Mets' Shea goodbye [Forum Archive]

-->

Pages: 1

Mets' Shea goodbye

(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: min0 lee

New Queens park to be named CitiField after U.S. bank – sources
BY LEO STANDORA
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

The Mets' new ballpark won't be named after any baseball heroes - you can bank on that.

It'll be called CitiField for Citigroup Inc., the biggest bank in the U.S., sources familiar with negotiations said yesterday.

Citigroup may be paying as much as $20 million a year for the advertising coup, according to Marc Ganis, president of SportsCorp Ltd., a Chicago-based consulting firm.

That would make the deal the most expensive stadium-rights agreement ever, topping Reliant Energy Inc.'s 32-year, $300 million pact with the National Football League's Houston Texans.

The team plans to unveil the name at a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday.
The new ballpark, to be built next to Shea Stadium in Flushing, Queens, is to open for the 2009 season.

It'll have a grass playing field and seat about 45,000 people. Its facade will remind some fans of Ebbets Field, the Brooklyn Dodgers' home before the team left for Los Angeles after the 1957 season.

The push to raise Citigroup's profile is part of Chief Executive Officer Charles Prince's plan to boost flagging revenue growth.

Citigroup was the lead underwriter when the Mets sold $613million in bonds earlier this year to help finance stadium construction.
The CitiField moniker is likely to disappoint fans who tossed out other ideas on the unofficial Megsblog.com, including that the stadium be named after legendary ballplayer Jackie Robinson or at least MetLife.
Kathy Shea Anfuso, daughter of the late William Shea, the lawyer who played a key role in bringing National League ball back to New York after the Giants and Dodgers skipped out, had told the Daily News she was sorry to see her dad's name retired.
But she said she understood and trusted Mets management to "do the right thing." With Bloomberg News Service and Paul D. Colford

Originally published on November 11, 2006

Posted by: min0 lee

I really never did like the trend of major companies pasting their name on sports teams.

A plumbing company name would have been better. .......American Standard Field at Flushing....or the Rotorrooters park...

Posted by: min0 lee

Posted by: goandykid

Yea I hate going to "Fed-Ex Field" to watch games. RFK was a great name for a great stadium.

Posted by: min0 lee

Quote:

Originally Posted by goandykid

Yea I hate going to "Fed-Ex Field" to watch games. RFK was a great name for a great stadium.

I thought so too, seeing the name of new francises named after a Coporate company didn't bother as much as seeing the Redskins stadium named FedEx....there was so much history.

The Yankees will not change their name, it will remain Yankee Stadium.

Posted by: goandykid

Quote:

Originally Posted by min0 lee

Is next year the last year for the current Yankee Stadium? I'll probly drive up jsut to experience it once before it goes down. Any cheap ticket hook-ups Min0, Funk?

Posted by: min0 lee

I think '08 will be the last year, cheap seats?!?
Hah! I wish.

Posted by: goandykid

Quote:

Originally Posted by min0 lee

I think '08 will be the last year, cheap seats?!?
Hah! I wish.

cheap*er hookups?