Ahhhh. Nothing like the smell of a brand new stadium. While plenty has been written on everyone’s gripes with the new home to New York’s beloved Mets (well, and praising of the food), we haven’t seen too much from the eyes of a lady Met fan who’s focus is on practicality and the important things (i.e. positioning for maximum zooming capability on certain players). Given that the focus at Ladies… is bringing in the new, I figured I’d give our lovely readers a peek into one of the two new stadiums in the big apple.
The Jackie Robinson Rotunda
I won’t get too much in to the nitty gritty details, but any Mets fan can’t help but be giddy with excitement upon seeing their new stomping grounds for cheering their guys on in. (History lesson: Citi’s design was inspired by the original home to the Brooklyn Dodgers: Ebbets Field) Don’t get me wrong, Shea was great, but it wasn’t exactly the nicest stadium around. And while I know there are plenty of people who refuse to accept the new digs and will always think fondly of their dear Shea as the real home to the Mets, I for one am a big fan of the ratio of seats-per-food stand and bathroom ratio!
The diamond
While I’m sure most can agree that paying $17 for a lobster roll just because famed seafood chef Dave Pasternack crafted it, or waiting on yet another line at a brand new Shake Shack, one does have to admit that some good food and a nice cold $7 beer really does add to the whole ballpark experience. Of course all of the same old favorites like Nathan’s hot dogs, sausages, burgers, and pizza have all popped up throughout each level, but why get those when there is Blue Smoke barbeque and some deelish tacos from El Verano Taqueria? (They’re apparently amazing from what this vegetarian hears at least). Not into regular old fries? Box Frites offers up hot Belgian-style fries with a variety of dipping sauces (anyone tasted those yet?) And of course there are plenty of overpriced beers to choose from, including an unnecessarily large display of bottles in the center of the main food area. Who needs a Johnny Rockets and a Brother Jimmy’s when we’ve got all of this? Personally, I go for the new gourmet nachos with choose-your-own toppings – they’re bangin’!
The new scoreboard and screen
So there you have it. Good design, great food, and little to no lines for ladies at the loo. And not only are they listing calorie content on every single item at every single stand, even the moving vendors screaming HOT DOGS! COLD BEER HERE! in the day glo green shirts have three pins on now: ‘Hello my name is Mikey’, ‘We will ID you’ and ‘Cold beer $6.25, 110-150 calories’ (which may or may not be awesome). How much more can a girl ask for? I have already discussed in detail that while seating less than Shea, Citi does feel much more intimate and closed in despite how huge it is. And I suppose some of us aren’t happy about the amount of obstructed view seats, but when you sit where we did and you get to see Daniel Murphy’s amazing catch into a double play against the Nationals this past Saturday…
…and your seats allow such views as this…
…then I suppose you won’t find this particular lady complaining! And yes, Georgia, there is a big shiny red homerun apple again.
So have at it – are there any other ladies out there that have seen the new Citi Field? Any thoughts on the new Yankees Stadium and how it compares? Or should we all just say screw it, save our money, and pay the Brooklyn Cyclones a visit :)
Ladies... 
Nice pics, Buffalita!
For all the griping I’ve read on the new Yankee Stadium, I still CANNOT WAIT to check it out in person in September. Do calories even count when you’re on vacation?
I say calories don’t count at baseball games period.
Calories definitely don’t count. Even though they tell them to you on every board and pin and everywhere. I say it’s like the prices – you see them, but you’re at a game so you do what you gotta :P
I need to go back and get me some more of those tacos…and maybe a burger from Shake Shack.
I’m surprised you said so many nice things, because the reviews so far haven’t been great. I heard the sight lines aren’t the best and the visiting players so far have been real unhappy.
The sight lines aren’t perfect, but you get a better view of the game overall – you feel much closer to the action, but you might miss a play per game. However, pretty much everything else is better.
It looks very nice – I never made it to Shea but hopefully I’ll make it to Citi one day – my goal is to visit every ballpark. I had made it to quite a few but most of the ones I visited as a kid are gone!