Mets fans happy with Coca-Cola Corner at Citi Field

The Pepsi Porch is now the Coca-Cola Corner at Citi Field. Credit: Patrick McCarthy
The National League championship flag that rose over Citi Field before Friday’s home opener was not the only thing new in the upper deck in rightfield.
You might recall it being known for seven seasons as the Pepsi Porch, the stadium’s most visible sponsorship tie-in other than Citi itself.
No more. Call it Coca-Cola Corner now, please, and if you forget, fear not: The soft drink company’s name, logo and color are impossible to miss in the plaza behind the seats — not to mention the LED Coca-Cola sign that looms over all of it.
And the oversized Adirondack chair shaped like Coke bottles that already is a popular picture-taking location.
How are fans adjusting? Pretty well, it seems.
“I like Coke better, and they have all that cool stuff up there now,” Nick Tasca, 22, of Staten Island said before the game. “They have the tables (shaped like bottle caps) and the toss-across (game). I think it’s great.”
Nick’s father, Armand, 52, said, “It looks nice. It feels a little warmer than the Pepsi Porch was, more welcoming. I like the taste of Coke better, too ... I remember when RC used to be the cola of the Mets and you couldn’t get a Coke or Pepsi.”
Armand was a season-ticket holder in the 1980s but eventually got priced out. He retired from the New York City Police Department last year and, regardless of cola sponsor, he said he mostly was enjoying the fact he was able to attend an opener with his son for the first time.
The Coke sponsorship is but one example of a wave of new deals the Mets signed after winning the 2015 pennant.
Nikon greatly expanded its presence, most notably in the form of a massive, bright yellow-and-white sign in dead centerfield.
Some new sponsorships have not yet been announced or activated, such as the Budweiser Landing — in place of the old Party City Deck — and an M&M’s seating area.