Results tagged “shea”

Will McCartney Play First Citi Field 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.

Since opening in '64, Shea Stadium has been a popular home for feral cats, who've been known to scamper onto the field during games. In the Mets' championship year of 1969, a black cat ran back and forth in front of the Cubs dugout, cursing Chicago's pennant hopes. Now a group called Neighborhood Cats is urging the Mets to relocate the feral felines to the new Citi Field. "They're part of Mets lore, so why not keep them around?," asks Bryan Kortis, the group's leader. He guesses there are 20-40 cats who call the stadium home, and if the Mets don't relocate them he predicts, "they're going to be overrun with rats." Pressure from other groups successfully saved the Home Run Apple, but Mets officials have yet to respond to this demand. And a Parks Department spokeswoman tells Newsday there are only a couple cats at Shea, and when they catch them, they're taken to a shelter.

       

Last night Billy Joel helped bid farewell to Shea Stadium, with the last concert at the field (the first being The Beatles historic show 43 years ago); Joel also performed there on Wednesday night, and the entire experience has been filmed for a future documentary.

Tonight Billy Joel performs at Shea Stadium, as part of his "Last Play at Shea" shows (the other is on Friday). Details recently talked to the Piano Man about the stadium, and he told them: "I think it’s kind of strange that in my lifetime I’ve seen a stadium come and go. I remember when Shea was built—it was state-of-the-art, like a big Roman edifice. Now they’re taking it down because it’s out of date. I find that a little odd." Meanwhile, Variety reports that the singer will film the experience for Last Play at Shea, a documentary surrounding the experience of playing the last shows before the stadium is torn down later this year. It's expected to have a Ken Burns feel, and "track the intersecting paths of a blue-collar Long Island musician and the Queens ballpark that hosted its first concert in 1965."

Sterling In-Seat Service: waiter service will feature "Best of Ballpark" food from the outfield concourse Apparently, Meyer is a Mets fan and has been a season ticket holder for quite some time, and is very pleased to be putting his mark on the new stadium. "What you eat and drink – and how it's all served – has become a major part of the ballpark experience, and we are eager to contribute as much as we can to why people will love going to Citi Field." According to the Times, the Mets owner and Aramark are negotiating with other noteable local restaurateurs. We'd like to see a NYC Icy stand (or maybe even the Lemon Ice King of Corona), an outpost of Caracas Arepa Bar, and perhaps a Dosa cart for the vegan fans. Plus, it'd be a shame to lose Mama's; hopefully there will be space for them as well.

A baseball fan was arrested and charged with criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and harassment after making a regrettable scene at last Saturday's game against the Dodgers at Shea Stadium. 32-year-old Christian Hansen was reportedly inebriated and pushing children out of the way to get some face time with Mr. Met, the team's mascot whose costume head is an enormous smiling baseball.

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