On a cold Saturday, April 4, 2009, I went to my very first game at CitiField. Mark it in the books, my first ever game. I had been so excited to see the new stadium I didn't know what I was most excited for. Arriving at CitiField was a bit strange, walking towards the stadium there is such a void where Shea once stood. I think I was so familiar with seeing the big blue eyesore that I was half expecting it to still be there. My first thought was how CitiField didn't dominate the skyline like Shea once did.
I went to the game with Jack. He made a comment as we were approaching the stadium that was right on the mark. He said that he felt like it was Disney World as we were approaching the stadium. With a combination of the music, the clean grounds, flower beds, the jolly PA announcer on a loop welcoming you to CitiField, it all did feel like walking into the Magic Kingdom. I felt excited and like a kid again, I couldn't believe that this was actually where I will be coming to watch the Mets play for now on. The entrance to the Rotunda was absolutely jammed, so we decided to enter at the Left Field gate, but not before finding our brick. We went to the section and searched and searched. We thought we found it but realized that it was another from Wyckoff, NJ. Finally, we found it, snapped a picture as my mind wandered. I kept thinking, wow, one day my kids kids will be coming here and seeing this. It was a very strange feeling.
We got the the Left Field gate and the entrance is fantastic, a silhouette of Endy Chavez making "The Catch". Just above on the stadium are banners from the past years of Mets history. Even though it is an Ebbets field throwback, it absolutely is a Mets stadium.
Once we got off the first escalator and around the corner we had our first glimpse of the stadium. From the Left Field gate you wind up in the concourse with an open view to the field. I tell you, I am amazed with how beautiful this stadium is. We went up to our seats in the Promenade, section 427 first row, and we have a fantastic view of the field. The LED is not an issue from our section. I feel like the actual seats are higher taking the LED out of the view, seems like this was the solution. You feel as if you are sitting on top of the field, unlike Shea where you were set back. Our seats are definitely higher than the first row of the Mezzanine, I'd say about 20-30 feet higher. The view of the field is the same as before and from our seats we have a great view of both scoreboards and the out of town scoreboard. The outfield is HUGE! Unbelievable how big this park is, it is definitely a pitchers park. One thing I noticed was that the PA announcer is not loud at all, we could barely hear it. Also, we couldn't hear the music very well either. I hope they decide to turn up the volume a bit, this made Shea so much fun.
We watched Ollie walk three guys and a run home and decided to take a walk around the stadium. Let me say that every seat in this place is awesome, except for the ones obstructed by the stairs. The outfield seats are so cool, regardless of level or section. Center field concessions are fantastic and just walking around the park you get a sense for how amazing this place is. One of my thoughts was that since there is so much more to do at CitiField that even during a sold out game the stadium will be 3/4 full. Most people will be out and about checking out the stadium like we did. It will be interesting to see opening day and if people continue to walk around and not paying attention to the game.
Other interesting parts of the park: The apple, the Hells Gate bridge, The Sky Line above Shake Shack, the Rotunda, concession stands everywhere, bathrooms everywhere, the Pepsi Porch. This stadium is awesome. It will be a fun year of Mets baseball at CitiField.
Today was all about the stadium. Let's not forget that there was a game taking place. This game was OVER after 2/3 of an inning. Ollie let up a hit, walked three batters, made a throwing error and let up a Grand Slam. Unreal that we paid this guy $12 million per year.