Category Archives: New York Mets

My first trip to Citi Field was definitely a memorable one.  First, the game time temperature in New York on a late April evening was absolutely perfect.  Second, my father and I were able to “trade up” for higher priced tickets with a ticket broker by the name of “Big Al.”  We encountered Big Al in the marina parking lot adjacent to Citi Field, where he caught our attention with a phrase like “Anyone need tickets?”  My father, who has been in sales or sales management virtually all of his career, was quick to engage Big Al.

We originally had tickets in the promenade reserved level, Section 525, Row 6, which are seats in the upper tier along the left field line.  These tickets were marked as $11.00/ticket face value, so we asked Big Al if he had anything closer to the field for around $30.00.  The experienced negotiation skills of my father came into play as Big Al offered us two seats in Row 6 of Section 103, which Big Al claimed to be very close to the field along the 1st base line.  Big Al wanted $60.00 as a total for the two tickets in addition to the exchange for original tickets, but since it was nearing game time, my father offered $50.00.  Big Al responded, “All right, you are going to like these seats.  Give me 50.”  Done deal.

My initial fear was the possibility of Big Al selling counterfeit tickets, something which I have experienced before outside of Madison Square Garden when the New York Knicks were playing.  Dad and I carefully inspected the tickets before we proceeded to pay Big Al and they looked good to both of us.  However, we did not have a seat map of Citi Field with us, so there was no way of telling whether or not these seats were anywhere near first base.

As it turns out, our newly purchased tickets in Section 103 were all the way out in right field!  The view of the field from our seats can be seen in the photograph I took at the top of this blog post.  Big Al had lied to us!  Well, the good news was that the tickets were indeed legitimate and I was somewhat glad to just get into the stadium and look around the Mets’ brand new ballpark, which felt like a 100% improvement from the old Shea Stadium.

The concourses are much more spacious and comfortable to navigate, not to mention less putrid smelling.  There are actually sightlines of the game from the hallways and the outdoor “fan experience” area near the bullpen gate creates a feeling of fun for the whole family.

Lastly, the variety of food at Citi Field is quite amazing, which can put a hurt on your wallet.  It was the “Catch of the Day” stand that my father finally settled on, which added up to $39.00 for two fish sandwiches, french fries, and two beers, all of which was quite tasty, including my Blue Point microbrew from Long Island.

All in all, my father and I had a wonderful time at the new stadium.  John Maine pitched brilliantly for the Mets, holding the Florida Marlins batters to just one hit over six innings, with three walks and four strikeouts in the 6-1 New York victory.  Backup catcher, Omir Santos, hit his first major league home run, which came with the bases loaded, making him the first Met to hit a grand slam as his first major league home run since Jose Reyes in 2003.

I have just two complaints about the whole evening:

1) Big Al lied to us about the location of our seats (partially our fault for not having a seat map or being more knowledgeable about the different sections)

2) The field level seats in right field, which the Mets price between $30-$70, depending on the quality of the opponent, have an obstructed view of the main scoreboard in centerfield (as seen in the photograph above).  Now, the Mets were nice enough to have flat panel televisions installed near our seats to watch the video feed featured on the main scoreboard, but it was rather difficult to keep an eye on these screens, as they are located near the center of Sections 102 and 103, not near the front, where Rows 1-6 are located.

Other than those complaints, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Citi Field.  It is a beautiful new ballpark and the Mets did a great job with a design that factors in the average fan and the needs of regular paying customers like me.