Major moves being made to create a Mets presence at Citi Field
Photo credit: AP | Baseball fans wait to enter Citi Field for an NCAA college baseball game between Georgetown and St. John's.
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The team itself still needs to be fixed, but at least the Mets have taken a few major steps toward satisfying their fans' complaints about Citi Field.
In response to a loud public outcry during the $850-million stadium's inaugural season, the Mets announced plans Saturday to rename areas of the ballpark after Casey Stengel, Gil Hodges, Tom Seaver and William A. Shea. Other modifications, including a Hall of Fame, also have been made.
The first-base VIP area will be named after Hodges, the third-base VIP area after Seaver and the leftfield VIP area after Stengel. The outfield bridge will be dedicated as Shea Bridge, a nod to the man who brought National League baseball back to New York after the departure of the Dodgers and Giants.
In other changes, blue and orange will be prominent with color banners of Mets players on Mets Plaza in front of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. Team logos will be added to entry points and light poles in the parking lots. Staircases will be painted blue and orange, with more logos in the ballpark, and the flowers in the gardens at Mets Plaza also will show the team colors.
"These additions amplify our commitment to better recognize our team's heritage and honor the players and memories our fans cherish," said Mets executive VP of business operations Dave Howard. "Ownership is acting upon our fans' desire to see more Mets around the ballpark. We hear our fans loud and clear, and these additions continue the process that started last season."
As for the Hall of Fame and Museum, which had been promised before Citi Field's opening, it will be located adjacent to the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, accessible from inside and outside the ballpark. The team has re-formed a Mets Hall of Fame committee to "evaluate potential inductees." It will include a "combination of media members with a long-standing connection to the club" as well as front-office staff.
"The re-formation of the Mets Hall of Fame Committee is central to our concerted efforts to better connect our present and future to our past," COO Jeff Wilpon said. "It reinforces the organization's and our fans' shared desire to recognize our greatest players. With our 2010 opening of the Mets Hall of Fame & Museum at Citi Field, now was the time to bring this group together."
