Ballpark Review - Citi Field
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My wife and I took in a Mets game at Citi Field on Friday, the 25th active major league ballpark in which I’ve had the good fortune to see a ballgame. I also saw games in four parks that aren’t used or don’t exist anymore, so I think I’m in a pretty good position to compare and contrast.
The first impression of Citi Field isn’t great, not because of the ballpark itself but because of the area its in. There’s simply nothing around it in Flushing, Queens except parking lots, vacant lots, and some industrial sites. Apparently there are plans to build around it, including maybe a casino, but at the moment there’s nothing of interest for fans.
This situation also makes it somewhat of an adventure to get to, particularly on foot. We had a rental car that we didn’t want to get out of our hotel garage, and had been told it was about a 20-25 minute walk. That was correct.
What was unsaid was that the walk thru Flushing was probably a bit dicey for most tourists, if the two guys who urinated on a fence, or the drug buy we witnessed as we passed, were any indication. We didn’t feel unsafe, there were police all over the place, but we also made sure not to walk back to the hotel in the dark.
That said, the rest of the experience was great. The outside of Citi Field is famously designed to remind people of Ebbets Field, and it’s really impressive.
The same is true of the massive Tom Seaver statue outside of the home plate entrance:
Upon entering that gate, you’re in a towering hall, with the team store and team Hall of Fame on the ground level and escalators and stairs up to the seating areas. The Hall of Fame has both of their World Series trophies, plus memorabilia of their various great players, seats from Shea Stadium, and plaques of the honored Mets that are reminiscent of the plaques hanging in Cooperstown. It’s all really well done.
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As is our custom, we walked around the entire stadium once we were inside, seeing things from all angles. I have to say, the Mets did a good job with pretty much everything. There was ample space on the concourses, tons of wonderful food options, good sight lines everywhere, and neat features like the Shea Bridge in right-center field, and the traditional pop-up home run apple in a top hat in center field.
My wife is a dedicated foodie, and scoped out in advance the best places to eat in the ballpark. She settled on the porchetta sandwich from Chef Marc Murphy’s stand, and it was really, really tasty. Genuinely one of the best sandwiches you’ll have at a ballpark.
I did my usual, which was to have a basic hot dog. It was a Nathan’s, and it was delicious. Not Fenway Frank delicious, but way better than a Dodger Dog. (No photo for mine, sorry. I mean, it’s a hot dog.)
Our seats were in the fourth level, but it really didn’t feel too high. And they gave us a wonderful panoramic view of the whole ballpark.
Overall, despite the Mets’ pretty disappointing season, everyone seemed in a great mood. It was a Friday night, with good weather (no smoke to speak of), they had a good DJ entertaining the fans, and the crowd was pretty upbeat overall. I was wearing a Kansas City Monarchs shirt that drew a couple of respectful comments, and a Red Sox cap that no one commented on at all.
We didn’t stick around for the end of the game, which, uh, didn’t go the way the crowd wanted, and maybe that vibe would have been uglier if we had, but overall it was one of the better ballgame experiences we’ve had. We really enjoyed a game in Seattle a couple of years ago, and it reminded me of that. We saw games for the first time in four ballparks last year (Miami, Atlanta, Houston, and Texas), and Citi Field was clearly better than three of them, and a bit better than Atlanta, too, because it just had more unique features.
My all-time top-5 is unchanged (Fenway, Petco, Oracle, Kauffman, Target Field), but Citi is probably somewhere in the next five along with T-Mobile in Seattle, Dodger Stadium, Coors Field, and Busch. It’s a distinct cut above some of the new ballparks that don’t really distinguish themselves from each other (Philly, DC, Cincy) and much better than any park that is either a dome or has a roof that’s closed most of the time.
In other words, good job, Mets. Your ballpark is a gem.
Now, about that team…
Ballpark Review - Citi Field
When I'm not rooting for the Royals, I'm rooting for the Mets. That's the team I grew up with. We went to Citi Field on a hot August night in 2017 and saw the Mets get overwhelmed by the Dodgers.
The most fun thing was on the train going toward the stadium, the #7. Used to take you right to Shea Stadium... oh well, but there were all these California people who used to live in NYC who came to root for the Dodgers and they talked about Ebbets Field like they'd been there...They all looked younger than me (and I was born the year after the Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Yankees in the World Series, and I never got to see a game at Ebbets Field!) except for a few people who might have been in their 70s.
It was fun to see everything in the ballpark. Going to the team store for souvenirs...I did not wear any Royals apparel...2015 was not that long ago. I loved both teams...anyway. I'm glad you enjoyed your visit! We also left before the game ended, taking a train back to Manhattan that was crowded with baseball fans.