Cover: Citifield Rising

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Citifield Rising
by Dana Brand
Published Thursday April 12, 2007

Read rest of article here

You see the Shea crowd here on opening day? You see all of these bundled, cheering, freezing happy people filled with the hot dogs and hamburgers they grilled for themselves in the parking lot before the game? You see all those people around me as I am sitting up here in row Q of the Upper Deck? Now imagine that whole Upper Deck sliced off and all of those people, including me, dumped in the bay.

Professor Dana Brand was fortunate enough to secure tickets to the Mets' home Opener and visible signs of the venerable stadium's impending demise were everywhere.

Anyone for a nice swim?

[Rob Karter]

Nice article Dana.

I hear the same reluctance in your words here that I've heard other fans express about Shea and the new Citfield. It's a torn sense of feeling of seeing the need for a new stadiums and all its new amendities, but the non-willingness of letting Shea go, grapples the heart strings nontheless.

Really nice piece Dana, as I reflect more on your words.

...as for the clubhouse area that you experienced, and I'm not really sure if this is what you saw, but on SNY one evening they were talking about a similiar area for fans to voice their opinions on thoughts of the new stadium.

They went on to discuss how they built a test area for lack of a better phrase to get responses from fans. Anywhere from the color choice of tile in the bathrooms, to the marble designs of the floor. So I encourage all fans to find this spot and voice their opinions in the future when visiting Shea this year.

Thanks again Dana....oh the tailgates. I forgot to mention the tailgates. Gary Cohen also mentioned this the other night. He said it looked more like a pre-game football tailgate this year...any thoughts?

[GaryG]

Dana, I think you've expressed well the ambivalence of a lot of us fans concerning the new stadium. Part of Shea's charm are its shortcomings. But as you mention, someone else knows what is best for us. Well said, Dana.

[metsfanbook.com]

My problem is the size. That is the whole issue for me. Of course I will always be sentimental about Shea because it's where I've spent the last 43 years. I express my sentimentality in my piece called "For Shea," but as I say there, I know that it has to go and hate that it has to go in the way that your beloved parents and grandparents have to go when they're too old and sick. http://metsfanbook.com/ForShea.html

But if it must be replaced, I know already that I am going to miss the subtracted 15,000 seats. Those are my seats for very big games because I can't fit a season ticket into my life. I am really worried about what the small size of the new stadium is going to do to the experience of being a Mets fan. If they made it 50,000, I'd be okay.

I don't know what that little area is on the Loge Level near section 13. But it looks like a club and you had to have authorization to get in there.

[GaryG]

I think we all know what the size is about. First of all, less tickets means more demand.

In this day and age, obviously most fans get their sports thru TV. Some on the radio, but I'd say most on TV. What "looks" better, a stadium packed to the gills, or one that is less packed? The packed one.

So I'm thinking one of the less advertised reasons is it "looks" better on TV.

Also, less seats, in theory means better seats in terms of the fan and what you can see (I don't know how to say this, but you know what I mean).

The casual fan will just have to get their baseball thru the media, as the few tickets available will be snapped up by corporations or ticket scalpers. Oh well, what else can I complain about today? Any ideas?

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Or maybe indirectly, the less affluent fan will only have access to seeing the Nats, D-backs, Brewers, Pirates, etc., increasing attendence on otherwise less attended nights. It could sell out every nite for the first few years.

No shot at what they call the premium, or gold club, tickets.

[debmc]

I never thought I would say this... but looking around at ol' Shea, I really feel a sad sense of nostalgia, mixed with an anticipation of what is to come.

I am going to miss the old girl, no doubt about it.

But wow, am I looking forward to Citifield.......

But still, I will shed a tear during the last game that is played at Shea.