On Sunday, March 29th Citi Field opened its doors to the public for the first time. St. John’s University faced off against the Georgetown Hoyas for an NCAA sanctioned game at the new ball park. As an attendee, I was blown away by Citi Field and the facilities it boasts. It was hard to accept that this 632 million dollar, state of the art stadium now belongs to the New York Mets.
Without further ado, what you all have been waiting for… the photo gallery! Keep clicking on the photos to enlarge.
I spoke too soon! It appears there may be a delay in the toilet flushing test at Citi Field, according to a C.F.B. (Citi Field Blog) source that wishes to remain anonymous. I am proud to say this is Citi Field Blog’s first EXCLUSIVE story and will not be found elsewhere!
Sometime late this Friday afternoon, a Long Island based electric supply house received a frantic order request for wall light switches and bathroom rated (Ground Fault Interruption) electrical outlets. The order was requested for same-day delivery but this was not possible and our source indicates the order will be rushed to the stadium early Saturday morning to meet the waiting electrical contractors. We were able to secure an exclusive copy of the purchase order behind this nuttyfarce, company identifying information has been blacked out to protect our sources. Notice the frantic sounding “VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT!!!” comment.
Purchase order behind Citi Field bathroom mayhem! (Click to Enlarge)
It seems that without the wall switches and electrical outlets the bathrooms do not meet New York City electrical/building codes and the non-affiliated “toilet tester” volunteers will not be allowed into the bathrooms. Stay tuned for more from the “Citi Field Bathroom Chronicles!”
As Citi Field draws closer to its first public event contractors are scrambling to put the final touches on the stadium. The usual cleanup, painting and decorating is taking place, but there are other issues to be tackled… slightly dirtier issues if I may be so forward.
Citi Field Plumbing Engineers
Planning on computers and calculators is one thing, but before inviting in some 35,000 guests, contractors want to make sure Citi Field can handle the “load,” literally. What is every fans least favorite experience at a ball park? If you’re like me, it’s waiting in line for the bathroom, and what you may find waiting for you inside. If you share this view, I have some good news.
Citi Field will have 78 more toilets and roughly 12,000 less seats than Shea Stadium for a total of 646 waste receptacles. Shea Stadium had one toilet for every 82 fans while Citi Field will have one toilet for every 54 fans. Translation, shorter lines at the bathroom!
Rest assured, top fluids and plumbing engineers at Cardoza Plumbing Corp. have been busily calculating away with their slide ruler and computer models to ensure your excrements are not overflowing in left field to throw off Marlon Anderson’s game. Imagine making a diving “Sports Center worthy” catch across an overflowing cesspool… sorry for the visual! Just because the math and models check out does not necessarily mean the system will work flawlessly.
To ensure all 646 toilets and accompanying plumbing can “handle the job,” Citi Field contractors arranged for 300 volunteers to simulate game day usage. Volunteers gained an all access behind the scenes pass to Citi Field’s fine restroom facilities and were busy running from toilet to toilet flushing away simultaneously. Citi Field received an overwhelming response from fans wanting to volunteer for the sanitation test, sadly many had to be turned away.
All reports point towards a successful test and another green light for Citi Field’s March 29th opening college series. When you find yourself standing in line for the bathroom at Citi Field remember to do us all a favor and flush away!
It is official! The opening day ticket drawing has taken place, winners and losers have been notified via email. I myself was rather disappointed to receive an email informing me I was not one of the lucky winners… tear. The email was a real tease with the subject being “2009 Opening Day Ticket Opportunity”, thanks for getting my hopes up mets.com.
The email did remind me that the the 15 Game Ticket Plans are still available but they are definitely going fast! Weekday and Saturday packages are aready sold out. The 15 game plans are a decent grab for fans with a limited budget. The interactive seating guide is now available as well. Just click on a section for detailed information and a photo of the view. For those hardcore fans, full season ticket plans are also on sale with promenade reserved seating starting at $1,550 per seat.
Although no luck here we look forward to hearing if you fared better in the opening day ticket drawing and would like to feature you in the blog.
Email sent from Mets.com