Thread: New Mets Ballpark to Echo Ebbets Field

BY PAUL D. COLFORD
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Mets owner Fred Wilpon may finally get his Ebbets Field of dreams.
The design for the Mets' new $600 million stadium will evoke "the look and feel" of the beloved home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, according to a detailed general project plan obtained by the Daily News yesterday.

Previous efforts to replace Shea Stadium - in 1998, 2001 and last year - also called for Ebbets-like features, but those plans stalled.

The new proposal received a preliminary green light last month from the board of Empire State Development Corp., the lead agency in the approval process. It will be the subject of a public hearing in Flushing Town Hall on Feb. 27.

The design scraps the retractable roof in the model of a larger-capacity, multi-use version that Wilpon previously touted.

In the new proposal, a large "360 Rotunda," as it's described, will be "similar to that of Ebbets Field, at the main entrance behind home plate," and will serve "as a gathering point for pre- and post-game events."

The new ballpark will have 42,500 seats, compared with Shea's 56,000 - and those seats will be wider and deeper.

The stadium will also boast more shops and rest rooms

In left field, the plan says, "a glass-enclosed sit-down restaurant and lounge will be available for season ticket customers."

Another restaurant, in the upper level behind home plate, will be open to all spectators and fans, according to the plan, which was obtained from the development agency.

There will also be up to 60 private and party suites, as well as standing room for 1,600 people.

A portion of the upper deck would be covered by a roof canopy "to add to the feeling of intimacy ... and to provide an additional architectural statement."

The proposal calls for construction to begin just east of Shea Stadium this summer and be completed by Opening Day 2009, when the Mets' home since 1964 will be torn down to make way for surface parking.

Most of the cost will be financed by the Mets, with contributions from the city and state.

Wilpon, who grew up in Brooklyn and was on Lafayette High School's baseball team, has often recalled watching the Dodgers play at Ebbets Field. The park saw its last game in 1957.

The "design inspirations for the exterior look and feel of the new stadium, including the facade and its detailing, come from the historic Ebbets Field and Hell's Gate Bridge," the new plan says.

Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said yesterday the team won't comment on the new design until an upcoming news conference, when it will unveil an image.

Originally published on February 16, 2006

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/sto...p-332277c.html

Originally Posted by I Are Baboon

Well one nice thing about Shea is that you have no problem getting tickets to a game (unlike those asshole Red Sox).

I can understand that, that park is a shrine and an event in it self.
You always hear people say they when they go to Boston let's go to Fenway but that's not the case with Shea stadium which is located in Flushing, NY....named appropriately.