AMNY
'Citi' feeling like home
It's early, but so far things on schedule as new Mets park is built
BY DAVID LENNON
February 9, 2007
Standing in the middle of a windswept dirt lot, with a wind chill in the teens, it was difficult to imagine David Wright or Jose Reyes occupying this very spot on Opening Day of the 2009 season.
But that's the timetable for Citi Field, and with an iron-and-steel framework slowly rising beyond the outfield wall of Shea Stadium, Mets COO Jeff Wilpon said yesterday that the project is right on schedule.
"There's no reason it's not going to be great," said the enthusiastic Wilpon, who led a group of reporters through the construction site. "All the seats are going to be better. You're going to be closer to the field. The sight lines are going to be better. It's just so vast right now, it's barely taking shape."
The only distinguishable part of the 45,000-seat stadium, which was inspired by Ebbets Field, is the first segment of the rightfield concourse. An elevated steel framework already is in place, giving visitors who climbed the tower a feel of the eventual sight lines from that vantage point.
When the ballpark is finished, that concourse will stretch around the inside of the stadium, providing a 360-degree view of the field, much like Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Wilpon also pointed out the different materials that will give the stadium its character, from the brick that will line the exterior to the faux limestone blocks and gray-accented windows.
Wilpon and a group of Mets officials visited a number of stadiums before working with HOK Sport to design Citi Field, which has borrowed various details from the firm's previous projects, such as Pittsburgh's PNC Park, Baltimore's Camden Yards and the new Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
At this point, Wilpon said the ballpark is "within one percent" of its estimated $600-million budget, and it won't be long before fans can get a better feel for the stadium itself - just by watching the construction from their seats at Shea.
"Knock on wood," Wilpon said. "Everything has gone as planned."
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In the Citi
Opening Day 2009
Total Capacity 45,000
Major Seating Categories
Concourse Level 18,000
Club Level 7,800
Promenade Level 15,500
Average Concourse Width
Concourse Level 46 ft.
Promenade Level 40 ft.
Luxury Suites
54 Total
Sterling Suites 10
Empire Suites 44
Restaurants (capacity)
Ebbets Club Lounge (734)
Sterling Club Lounge (1,600)
Left Field Club Restaurant (500)
Promenade Grill (300)
Team Store 7,200 sq. ft.
Field Dimensions (feet)
Left Field 335
Left Center 379
Center 408
Right Center 383
Right Field 330
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A view of the stands being constructed for the Mets' new stadium, Citi Field. Shea Stadium is visible in the background (Newsday / Viorel Florescu)
Feb 8, 2007
Construction site for the new Mets stadium, Citi Field.
A worker at the construction site for Citi Field.
A scene from the construction site of Citi Field, the Mets' new stadium.
Mets COO Jeff Wilpon, right, gives reporters a tour of the future Citi Field, now under construction
A birds-eye view of the future home of the Mets, Citi Field.
A computer-generated artist rendering of CitiField, which will become the new home of the Mets in 2009.
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