Citi Field seems to be a hot topic amongst people living in the Tri-State area these days. This now the third Citi Field critique in our Stadium 411 series.
This Citi Field critique is given by a lover of all animals, a man who has more Cardinal apparel than anyone I know, and a man who got attacked by an old lady at last night’s Met game—she was trying to get to her seat in the row above us and tripped and landed on him, scratching his neck—:Tom Spirakis.
Citi Field Critique
Yesterday I had the opportunity to catch my first game at Citi Field. Having lived in Queens my whole life, I saw professional baseball for the first time at Shea Stadium and countless times after that. However, last night was my first game at Citi Field and it was a dandy. Joel Pineiro pitched a two—hit, complete—game shutout as the Cardinals beat the Mets 3–0.
Pros
The design is beautiful, and I didn’t mind the Dodger stuff inside the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. People lining up to take their picture in front on the giant number 42 seemed a little odd to me and provoked memories of Mo Vaughn, but to each their own.
Getting from the subway to the stadium was much easier then it used to be. The food options are plentiful and the prices are about the norm. They had ample vegetarian options. I had an upper level Promenade seat, which provided decent sight lines.
Most importantly, this place is not Shea Stadium! Shea was a dump, anything would have been an improvement and Citi Field is a huge upgrade.
Cons
The more higher end concession stands are out behind center field for obvious spacing concerns, but the crowds and lines back there for some of these stands were unbelievable. I felt a little claustrophobic walking through the crowds prior to the game starting.
Unfortunately, once the game starts and you’re in your seat, the lines die down a little. But who wants to venture back there for a specialty snack when the old standards are all around the stadium?
This next “con” may be unique to my game experience; the talk between total strangers on the subway ride home.
In the third inning the rain came and boy did it rain. With two outs the bases loaded and a 2–2 count, the players were ordered off the field and the grounds crew sprang into action. Unfortunately, they had a little trouble with the tarp… It didn’t cover home plate.
You would thing if the stadium is the universe home plate is like the sun. You need it. However these guys could not get it covered. They had to completely remove the tarp, further soaking the rest of the infield so they can re-position the tarp to cover home.
After the 30 minute display of incompetence, the field was covered and of course the rain stopped. Off with the tarp, an extra 30 minutes were needed to try and get the field playable.
Overall Gameday Experience
Overall my game day experience was 7 out of 10. If there was a more reliable grounds crew, it could have been an 8. I’m sure this was a fluke and in the future the tarp will cover the whole field.
Overall I enjoyed myself.
If you would like to submit a critique of a stadium you have been to, please send it along to abernacchio77@hotmail.com.
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