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Nov 13, 2006 7:30 pm US/Eastern
Mets Hold Groundbreaking Ceremony For New Stadium
Citi Field Set To Replace Shea By Start Of 2009 Season
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ―
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The Mets agreed to sponsorship by Citigroup, which includes the right to name their new stadium.
Gregg Geller
The New York Mets and leaders from around the state held a groundbreaking ceremony Monday to celebrate the 45,000-seat ballpark that will replace Shea Stadium at the start of the 2009 season.
"The 21st-century New York Mets deserve a home befitting an emerging baseball dynasty, and they will have that in this new field," state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said at a news conference.
He and other politicians, including the governor and mayor, later joined players from the team and donned hard hats and Mets jackets before digging dirt with shovels in front of a home plate.
The new $800 million stadium -- to be built next to the current stadium in Queens -- will be called Citi Field, part of a 20-year sponsorship deal between the Mets and banking giant Citigroup Inc. that is reportedly worth an average of $20 million annually. Mets owner Fred Wilpon declined to provide details on the financial arrangement.
The design of the new stadium is reminiscent of Ebbets Field, the storied home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The stadium will include the "Jackie Robinson Rotunda," which will pay tribute to the former Dodger who broke the color barrier in professional baseball. The rotunda will tell Robinson's story and include a statue of him.
"It is my hope that as individuals and groups walk through the rotunda that they will begin to be inspired," said Rachel Robinson, the widow of the baseball great. "I hope it will spread not just some joy but some critical thinking about our society."
"You look at these plans in this packet and you just get excited," Mets third baseman David Wright said.
Monday's event was largely ceremonial because construction on the new ballpark began about four months ago.
The new Mets stadium will be part of a complete transformation of the New York City ballpark landscape by Opening Day 2009.
The Yankees are building a $1 billion, 53,000-seat ballpark that is also scheduled to open in 2009, replacing the old Yankee Stadium that was built in 1923.
Shea Stadium was built in 1964. It was named for the attorney William A. Shea, who led the effort to bring National League baseball back to the city after the Dodgers and Giants left.
The stadium was the site of some of the most memorable moments in New York sports history, including the team's 1986 run to the World Series title and the 2000 series against the Yankees.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
