Citi Field

The New Mets Ballpark is the working title for a planned Major League Baseball stadium for the New York Mets to be built in Willets Point, in the New York City borough of Queens, as a replacement for Shea Stadium, which was constructed in 1964 adjacent to the site of the 1964 World's Fair. It has been designed by the HOK Sport + Venue + Event division of Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum.

The creation of the plan for the stadium came after the veto of the plan for the construction of the West Side Stadium and was part of the failed New York City 2012 Olympic bid. It will, however, be built despite New York's loss of the Games. The Olympic stadium project was estimated to cost $2.2 billion with $180 million provided by New York City and New York State. If New York had won the 2012 Olympic bid, the stadium would have been expanded to host the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as other sporting events, and the Mets would have played their baseball season at Yankee Stadium. However, due to London's winning the Olympic bid, the location of the stadium was slightly altered so it could not expand to an Olympic stadium had New York won a future bid. Construction is hoped to be finished in time for the 2009 baseball season.

The new stadium is planned to have a capacity of 45,000 and have an exterior façade reminiscent of Ebbets Field (a feature long sought by owner Fred Wilpon, a Brooklyn native) with an interior that many have stated evokes design features of recent ballparks, most notably Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The projected cost of the new stadium and other infrastructure improvements is $610 million, with the Mets picking up $420 million of that amount. The agreement includes a 40-year lease that will keep the Mets in New York until 2049. The stadium will be adjacent to a Long Island Rail Road and New York City Subway station, as the current facility is.

This stadium would be the third stadium in which the Mets would play during their nearly 50 year history. The Mets played the 1962 and 1963 seasons at the Polo Grounds, which had also been the home of the New York Yankees and New York Giants. In 1964, they moved to their current home, Shea Stadium, which in the recent frenzy of ballpark building, is now the sixth-oldest stadium in the MLB, and the fourth-oldest in the National League. (When the new Washington Nationals ballpark opens for the 2008 season, Shea will be the fifth-oldest stadium in MLB, and third-oldest in the NL.)

In addition, the New York Yankees also plan to open their New Yankee Stadium on opening day 2009.

On March 18, 2006, the New York Mets unveiled the official model for the new stadium. By July 2006, initial construction of the new park was underway in the parking lot beyond right-field.

According to the Mets, the new stadium will not retain the name "Shea," the last name of the man who founded the team (William Shea). The Mets will instead sell naming rights to a corporate sponsor. Despite the organization's stated intentions, some fans and public officials have started a campaign to name the stadium for civil rights pioneer and Brooklyn baseball legend Jackie Robinson.

Planned stadium facts

File:Newmetsballpark.jpg

Rendering of the new Mets Ballpark.

File:Metsb4.jpg

Rendering of the new Mets Ballpark.

Comparison between Shea Stadium and the New Mets Ballpark. (From the New York Mets website).

	Shea Stadium	New Mets Ballpark
Opening Day	1964	2009
Capacity	57,333	45,000 (approx.)
Seat Width	19" to 20", 19" Average	19" to 24", 21" Average
Legroom	32"	33" to 39"
Average Concourse Width	21 ft.	43 ft.
Wheelchair Seating	174	830
Luxury Suites	45	58
Restaurants (total capacity)	2 (528)	4 (3,334)
Team Store	2,600 sq. ft.	7,200 sq. ft.
# of Toilets	568	646
Public Elevators	4	12
Field Dimensions (feet)	Left Field - 338 Left Center - 371 Center - 410 Right Center - 371 Right Field - 338	Left Field - 335 Left Center - 379 Center - 408 Right Center - 391 Right Field - 330

External links

• Official New York Mets Website
• New York Times Article (must be a member to access this article)
• Official Mets Release
• Mets Ballparks from Mets Media Guide