Shea Stadium Commemorative Logo

[jkrdevil]

Well, how does that explain this picture.

As a matter of fact, why the hell did the Jets have to move from there in 1983!? Shea was huge!

Giants stadium is much bigger. Shea only hold about 50,000 where Giants Stadium hold about 76,000.

[bcdevil]

I've said it for years...Shea Stadium was one of the worst places to see a game in all of baseball. I've been there many many times and hated every minute of it.

Funny, I have the opposite reaction to it. It's a dump, in the middle of nowhere, everything except the seating area is substandard and threadbare, the "extras" are laughable at best (what's with the papier-mâché apple coming out of the top hat? A thousand theatres in this city could create a better set), but there are very few better places to watch a ballgame. Not a bad seat in the house - even the nosebleeds have a great view of the field.

I won't miss it, but I hope CitiField has the same sightlines.

Agreed. From the standpoint of actually watching the game, Shea is among the league's best.

[njmeadowlanders]

I'm going to miss this place so much...it's like the house you grew up in just gets knocked down suddenly one day, only you know its coming...

I've actually been getting to games a couple of hours early the past couple years to get as many different photos of the place so I'll always have them...

For comparison's sake, before the blue and one taken last June by yours truly:

And it's the little things I'll miss....it's not having that seat down the LF line on the Loge anymore, it's not having those giant ramps to run down to the parking lot or train after the final out, it's not Shea anymore....It's just going to seem so so so odd to see the Mets playing somewhere other than Shea...it's the only baseball home I've ever had, and it'll be truly missed.

Sure, Citifield will have 524747357 state of the art whatevers, but it still won't be Shea...it won't feel like home either...

[Gothamite]

Give it a little time. You'll get used to the new home.

I can sympathize, though. I'd gladly trade the glossy and barren Miller Park for old decaying County Stadium any day.

[Brian E]

I've said it for years...Shea Stadium was one of the worst places to see a game in all of baseball. I've been there many many times and hated every minute of it.

Funny, I have the opposite reaction to it. It's a dump, in the middle of nowhere, everything except the seating area is substandard and threadbare, the "extras" are laughable at best (what's with the papier-mâché apple coming out of the top hat? A thousand theatres in this city could create a better set), but there are very few better places to watch a ballgame. Not a bad seat in the house - even the nosebleeds have a great view of the field.

I won't miss it, but I hope CitiField has the same sightlines.

Agreed. From the standpoint of actually watching the game, Shea is among the league's best.

I dunno, guys. But I've been going to Shea for 20 years now, and while the memories I have in the stadium with my father are amazing, I can say the stadium is not the best place to see a game. Let's talk about the fact that most of the seats don't face home plate (like along the right and left field lines), the gap in the middle of the boxes and the reserve sections that can make you insane with all the vendors and people walking by when a pitch is being thrown and I won't even get into the concession catastrophies. Don't get me wrong, Shea Stadium will always have a special place in my heart, but on Opening Day 2009, I will bend down and kiss the ground that Citi Field lays on.

[powersurge]

I've said it for years...Shea Stadium was one of the worst places to see a game in all of baseball. I've been there many many times and hated every minute of it.

I'll be nothing short of giddy when I get a chance to sit down and watch a game at Citi Park.

Saying the word 'giddy' with reference to New York sports is liable to get your ass kicked at Citi Park, sonny.

HA!

You talkin' ta me?

[powersurge]

I dunno, guys. But I've been going to Shea for 20 years now, and while the memories I have in the stadium with my father are amazing, I can say the stadium is not the best place to see a game. Let's talk about the fact that most of the seats don't face home plate (like along the right and left field lines), the gap in the middle of the boxes and the reserve sections that can make you insane with all the vendors and people walking by when a pitch is being thrown and I won't even get into the concession catastrophies. Don't get me wrong, Shea Stadium will always have a special place in my heart, but on Opening Day 2009, I will bend down and kiss the ground that Citi Field lays on.

I couldn't have said it better.

And if anyone thinks that all sight lines are prefect in that park, try sitting in the upper deck in right field about 15 rows up just behind the foul pole. You can barely see homeplate, and when a right fielder goes back to catch a marginally deep fly ball he disappears under your feet.

If people think that Shea is/was so great then I guess they thought highly of places like Cinergy Field, Three Rivers, or the Vet. I'm pretty sure the fans in the homes of those parks don't regret having to go to the respective new ballparks.

I can't wait for 2009.....giddy or not....I'll be smilin'

[njmeadowlanders]

Give it a little time. You'll get used to the new home.

I can sympathize, though. I'd gladly trade the glossy and barren Miller Park for old decaying County Stadium any day.

I know, I know...I'll eventually get over it.

I wonder what's going to happen when Fenway and Wrigley eventually have to go---they won't last forever...and I thought Shea going is bad...

[powersurge]

I wonder what's going to happen when Fenway and Wrigley eventually have to go---they won't last forever...and I thought Shea going is bad...

Well, seeing that Fenway and Wrigley are classic ballparks with very distinctive features, I'm pretty sure that there will be a conscious effort to replicate them in some way. Shea is and will always be associated with the cookie cutter style ballparks that dominated the 70's and 80's. I think it wouldn't be a fair comparison in this case. I don't think many baseball fans outside of New York will remember Shea as fondly as they would for Fenway or Wrigley.

[njmeadowlanders]

And just for the hell of it, I found these somewhere a couple of weeks ago, figured I'd post 'em...

[njmeadowlanders]

I wonder what's going to happen when Fenway and Wrigley eventually have to go---they won't last forever...and I thought Shea going is bad...

Well, seeing that Fenway and Wrigley are classic ballparks with very distinctive features, I'm pretty sure that there will be a conscious effort to replicate them in some way. Shea is and will always be associated with the cookie cutter style ballparks that dominated the 70's and 80's. I think it wouldn't be a fair comparison in this case. I don't think many baseball fans outside of New York will remember Shea as fondly as they would for Fenway or Wrigley.

Yeah that was my point....Shea is no Wrigley or Fenway or even Tiger/Dodger stadium for that matter...so I wonder what it'd feel like to be in that situation...

Yankee stadium (well, to me at least) is different because after it reopened in 1976 it just wasn't nearly the same...well, that and the fact that I don't buy into the "mystique and aura" propaganda we get shoved down our throats...

[grmuckrakers]

Sit in the upper deck at Shea, then try the upper deck at U.S. Cellular in Chicago. Then you'll see why Shea is so much better.

I'm not saying it's perfect. nor am I saying it's not time for a new yard. But newer isn't always better. I've been to a bunch of the new ones. Comerica Park in Detroit is terrible. PNC in Pittsburgh is wonderful.

Unlike with Shea -- which was the first of its breed -- the Mets this time have the advantage of being at the end of the trend and can look at the mistakes and successes of the other new parks when they designed Citi Field.

[cmm]

Love the pics, njmeadowlanders.

The thing I'll miss most about Shea is the capacity. The new place will have 10,000 less seats--and I'm sure it will be the cheap seats that will be gone.

[powersurge]

I wonder what's going to happen when Fenway and Wrigley eventually have to go---they won't last forever...and I thought Shea going is bad...

Well, seeing that Fenway and Wrigley are classic ballparks with very distinctive features, I'm pretty sure that there will be a conscious effort to replicate them in some way. Shea is and will always be associated with the cookie cutter style ballparks that dominated the 70's and 80's. I think it wouldn't be a fair comparison in this case. I don't think many baseball fans outside of New York will remember Shea as fondly as they would for Fenway or Wrigley.

Yeah that was my point....Shea is no Wrigley or Fenway or even Tiger/Dodger stadium for that matter...so I wonder what it'd feel like to be in that situation...

Yankee stadium (well, to me at least) is different because after it reopened in 1976 it just wasn't nearly the same...well, that and the fact that I don't buy into the "mystique and aura" propaganda we get shoved down our throats...

Hate to say it....but I'd rather see a game at Shea over a game at Yankee Stadium ANYDAY. Take away the so called "mystique" of the current version of Yankee Stadium and its a complete dump with little to be desired. I'm sure a bunch of die hard Yankee fans will have some harsh words in opposition of my statement. If you look at the stadium, and try to be as unbiased as possible, it has no charm and no real character...at least nothing more than any other ballpark in baseball. I'm not trying to turn this into a Yankee Stadium bashing thread, but as much as I hate Shea....I hate Yankee Stadium much more.

I think Citi Field will be a billion times better than the new Yankee Stadium. Only time will tell if I'm right, though.

[Old School Fool]

That's pretty f'n huge.

[Skatman22]

I've said it for years...Shea Stadium was one of the worst places to see a game in all of baseball. I've been there many many times and hated every minute of it.

Funny, I have the opposite reaction to it. It's a dump, in the middle of nowhere, everything except the seating area is substandard and threadbare, the "extras" are laughable at best (what's with the papier-mâché apple coming out of the top hat? A thousand theatres in this city could create a better set), but there are very few better places to watch a ballgame. Not a bad seat in the house - even the nosebleeds have a great view of the field.

I won't miss it, but I hope CitiField has the same sightlines.

Living in NY, I can't echo these statements enough...Anywhere you sit is a good seat. Shea will surely be missed

[SPORTSDOCTOR]

Stadium a whole bunch, and yes, I am aware that only the rotunda will be like Ebbets Field - but still, why? Other than the owners fascination with his boyhood team...for crying out loud Wilpon, you own the Mets now, not the Dodgers, they were for sale just a few years ago, maybe you own the wrong team Coupon Fred.

The Mets should have never taken down the orange and blue girders that dotted the park up until the 1980 season, or, they should have updated them, I always though that the outside of the park looked too "naked" without those things on it. Tug McGraw used to love those blue & orange thingies, the Tugger used ot say of Shea" It looks like a big giant birthday cake with a slice cut out."

Shea gets too bad a rap in my opinion. If Yankee Stadium is a supposed cathedral, then Shea Stadium is a big giant carnival.

Yes, I will miss the old ballyard, that although built in the era (sort of) of those ugly parks in Pittsburgh, Cincy, Philly...Shea always had a diffferent feel than those awful structures, to me anyway, Shea always had a certain charm to it.

It may not have been a universal charm to outsiders or those who weren't Mets fans, but to us, it was our place, our home, and it had a charm that I guess only us Mets fans could identify.

[BadSeed84]

I dunno, guys. But I've been going to Shea for 20 years now, and while the memories I have in the stadium with my father are amazing, I can say the stadium is not the best place to see a game. Let's talk about the fact that most of the seats don't face home plate (like along the right and left field lines), the gap in the middle of the boxes and the reserve sections that can make you insane with all the vendors and people walking by when a pitch is being thrown and I won't even get into the concession catastrophies. Don't get me wrong, Shea Stadium will always have a special place in my heart, but on Opening Day 2009, I will bend down and kiss the ground that Citi Field lays on.

I couldn't have said it better.

And if anyone thinks that all sight lines are prefect in that park, try sitting in the upper deck in right field about 15 rows up just behind the foul pole. You can barely see homeplate, and when a right fielder goes back to catch a marginally deep fly ball he disappears under your feet.

If people think that Shea is/was so great then I guess they thought highly of places like Cinergy Field, Three Rivers, or the Vet. I'm pretty sure the fans in the homes of those parks don't regret having to go to the respective new ballparks.

I can't wait for 2009.....giddy or not....I'll be smilin'

Exactly, Citizens Bank Park is soooo much better than the vet, I doubt anyone here in philly really misses it to the point of still having it instead of citizens.

[jkrdevil]

I wonder what's going to happen when Fenway and Wrigley eventually have to go---they won't last forever...and I thought Shea going is bad...

Well, seeing that Fenway and Wrigley are classic ballparks with very distinctive features, I'm pretty sure that there will be a conscious effort to replicate them in some way. Shea is and will always be associated with the cookie cutter style ballparks that dominated the 70's and 80's. I think it wouldn't be a fair comparison in this case. I don't think many baseball fans outside of New York will remember Shea as fondly as they would for Fenway or Wrigley.

Yeah that was my point....Shea is no Wrigley or Fenway or even Tiger/Dodger stadium for that matter...so I wonder what it'd feel like to be in that situation...

Yankee stadium (well, to me at least) is different because after it reopened in 1976 it just wasn't nearly the same...well, that and the fact that I don't buy into the "mystique and aura" propaganda we get shoved down our throats...

Hate to say it....but I'd rather see a game at Shea over a game at Yankee Stadium ANYDAY. Take away the so called "mystique" of the current version of Yankee Stadium and its a complete dump with little to be desired. I'm sure a bunch of die hard Yankee fans will have some harsh words in opposition of my statement. If you look at the stadium, and try to be as unbiased as possible, it has no charm and no real character...at least nothing more than any other ballpark in baseball. I'm not trying to turn this into a Yankee Stadium bashing thread, but as much as I hate Shea....I hate Yankee Stadium much more.

I think Citi Field will be a billion times better than the new Yankee Stadium. Only time will tell if I'm right, though.

I may be a little biased but I like Yankee Stadium much more than Shea because of the atmosphere around the Stadium. Don't me wrong outside of Yankee Stadium isn't the atmosphere that Wrigley, Fenway, and Camden but at least there are a few bars and such to hang out before and after the game. Shea Stadium is just in the middle of a parking lot with nothing around. Plus I like that Yankee is an asymmetrical ballpark. Don't get wrong though both stadiums are run down.

[powersurge]

I wonder what's going to happen when Fenway and Wrigley eventually have to go---they won't last forever...and I thought Shea going is bad...

Well, seeing that Fenway and Wrigley are classic ballparks with very distinctive features, I'm pretty sure that there will be a conscious effort to replicate them in some way. Shea is and will always be associated with the cookie cutter style ballparks that dominated the 70's and 80's. I think it wouldn't be a fair comparison in this case. I don't think many baseball fans outside of New York will remember Shea as fondly as they would for Fenway or Wrigley.

Yeah that was my point....Shea is no Wrigley or Fenway or even Tiger/Dodger stadium for that matter...so I wonder what it'd feel like to be in that situation...

Yankee stadium (well, to me at least) is different because after it reopened in 1976 it just wasn't nearly the same...well, that and the fact that I don't buy into the "mystique and aura" propaganda we get shoved down our throats...

Hate to say it....but I'd rather see a game at Shea over a game at Yankee Stadium ANYDAY. Take away the so called "mystique" of the current version of Yankee Stadium and its a complete dump with little to be desired. I'm sure a bunch of die hard Yankee fans will have some harsh words in opposition of my statement. If you look at the stadium, and try to be as unbiased as possible, it has no charm and no real character...at least nothing more than any other ballpark in baseball. I'm not trying to turn this into a Yankee Stadium bashing thread, but as much as I hate Shea....I hate Yankee Stadium much more.

I think Citi Field will be a billion times better than the new Yankee Stadium. Only time will tell if I'm right, though.

I may be a little biased but I like Yankee Stadium much more than Shea because of the atmosphere around the Stadium. Don't me wrong outside of Yankee Stadium isn't the atmosphere that Wrigley, Fenway, and Camden but at least there are a few bars and such to hang out before and after the game. Shea Stadium is just in the middle of a parking lot with nothing around. Plus I like that Yankee is an asymmetrical ballpark. Don't get wrong though both stadiums are run down.

I have to be honest with you, the "atmosphere" around Yankee stadium is exactly the reason why I think its a dump. I'm not trying to bust on the Bronx...but it is...the Bronx. Not exactly the best place to go see a game and hang out afterwards....especially for a night game. I'd rather hang out in the middle of a BRIGHTLY lit parking lot where you can tail gate safely and maybe even toss a baseball or two around without hitting an underpass.

I agree with you on the whole 'asymmetrical ballpark' comment. I hate when parks are symmetrical. It used to drive me nuts to watch a game being played in the old cookie cutter fields. Yankee Stadium has got Shea beat on that.

That being said, BOTH parks need to go....and unfortunately for Yankee fans their NEW park isn't going to be much different from the previous one.