Results tagged “citifield”

The 29-year-old Mets fan who christened Citi Field in May by being the first to streak the new stadium is filled with bitterness and remorse. Craig Coakley brought joy to millions when he dashed out onto the field during a Mets-Braves game wearing just a thong with a monkey covering his junk. But it was all downhill from there: six months later, his euphoria long dissipated, the diehard Mets fan is all washed up.

The 2009 Mets will wrap up their season next Sunday and mercifully put an end to a campaign that everyone will try and forget. But, before we bid these Mets goodbye, it’s worth wondering, why did the season fall apart so badly? Sure there were injuries at an amazing rate, but what caused those injuries? Perhaps you could say that the team was cursed?

In May, a man was arrested after running out onto Citi Field—wearing a thong (with a monkey stuffed animal)—and trying to slide into second base. Yesterday, Craig Coakley was fined $3,000 and sentenced to 20 days of community service. The 29-year-old showed off his Mets chest tattoo to the Post yesterday and said, "I would love to do my service at Citi Field. I have no problem scraping gum off the floor." Unfortunately, Queens DA Richard Brown pointed out, "The defendant’s antics have resulted in a criminal record, the paying of thousands of dollars in fines and civil penalties, and - perhaps the worse punishment for any true Mets fan - precludes him from ever again visiting Citi Field or any of the New York Mets other venues - such as KeySpan Park in Brooklyn or Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie, Florida," adding that his office and the Mets "have zero tolerance for those who interfere with the play of America’s pastime." Still, Coakley noted that he didn't try to kiss a Mets player, like a US Open fan did with Rafael Nadal recently. After the jump: Coakley being tackled by Citi Field security.

With an extensive list of maintenance problems stemming from faulty wiring, falling signs, crumbling concrete and collapsing pipes, insiders are apparently referring to the Mets' new stadium as "Shitty Field." Even Jerry Seinfeld must be scratching his head and asking himself who the ad wizards are behind that one with word that Seinfeld's luxury suite was one of a handful of $500,000 boxes that had to have the walls knocked down because water damage created molding in them.

One man took to NY1 after being duped by AEG Live when he bought tickets to one of Paul McCartney's Citi Field concerts this summer. They report that Roger Scholl bought two tickets (at $190 a pop) in the field's B6 section, but that section was moved to a less desirable area after the transaction went through. Scholl explains, "What they did was they took where B6 was supposed to be, where the seats were that we had bought, and on the new seating chart there was a section called B5-1 that had physically taken the location where B6 had originally been." After complaints to both the Mets and AEG, he still ended up in the new B6 area when the show started. The Mets have now told NY1: "The seating plans for the Paul McCartney shows underwent some late adjustments due to changes in the staging and production that affected a small number of seats. The Mets worked diligently with concert promoters and Paul McCartney's management to relocate customers whose views in their estimation were compromised." Though they say the sightlines remained consistent with the price, AEG has given disgruntled customer a refund.

      

Citi Field has paid tribute to the legacy of Ebbets Field and to the Beatles' invasion of Shea Stadium. Yesterday they got around to remembering one of the greatest squads put together by the actual team that calls the stadium home, honoring the 1969 Miracle Mets. The franchise's first World Series champions were honored in a ceremony before yesterday's game against the Phillies. It was the first time that Nolan Ryan joined in any '69 festivities, as the News notes wearing his Mets No. 30 jersey for the first time in 38 years.

      

Last night may have been the first time since it opened this spring that Citi Field was home to fans cheering loudly for over two consecutive hours. That's because fresh off his return to (the top of) The Ed Sullivan Theater, Paul McCartney once again played on the home field of the Mets where the Beatles had their legendary Shea Stadium shows. And by all accounts, Macca brought it.

The rumor is true, Paul McCartney will be the first musician to grace the stage at Citi Field, as he was all those years ago at Shea. The Daily News confirms the shows will take place on July 17th and 18th, rain or shine. A press release was sent out earlier today in which he declared, "I am really excited about playing Citi Field—The Beatles were the first to play at Shea Stadium and along with Billy Joel, I was the last to sing at the old Shea. So to be the first to play this stadium is incredible. I am really looking forward to a buzzing show." Fans of Macca better stand by on Monday June 15th, tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. that day, exclusively at www.507TIXX.com and by phone at 718-507-TIXX. Meanwhile, if you think you have what it takes to be the 5th Beatle, get psyched for The Beatles: Rock Band—the trailer even includes the Beatles' Shea concert!

Must be tough to be a Yankees and a Macca fan. Looks like Paul McCartney is going to relive the glory days by playing the very first concert at Citi Field, 44 years after he played the very first concert at Shea Stadium with the Beatles, and not even one year after helping bid farewell (with Billy Joel) to that same stadium. The rumor is that he'll be sonically christening the new stadium with shows on July 17th and 18th, and a third performance may be added on the 21st. The Mets have some downtime in their schedule from July 12th and 27th. Stay tuned, and in the meantime, here's some video from his first appearance on a ball field.

Despite a rash of injuries hobbling the team, the Mets have found a new ally in their march onto the top of the NL East standings: instant replay. The team have gotten a boost from the umpires going to the videotape in four of the last five games and are 5-for-5 overall in replay rulings this season.

Like Charlie Bucket desperately trying to find his way into the chocolate factory, last week a Mets fan dug so hard for her golden tooth that she got her arm stuck in a Citi Field toilet as its automatic flusher flooded over her time and again. Fans started becoming more interested in the unnamed fan's struggle that turned out to be as futile as the Mets' twelve inning losing battle with the Braves last Wednesday. Team officials had to call in Cardoza Plumbing, the company that installed the low-flow "green" toilets that "use powerful vacuum suction to cut down on water use." The Post talks to a plumber who tells them, "The truth is, this kind of thing happens all the time—usually with wedding rings or cellphones. People have probably been getting their hands stuck in toilets as long as there have been toilets." The paper mentions the 2003 cell phone flushing fiasco on a Metro North train and a woman in China stuck for two days trying to save her pet turtle (and by "turtle", they secretly mean "alligator"). At the very least, it sounds like this unfortunate Met fan deserves a sympathetic call from T-Pain—don't we all?

[UPDATE BELOW] The daring streaker who charmed America by dashing out onto Citi Field during Tuesday night's Mets game could get up to a year in jail! After his arrest, 38-year-old Craig Coakley of Whitestone, Queens reportedly told police, "I didn't think I was gonna get in so much trouble. It was a bet. My boss said he would pay me a week's worth of salary if I did it and my lawyer told me it's only a misdemeanor." But back in 2003 the City Council passed the so-called Calvin Klein law to impose harsher punishments on fans who disrupt sporting events; the bill was prompted by the designer's bizarre, drug-fueled attempt to chat with Latrell Sprewell on the court during a Knicks game. (In 2005, the city implemented even tougher penalties.)

Last night, a man took of his clothes and streaked across Citi Field during the Mets-Braves game's fifth inning. This morning, the Post suggests it was "maybe the best base running of the night" while the Daily News identifies the "nearly-naked doofus" with "only a stuffed animal wrapped like a thong around the middle of his strike zone for modesty" as Craig Coakley.

Those of you at home watching tonight's Mets-Braves game missed out (fortunately?) from seeing an essentially naked man run onto the field. While the SNY cameras were trained on Omir Santos at bat during the fifth inning, this is what our own Tien Mao witnessed: "He was wearing a thong with a Mr. Met doll covering his penis. And he slid into 2nd and again in the outfield before being stopped by security. Mr Met was crying and shaking his head afterwards. "

We have two new and amazing baseball stadiums here in New York. The comforts and amenities they provide are world class, but there is one thing they don’t have; the passion of their predecessors. With exorbitant ticket prices close to the field, Citi Field and the new Yankee Stadium have prevented the real fans from being near the action. The seats closest to the action seem empty on most nights, probably a reflection of the economic downturn, perhaps a function of the cold weather. It’s too late for the Mets and Yankees to do anything about it, the stadiums are built and they will have to live with the consequences, but hopefully Cablevision is paying attention.

The Mets don't want anyone scuffing up their precious new building, even if it's the former ace during the team's heyday trying to give the place a little character. The team says that it will buff the wall at the Ebbets Club inside Citi Field where Dwight Gooden signed in Sharpie on Opening Day "Doc Gooden 84 R.O.Y., 85 Cy Young, 86 W.S. Champs." But Mets VP Jay Horwitz, clearly a proponent of Broken Windows theory, says that the signature is not welcomed. He said, "It's a brand-new building. No one is supposed to write on the wall. It's going to be erased." It's a good thing the cocaine-fueled sex romps during Gooden's playing days didn't leave any marks on the old Shea clubhouse. Fans are already complaining that Citi Field doesn't do enough to celebrate the team's history. One fan told the Post, "To have a stadium sanitized to the point where they're going to erase Doc Gooden's signature is disgusting...That's insulting to the people who care about this team and care about its history."

The Mets home opener at Citi Field may have been a loss, but there's a new star: The orange (or tan) cat that ran out during the third inning. Here's film of the feline:

                  

After months and months of waiting, Citi Field finally opened to its first regular season baseball game yesterday evening. Since the Mets lost, the true star of the game was the new stadium. Fans were mostly excited by Citi Field — the only complaints were about the sight lines for some of the seats. Thousands of seats have views that are missing parts of the field, which caused some fans to wonder what the stadium designers were thinking.

Tonight begins a new era for the Mets with the christening of Citi Field at 7:10 and there's even a winning record on the line! The Amazins', who are 3-3 so far, open up their new ballpark tonight with the ceremonial first pitch thrown by Tom Seaver to Mike Piazza. The scheduling gods were kind enough to see to it that the Mets' first home series of the year comes against San Diego, ranked last of all thirty MLB teams in ESPN's preseason Power Rankings; they weren't gracious enough however to have the starting rotation slot land on ace Johan Santana. Instead Mike Pelfrey will take the mound.

Just because the city has blacklisted construction and utility companies due to their alleged ties to organized crime hasn't kept the Mets and Yankees from using them in putting together their new ballparks. The Times reports on the use of companies Petrocelli Electric and Interstate Industrial, brought on to work on Yankee Stadium, and Breeze National, hired to do demolition for Citi Field. Executives of the companies have done time for bribery charges in the past, prompting the city to avoid doing business with them. An NYU law professor told the paper, “We’re talking about the nature of the whole construction industry, which affects public construction, private construction, not-for-profit construction and the whole economic viability of the city. So there ought to be a commitment to do what we can to purge corrupt influences out of that industry.” But a Mets marketing VP stood by the selection of the controversial company. He said, “The deconstruction was done on time, on budget and without incident or injury.”

      

Amid rain and wind, the Mets opened their new ballpark with a 4-3 Spring Training win over the Red Sox on Friday. Livan Hernandez had the honor of throwing the first pitch at the park, which saw a decent but not great crowd after a day of poor weather. Carlos Beltran scored the first run for the Mets. The wide concourses that everyone has been raving out got a workout. Between the rain delay and people trying to walk around the park rather than watch the game, they held up well. Every concession stand had a line around it. And Francisco Rodriguez got the first save. He even gave a restrained fist pump. Is that a good omen?

            

The heat lamps, hot dog bins, and Shake Shack Miraclean grills are all in place, and the long-awaited Citi Field is a go. This weekend’s Mets vs. Red Sox exhibition games will be a trial-by-fire for every swanky new full service stadium club in the place, as well as every lowly hot dog kiosk, popcorn cart, and concession stand. In order to prepare for the crowds, hundreds of foodservice workers are literally stocking the shelves and cooking things around the clock. (Not all concession stands were open during Sunday's dress rehearsal.)

                     

Citi Field opened to its first visitors yesterday, but the occasion was not a Mets but a NCAA baseball game between St. John's and Georgetown. It was still an unmissable opportunity for Mets fans, though, who flocked to the reported $800 million stadium. Newsday reports, "Not everything was ready - no distances painted on the outfield walls, no retired Mets numbers or championship banners displayed yet, about 10 blank scoreboard advertising panels - and nobody knew their way around. But that was part of the fun for fans who bought $5 tickets or received freebies through area community groups. The announced attendance was 22,397"—and most attendees were wandering around, getting a lay of the land for the seasons ahead.

The Mets shouldn't have any trouble filling their new stadium and its 15,000 fewer seats than their former home. But as of right now, two seats behind home plate are officially unclaimed—the pair of season tickets that belonged to Bernie Madoff. The seats cost an average of around $500 a game and over $40,000 each for the season. They are expected to be resold shortly, but to whom remains unclear. A Madoff Securities trustee told the press, "We have no intention of not monetizing them and letting them go unused." A rep from the Mets confirmed, "They're paid for. They can do with them what they want to." Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz were close to Madoff and are reported to have lost millions in his Ponzi scheme.

Yesterday’s omnibus stadium food preview made mention of the rumored Untitled Dave Pasternack Seafood Project at Citi Field. It’s long been known that the Esca chef wanted to explore a fish and chips concept, but it wasn’t until recently that the project was actually happening. Today the news comes (via Eater) that the Long Island born chef will open a lobster roll, fish sandwich, and clam chowder station called (what else) Catch of the Day at the Taste of the City food court, the same concessions area where Shake Shack is located. The Mets’ website calls Catch of the Day “a Long Island themed seafood stand;” let’s hope that means Pasternack adds some fried belly clams to the menu a la Nassau County’s Bigelow’s.

With opening day around the corner, both Yankee Stadium and Citi Field are brimming with elaborate dining options. People are asking whatever happened to peanuts and Cracker Jacks, some more whimsically than others. The food news has been piecemeal for the most part but is picking up steam now: A menu preview with photos (think pulled pork) accompanied a Times article about Citi Field Tuesday, while Grub Street got first dibs on the Brother Jimmy’s BBQ Yankee Stadium menu (think pulled pork and fried pickles) yesterday. The combined food service operations at both stadiums encompass what might be the equivalent of 20 or 30 non-stadium restaurant openings, highbrow and otherwise.

The Mets' home opener in their new stadium, Citi Field, is just 21 days away, which is why the staff is working hard to make sure everything is perfect. Uni Watch's Paul Lukas helped out yesterday by being one of 300 volunteers who tested out the ballfield's plumbing by...flushing toilets. Lukas noted that the practice is not unique, as the Yankees tested their plumbing last month, but there is an "ironic resonance" of flushing in Flushing:

The main thing I learned as we waited for the flushing test to commence was that plumbers don’t use the word “toilet”; instead, they say, “bowl” (as in, “I hear they got over 300 bowls in this stadium” or “Holy shit, 20 bowls in one bathroom!”).

Continue reading "Mets Hope Every Flush Is Perfect For Opening Day"

After initially thinking that they would rename the 7 Train subway stop in tandem with the new ballpark, the MTA announced that the train stop closest to the Mets' new digs will not carry the name "Citi Field" after the team refused to cough up any money for the station's name change. The station is nearly halfway through a planned $40 million in renovations to go along with the opening of the new stadium and the MTA had hoped to help pay for the work with a portion of the $20 million a year the Mets are receiving in naming rights from Citigroup. The team apparently wasn't eager to spread the wealth however and now the station will simply be renamed "Mets/Willets Point," the nearby LIRR station carrying the same name. On the upside, at least the MTA avoids the possibility of being forced into renaming the station again with no one exactly holding their breath that Citi Field (or as some are calling it, Debits Field) is a moniker that will last through the economic winter.

       

Seems like just yesterday that Billy Joel was planning the ultimate farewell to Shea Stadium, and now, less than two months before baseball season starts up again, Shea is gone. Get some Kleenex Mets fans (you should be used to carrying them around) and take one last look at your team's old home as it gets reduced to rubble, like so many Pennant dreams. Time of death (as recorded by the NY Times): Wednesday, February 18th, 11:21 a.m.

Consider those Wall Street Journal-fueled hopes that CitiField would be something else , as both the Mets and CitiGroup say they are going ahead with their $400 million, 20-year agreement. Mets VP of business affairs David Howard tells Newsday, "The Wall Street Journal got it wrong. Citi contacted us this morning and they reinforced that they will honor the legally binding agreement that they have with us. They have consistently said to us that they will honor the agreement." And Citi released a statement, "Citi signed a legally binding agreement with the New York Mets in 2006. No TARP [Troubled Asset Relief Program] capital will be used for Citi Field or for marketing purposes." And yesterday, Howard explained to Newsday, "Superficially, I understand [the public's reaction. But the reality is, the TARP recipients were companies the federal government thought were vital to our economy. To continue doing business, they still need to advertise."