marty Noble, Gary Cohen, and Howie Rose. The Mets will announce further details about the Hall of Fame & Museum in the coming weeks.
3) The release also reads, “Next season, fans will be greeted by Mets colors as they approach Citi Field with full-color banners of Mets players on Mets Plaza in front of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda.” The team’s logo will be added on entry points to the parking areas and on the light poles in the parking lots; the staircases will be painted blue and orange; while blue and orange flowers will be planted at the gardens in Mets Plaza in front of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda.
…i still can’t believe the Mets are needing to issue a press release telling people they’re making their ballpark reflect the Mets… nevertheless, i like all of this, though Shea Bridge is a bit goofy, just because i can’t imagine any one actually saying that out loud… nevertheless, i like the references to players, i like the blue and orange and, though i’d still like to see a retired number from my generation of players, i am excited to know i will be able to walk around the museum and tell my some-day kids about the team’s history…
WOW!!! Wilpons are busy this offseason. Now how about we take that energy and go build a championship team.
Excellent; I applaud the effort!
Can we get some fan voting involved in the Hall?
I volunteer!
RETIRE # 17, baby!
What about #31?
They won’t retire #31 until Piazza goes into the HOF as a Met. It would be kinda embarrassing if the retired his number and he went in as a Dodger (or not at all because of steroids).
Piazza never took steriods and it was never reported or proven that he did. So stop bringing that up. The guy is a class act.
Piazza admitting using the supplement “Andro” which is a steroid called androstenedione. It was not illegal in MLB while he was taking it.
Piazza never admitted taking Andro which used to be sold over the counter at every GNC. Copy and paste the article if you read that because it never happened.
Mark McGuire (spelt wrong) admitted to using andro.
It pays to play it safe. Wait until he makes the Hall and the list of suspected offenders is released. I agree, Piazza is a class act. He has represented the Mets well. For his sake, as well as the Mets and their fans, wait a little longer.
I suppose it will depend on how many players are getting in right away — and I’d imagine it will be on the very conservative side because they will want to be able to induct 1-2 new players in each year in ceremonious fashion. It’s a ticket buying excuse for them. “This year, Mookie Wilson and Jerry Grote will be inducted into…” etc (just an example, they will both be in right away)
The Mets already have a Hall of Fame they created in 1981 – not sure if those names will be the first ones in and then they add to it year by year.
Those Mets are listed here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Mets_Hall_of_Fame
great stuff, hopefully more is to follow, the blue and orange flowers are a nice touch and i like how they are using gary and howie to pick the members for the HOF, not Noble though he sucks and i hate him.
good stuff, something to look forward to already.,,.
I went out of my way today to drive past Citi Field on my way home from the city. Despite everything, I’m already antsy for opening day!
It would be nice if they changed the colo of the seats and changed the colre of the wall.
I don’t mind the seats or the walls really but there is no way they could change the seats, they’d have to rip them all out and they aren’t going to do that, it gives it a classic look, i’m not sure what they should do with the wall, it’s fine as it is but i don’t understand why they put that orange line across the top
The orange line is the homerun line which you don’t neccessarily need in ball parks. I didn’t know if they could fix the seats. I just thought they could paint them without tearign them out. Figure about 45,000 seats and you hire 50 guys to do it. That’s 900 seats per guy. Then they could paint 30 seats a day which would only last 18 days.
Inspired by Coors Field, I think the Mets should have an orange stripe of seats across the Promenade, to match the wall.
The colors of the seats is what made Shea so trashy looking. The green color is the best option.
Everyone needs to stop picking apart a gorgeous brand new stadium and worry about how we can fix this team and become competitive. The only thing I would get ridof is the Jackie Robinson rotunda because that makes no sense to me. Other than that the place is beautiful.
But don’t you think the blue walls would look nice?
Personally I like the black walls.. It has a classier look… Blue would look corny and wouldn’t match everything else around it.
You’re asking people to stop complaining about Citi but in the same breath you say that the organization should get rid of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda because ‘it makes no sense’ to you?
What exactly is it about honoring one of the great human and civil rights icons of this country’s young history do you not get?
The fact that he never wore a Mets uniform is entirely irrelevant. I think this is one of the things about Citi that the Wilpons got right and I applaud them for it.
Robinson’s legacy is one we should all be inspired by and it was the first thing I needed to see on my first visit to Citi.
While the Yankees bathe in their opulance and selfish tradition at least the Mets have done something that is universal to all baseball fans of all ages. Go back and read about the man and what he accomplished.
The least that could be done is naming a ballpark entrance and parkway in his honor.
Great so a bunch of entrances I’ll never use have signs on them now. Can we please retire #8, #17, and #31 and paint the outfield walls blue. All those things are good but I think those 2 things would make me and other fans feel more at home when we are at our seats which is where I’d hope we spend most of our time at Citi.
I don’t see why they haven’t retired #8 and #17 already, #31, I would wait till he is in the Hall of Fame maybe…
Why would you wait on #31 induction to the Hall, which is inevitable, when #17 isn’t going to make it at all and played half the time for the Mets as Piazza.
I prefer “Shea Walk” over Shea bridge
I’d really like the main food court to be called “The Piazza” as well.
That is a sick idea! They should have a sign that says the same too!
That is a good idea.
see,
I told ya to get the fans involved.
who, better than us,
for great ideas!
No, they should rename the promenade food court there, because it’s behind home plate.
Matt, you’re actually complaining about the Mets issueing a press release about the changes being made?
Hypotheically, let’s say they didn’t say anything, would your post would have been on opening day, “Geez, it would have been nice if they let the fans now about these things”??
If you’ve been following Matt’s take on this, he is not complaining about a presser being released about the changes, he is continuing his complaint that our own stadium does not reflect the Mets enough. So, he cannot believe it’s come to this — they need now to make so many changes to their own ballpark, that a presser is necessary (which he believes like you, is necessary)
Typically, the Mets would mess up a teenage boy’s night dreams. Never before did they so vividly prove that with CitI Field this year. While I appreciate their efforts, they have messed this up too. There was a blog posted here about a week or so ago with ideas for Citi Field cosmetic changes. Obviously no one in the organization saw it. Instead of taking a fan poll on Mets.com or a mailing to their most loyal ticket holding fans, the boobs running the organization, who screwed up the first season of Citi Field, have made those decisions. And while we all agree that the team they put on the field should be their primary focus, it’s nice that they have realized their failings and attempted to address them. Nevertheless, their continued ineptitude doesn’t leave me with much confidence as to making the necessary additions and changes to give us a team that will successfully compete next season.
…..lower the outfield walls…..
how about winning?
thats enough of a change for me
I am glad to see that these changes are being made. We complained all season about them. Unfortunately they didn’t think of them before. Talk about the customer always being right. Now go build a team that can win.
This is very good news. I dont care why its being done, press release etc. Fact is its a BIG improvement over what was originally done. I think the designers and the wilpons were very careless about the history of the Mets as well as how passionate the fans are about this team. Shame on them but lets move on.
good stuff.
These are all very nice changes. That said… I loved Citi Field in its first year, too, and never understood all the loud complaining. That said… looking forward to seeing the new looks to the park next year!
Also, if the team stunk last year, and so many fans thought the park stunk last year… can we just call 2009 a mulligan and do-over the first year of Citi next year?
Seaver, Hodges, Stengel. Seaver, Hodges, Stengel. Seaver, Hodges, Stengel. Seaver, Hodges, Stengel. Seaver, Hodges, Stengel. Seaver, Hodges, Stengel. Anyone else ever wear a Mets uniform?
It is all too little, too late. And I’m glad it will take a “new committee” to determine whether Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Mike Piazza, etc, etc, etc. are worthy of joining Lindsay Nelson and Joan Payson in the Mets Hall of Fame. Give me a break.
To add something… Mets fans complain all year that changes need to be made at Citi Field…. The Mets announce they will be making changes at Citi Field… now Mets fans are complaining that the Mets put out a press release saying they’re going to make the changes that the fans have been calling for at Citi Field.
I know all this heartbreak can make you crazy, but c’mon people!
You seem confused. Every comment on here is happy about the changes being made. The only complaining has been that the stadium did not reflect the Mets — no one is complaining now, except that they are a little late with it, and some are mocking that it’s come to this (having to release a presser for something that should have been done last year).
That said, that said, and uhhh, that said.
…i think that just being a mets fan makes one irrational sometimes…it also gives me a little bit of comfort to realize i am not the only one…okay…the stadium is fine now lets go out and get some playas’….