21
2009
CitiField Getting A Mets Makeover In 2010 – FINALLY!
An article by 
Changes are afoot at Citi Field and according to the team’s website, the Mets announced plans to expand the presence of club history at Citi Field next season. This was no doubt spurned on by the thousands of disappointed fans who felt the park paid more homage to the Dodgers than it did to the Mets.
Here are some of the key changes as described on Mets.com
RENAMING OF AREAS IN BALLPARK
The Mets will rename and visually theme Citi Field’s VIP entrances and outfield bridge after individuals who made an indelible mark on the club. First Base VIP will be named after Hodges to honor the manager who led the Mets to their first World Championship in 1969. Third Base VIP will honor Seaver, the Hall of Fame pitcher and Mets leader in wins, earned run average and strikeouts. Left Field VIP will be named after Stengel, the first manager in Mets history. The outfield bridge will be dedicated as Shea Bridge, honoring the legacy of the man who was the driving force to bring National League baseball back to New York after the departure of the Dodgers and Giants.
IMAGERY & TEAM COLORS
Next season, fans will be greeted by Mets colors as they approach Citi Field with full-color banners of Mets players on Mets Plaza in front of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. Mets logos will be added on entry points to the parking areas and on the light poles in the parking lots. The addition of team colors will continue inside the ballpark with staircases painted with blue and orange and more Mets logos throughout the ballpark. Flowers in the gardens at Mets Plaza in front of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda will also be blue and orange.
METS HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM & HALL OF FAME COMMITTEE
The centerpiece for Mets memorabilia will be the Mets Hall of Fame & Museum, located adjacent to the Jackie Robinson Rotunda and accessible from both inside and outside the ballpark. A re-formed Mets Hall of Fame Committee will evaluate potential inductees, and is comprised of a combination of media members with a long-standing connection to the club and Mets front office staff.
Media members on the committee are: Marty Noble, the Mets.com beat writer who is entering his fifth decade covering the team; Gary Cohen, the New York native and voice of the Mets on SNY who has been a Mets broadcaster for 21 years; and Howie Rose, a Queens native and radio voice of the Mets on WFAN who has covered the team for 21 years on radio and television.
“The re-formation of the Mets Hall of Fame Committee is central to our concerted efforts to better connect our present and future to our past,” said Wilpon. “It reinforces the organization’s and our fans’ shared desire to recognize our greatest players. With our 2010 opening of the Mets Hall of Fame & Museum at Citi Field, now was the time to bring this group together.”
I love the changes and it’s definitely a step in the right direction. Eventually, I would like to see statues erected of Stengel, Hodges and Seaver outside the main entry gates.
They have already begun painting the stairwells with the first coat of orange paint which some mistook for the finished product. But I spoke to one of the contractors who is working at Citi Field and he told me that the orange was just the base coat and that the stairwells will have life-size player images and logos after they finish applying the next coat of blue paint.
In addition to the Mets Hall of Fame, I would like to see some other players numbers retired other than Tom Seaver’s 41.
It’s about time we also retire the numbers 7 (Kranepool), 16 (Doctor K), 17 (Keith Hernandez and his mustache too), and of course 18 (Strawberry). Strawberry and Gooden should be retired on the same day and they should give away bobbleheads to the fans. The original bobbleheads I had are sadly gone and I want a couple of new ones to replace them.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
Went to my first Mets game, a Mayors Trophy game at Shea, in '73. We beat the Yankees 8-4 and I was hooked. I marched in two Banner Day parades, and before the Grand Slam single, there was the "Hendu Can Do" grand slam - I was there. I've collected Mets memorabilia all my life and started Mets Merized Online to feed my addiction.
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Finally, there will be Mets stuff instead of the Dodgers.
i think they should also paint the walls blue, and put grass behind the apple in CF instead of that ugly black tarp. and you forgot. they should also retire #31!
may i plea to bring the fences in and make CitiField a ‘pitchers park’ like Shea Stadium?! i know, fuhgeddaboudit…
Just when the McCourts didn’t think their offseason could get any worse Dodger Stadium Jr. gets demolished.
Retire 31 and bring in the fence in Right Center
retire 17 and 31, they were guys that changed the teams and made them either national league champs or world champs.
Agreed!
How about retiring Piazza’s number too? Also, let’s paint some of the outfield walls and seats orange and blue so when I’m forced to watch the game on TV, I don’t think the Mets are plaing in PNC park or Philadelphia.
yes, bring in the right/center fences…& watch Wright get 30 hrs again…the ownership is on a different frequency about the ballpark’s confines…weird…
Wow, you mean that ownership actually remembers that the franchise is the METS? This is great, but how come it took them this long to realize that Citi is the home field of the METS? What the hell have they been doing all along? You just got to wonder what planet they live on!
In any event it’s great to honor Hodges, Seaver, Stengel, and Bill Shea. Dressing up Citi to actually be the home of the Mets is a long time in coming. But they need to add more and the formation of the HOF committee is great as well, especially staffed with those 3 knowledgeable experts who actually have direct knowledge of Mets players. Piazza needs to be included in the list of honored players along with Gooden, Strawberry and Keith. I would have Krane in there in respect of all his years on the team. There are so many former Mets that come to mind, but it needs to be reserved for only the very highest echelon. It will be a tough decision as do you include Tug McGraw for example? This is a long time in coming.
At least ownership has come to realize that there is a fanbase that values Mets heritage and tradition. We have had very few true triumphs and the least we can do is recognize them.
to me they should care less about how the stadium looks and work on getting some worthwhile players in blue and orange… not the flowers
ONE MORE THING METS CAN DO TO HONOR ONE OF OUR OWN, IS THAT REALLY SHORT SECTION BY THE RIGHT FIELD FOUL POLE THAT HANGS OUT, WE SHOULD HANG SIGN CALL IT KINERS KORNER, KIND OF LIKE THE PENSKY POLE IN FENWAY. RALPH AND MURPH ARE METS FOR LIFE AND RALPH SHOULD BE HONORED WITH PLAYERS.
Scott P – i agree with you that they should honor bob murphy and ralph kiner. i was thinking of naming the radio and tv booths after them. I do like the kiner’s korner idea too.
i wouldn’t worry about these things though. the mets put together a commitee to handle these issues. i think that we will see a lot of improvement in the team and the stadium in the coming years!