Goodbye, Shea Stadium.......

...Hello, "New Mets Ballpark".

Just got done watching the press conference on SNY about the new Mets ballpark. LOTS of information here...some facts that really jumped out to me....

• Breaking ground this Spring! Ouch....judging from where they are planning on putting the stadium, its going to be a mess there this summer. It is being put in the main parking lot, right beyond the outfield, as below....Well, as if driving to Shea was easy before all this stuff started.....the 7 line will be jammed this summer, full of hot, sweaty people who just had 8 $7.00 beers and sat in the sun all day.

• Sightlines!! Apparently the small size (45,000, including SRO) was built so that all the seats are wide, close to the field, and pointed toward the infield. Thats nice, because having spent some time in the upper deck at Shea, its high up there. Really high, and really steep. Anyway, I lost count of the times they said the word "sightlines"....
  

• No more "Shea". They are currently in the mix of obtaining "naming rights" for the new stadium. Thats very sad for me----as I can only expect what it will be called. Its something to say, "Im at Shea for the day...", but "Im going to Pepsi Field" doesn't roll off the tongue.

• Looks like a nice stadium....better than the first model we saw years ago, with the retractable roof, slide away field, etc. Its got that Ebbets Field look from the outside, asymmetrical outfield walls, and all the amenities of the modern ballparks. Im glad that the stadium isn't right on the water, like PNC Park, SBC Park and Great American Ballpark. Cute idea, but I was glad it wasn't a copycat park, at least in that extent.

• When asked about ticket prices, a Mets exec answered, "We'll have affordable seats.........and expensive seats". I can only imagine what that means.
  

• Apparently another reason why the park was built so small was to create some excitement about the park, and create a ticket demand. Quoting the Mets exec: "Well, we seat 55,000 at Shea now, and that hardly ever gets filled....". Maybe its me, but is that the message we want to send on a day like this? Hell, we cant fill the park now, so, when all else fails, lower our standards...

I'll miss the old park. Ill miss the memories, the big Jumbotron, the big outfield, the seats I sat in when I was younger, at my first baseball game with my father. My brother and I would take the LIRR from Patchogue to Babylon, where my Dad would meet us after work. We'd drive in together, inevitably see a 1-0 game, and leave after the 7th inning (my Dad HATED traffic). I remember where I sat in the 1986 World Series, Game 1, when the ball went through Tim Teufel's legs for the only run. I remember taking Kaytie there for her first Mets game, and getting extremely lost after the game. I remember seeing Mo Vaughn hit a ball about 20 feet from the top of the scoreboard in right field. There are a lot of good memories about the stadium...it started my love affair with baseball, with the Mets. It was a major piece of my childhood, and now it will be leaving us.

Anyway, dry your eyes....some nice info about the new stadium:
Comparisons with Shea Stadium (nice dimensions here...not a bandbox)
Fast Facts
Stadium Pictures

Id also like to get that video they made for SNY and the press conference, narrated by Gary Cohen. Anyone have it?