Year Built: 2009
Primary Tenant: New York Mets
Capacity: 41,922
Date Visited: May 4th, 2022
I would like to preface this by saying that I'm not a Mets fan. In fact, as a Braves fan, I'm quite the opposite. Despite this, I want to keep this entry as unbiased as possible. Currently, I would be a hypocrite to say that the Mets are better than the Braves, because, as of this game, the Mets were leading the NL East, while the Braves were in third place. With all that said, it's time to move on to a new stadium.
The 7 Train is the subway that takes you to Citi Field, stopping at Mets-Willets Point. You can get a great view of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, which I'll expand on in just a minute.
Outside the stadium lies this statue of Tom Seaver. His twelve seasons with the Mets landed him the title of the "Greatest Met of All Time." Tom Seaver is not the only Mets player that is honored at Citi Field, but I'll get to that in a little bit.
Next to the Tom Seaver statue, you can find this Home Run Apple. This isn't just any apple, though. This is the original Home Run Apple used in Shea Stadium. In case you aren't familiar, this apple would rise out of its base any time a Mets player would hit a home run. When the Mets announced in 2007 that they would be moving to Citi Field, their plan was to retire the Home Run Apple, but after much backlash, they announced that a new, larger apple would be installed in center field of the new ballpark.
The area behind home plate, known as the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, was inspired by the exterior of Ebbets Field, the former home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Jackie Robinson, the namesake of the rotunda, was one of many stars that came and went through Ebbets Field.
Inside the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, you can find a large, open area, with an escalator and two staircases leading up to the concourse level. The rotunda honors Jackie Robinson in many ways, one being the quote seen at the top of the photo above, which reads, "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives."
This is the view from my seat, specifically seat number 15 in the 23rd row of section 124. The whole view is great from these seats, but I want to take a closer look around, starting from left field and eventually coming full circle back down the left field line.
The Metropolitan Grille is a large, multi level restaurant with an overlook of the entire field. The restaurant includes indoor and outdoor seating and and is open on afternoons and non gamedays.
In left field you can find this sign, showing the number of home runs the Mets have hit at home this season. For every home run, the Mets donate $2,000 to No Kid Hungry , a charity determined to fight hunger among American children. As of the start of the game I went to, the Mets had hit eleven homeruns at home, but I'll let you do the math on the donations.
The home run counter is part of the party deck in left field. The deck was constructed in 2012 and holds one hundred fans. The left field wall became much shorter with the construction of the party deck, with the deck being built on the front of the original, taller wall.
The outfield wall matches the Mets' blue, along with the distance markers and the top portion of the wall colored a vibrant orange, which also matches the Mets color scheme. The wall was formerly black, a color which made more sense at the time, since the Mets frequently used black as part of their color scheme.
In dead center field lies the Home Run Apple, which rises every time the Mets hit a home run. In case you're unaware, the Home Run Apple is a play on New York City's nickname, "The Big Apple."
The main scoreboard at Citi Field is in center field. There isn't a whole lot that makes it better than the rest, though. Most scoreboards nowadays are large, and this one is no exception. In case you're watching a game and you forget where you are, most teams, including the Mets, have your back, with most scoreboards showing the stadium name on top of them.
In right field, beneath the secondary scoreboard, you can find the bullpen gate. In front of the gate, you can see the Shea Bridge, which is named after the Mets former home, Shea Stadium.
The seats at Citi Field are a dark green color, which is typical for most ballparks. This green color doesn't exactly pop out at you, but it doesn't need to. The seats are comfortable and they do their job well.
Besides the two scoreboards in center field, Citi Field also has a smaller scoreboard in the right field corner, which means you have a good view of the scoreboard no matter where you sit.
In the right field corner is, of course, one of the foul poles. The foul poles are orange to match the Mets color scheme, which is unusual, considering most foul poles are yellow. I like the foul poles because I think it's great to deviate from the norm from time to time.
The backstop at Citi Field is nothing special. It has space for advertising, it has the name of the ballpark on it, and it's made of brick. All the of those things can be said about the backstops of many newer ballparks.
On this wall near home plate, which marks the divide between suites and clubs and standard seating, you'll see many notable Mets legends, such as Mike Piazza, Darryl Strawberry, and Nolan Ryan, just to name a few.
This stadium is comfortable and visually appealing, which are two of the main criteria I imagine most people look for in stadiums these days. I can't say there was anything inside the stadium that truly wowed me, but I also can't say I was specifically looking for those things, either. The most unique part of this ballpark would arguably be the exterior, with the old brick style exterior, which as I mentioned earlier, was inspired by Ebbets Field. I enjoyed my time here, and I definitely did not dislike my experience.
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