Sean B. Fitzgerald It doesn’t go something like this, it goes exactly like this.

Citi Field: A Review

This evening, I was lucky enough to escape witnessing the abject destruction of the Yankees bullpen in their home opener, to attend the Mets game at Citi Field. It was the rubber game against the Padres in their first home series of their new ballpark. From what I had heard on talk radio and the newspapers, Citi Field was just as nice as any new ballpark in the majors. The seats were bigger, there were better concessions, and it was more fan friendly. That is the least it could do for $900 million. The main gripe regarding Citi Field was the fact that there wasn't nearly enough Mets logos around the park to distinguish itself as the "New York Mets Home Field". And I have to be honest, it is a legitimate concern. If you were to blind fold someone, have them sit in the stands, remove the blindfold, and then ask them where they were, it would take a few minutes for them to answer. From the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, the Ebbets Field look, and the Brooklyn Brewery beer (terrible by the way), I could swear I was in Flatbush. It's almost as if the Wilpon's are ashamed of the Mets past and wanted to embrace the team that bolted to Los Angeles in 1957.

There is one thing about the "new stadium" look that I can't stand. And that is the hundreds of other places you're able to watch (or not watch) the game instead of your seat. Sure that sounds nice, but it eliminates any whiff of home field advantage you had over the opposing team. At times during the game tonight, I felt it was only me, my dad, and my friend in our seats. The rest of the "fans" were in "standing room only" areas, at FanFest about 100 yards behind centerfield, or sitting on the benches by the grocery store (I'm not joking, there is a grocery store). You are there to watch a baseball game, not to pick up milk and eggs for the house. Citi Field holds 42,000 people at capacity, if tonight was sold out, 35,000 were walking around for most of the game. I hate that. So unlike the old days (last year) where if you bought a seat in the upper deck, you either sat in that seat or you missed the game. Now, anyone can buy a seat in the 21st deck and walk down and watch the game from wherever they pleased. This is going to look extra nice when the Mets are playing the Red Sox in the World Series in front of any empty upper deck.

Thoughts:

• Concessions. Although I only had sausage and peppers (delicious), I could tell that the array of food options was rather extensive. Places like the Shake Shack, Blue Smoke, Catch of the Day, and El Verano Taqueria offered anything and everything. Too bad the lines were outrageous. If you wanted a burger from the Shake Shack in the first inning you might be eating it by the time the closer is warming up. As expected, there is at least one beer vendor in your line of sight from the minute you walk in. Supplemented with the fact that there are beer stands every 9 feet. You couldn't not get drunk if you tried. (Beer sales end at 9pm).
• Seats. From what I saw, most of the seats had terrific sight lines and the nose bleeds weren't hemorrhaging. That's not to say that there aren't seats with a steel beam in front of them (which I did see). They also slanted the seats to face home plate which wasn't the case at Shea Stadium. That is something I never understood. Did the builders of Shea Stadium not understand the game of baseball? Usually the action starts with the pitcher and the hitter. If my seat is facing the apple in centerfield, I am not going to see anything. Plus I'll probably get a line drive in the temple.
• Bathrooms. It's really tough to mess up a bathroom. Especially when it's brand new. As long as there is a place where I can put my waste, I'm happy. I might be grasping at straws here, but I was not a fan of the urinals. Usually, urinals are designed so someone can "step into them" so to speak. They would also have little walls on the side so you can maintain some sense of privacy. Not the ones at Citi Field. I felt as if I was peeing into a cereal bowl attached to the wall. Couldn't splurge for the little walls Mets?

What can I say? Was I blown away? No. What I can say is that in comparison to Shea Stadium, it was the Taj Mahal. Hopefully the Mets can turn it into a home soon enough.

Next up: My team's new digs (Probably in May)