Citi Field

[robardin]

Hey gang,

I'm currently planning a trip out to New York in July and am zeroing in on seeing the Mets and Phillies on July 19th. Based on my budget, it's looking like I'll be sitting in Promenade Infield, Box, or Reserved. How are those seats? Are they reasonably close to the field given they are upper deck seats? Also, I'm obviously prepared for a hot/humid New York summer day when I go. How are those seats during day games as far as direct sunlight? Does the sun move set quickly enough that the stadium creates shadows and what not? It sounds like a bit of a stupid question so I tried my best to describe what I'm getting at without sounding too obvious.

I'm very excited to finally see Citi Field. I lived in Western Connecticut until I was 9 and my old man took me to many games at Shea Stadium. We put in a commemorative brick in his honor 3 years ago so seeing that will be especially rewarding.

All help is appreciated. Thanks guys.

In general, for a day game (with a typical 1:10pm start), if you want to sit in the shade in the upper deck, stay on the 3B side. The reserved seats will be in the shade most of the game, but the box seats in the Promenade Level between the 3B foul pole and home plate will be in the sun to start the game then gradually get shaded (with the shade for the first few rows moving towards home plate). That said, July 19th is a Friday night game with a 7:10pm scheduled start, so you can sit anywhere really, even seats with direct sun on them will only get baked for the first hour at most of the game (sunset is officially around 8:20pm, but it will be below the horizon line of the ballpark seats by ~8pm).

Heads up: there's a post-game concert that Friday by Nas, the rapper from Queens, for which you'll be able to move down to any open seats on the field level.

There are a lot of bricks out in front of Citi Field, when you bought it you should have gotten a map of where it is located in front of the ballpark to help you to locate it. Hopefully you haven't lost it

[Gary Dunaier]

There are a lot of bricks out in front of Citi Field, when you bought it you should have gotten a map of where it is located in front of the ballpark to help you to locate it. Hopefully you haven't lost it

But even if you did lose your map ("you" being OBomb), the Mets have a Fanwalk Brick Locator on their website.

Citi Field Fanwalk Brick Locator

Depending on the size of your monitor, after you click "Find My Brick" you might need to scroll up to see the information you need. Also, it only gives results for the first two series of bricks (the original 2009 and the 2010 "Amazing Moments" sections). I also have a brick in one of the 2012 "50th Anniversary" sections but that one was not located.

In addition, the map shown indicates a newly designated "All-Star Game 2013" section which appears to me to be the two outermost sections of what are (were?) the "50th Anniversary" sections.



For those keeping count, my bricks are in 2009 section 6, "Amazin' Moments" section 5, and "50th Anniversary" section 8. They're easy to find because they just have my name on them. (For personal reasons, I'm not going to pay $200 a pop to proclaim myself the #1 Mets fan or declare my love for the Mets. My name on the brick is good enough for me.)

[OBomb]

Thanks guys, all of that information is appreciated and will be helpful. I'll try getting Promenade seats down the third base line based on your advice. And thanks for that map Gary. We had the brick installed in 2010 and it was placed in the Mike Piazza 9/11 home run section which, I believe, is section 11.

[drdg]

you can now take a



to



but not to Wrigley field (lol)


also not sure if can take money out from a


ATM at wrigley

[sheagoodbye1010]

I just saw on The Seton Hall Athletic's website that their baseball team will face Michigan at Citi Field on the 14th. While it's only opened to family of players, does anyone know if they're going to have special dimensions for the game?
[URL="http://www.shupirates.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=12600&ATCLID=207607363"]

Michigan (which according to the Mets Media Guide is Fred Wilpon's alma mater) was scheduled to play Yale on March 26th at Citi Field. But citing concerns about a possible snow storm cancelled the game.

College Ballparks have generally the same dimensions as Big League Ballparks. Therefore, I don't think any "special dimensions" are needed.

[Mongoose]

you can now take a



to



but not to Wrigley field (lol)


also not sure if can take money out from a


ATM at wrigley

Yes, they're everywhere.

[vertigone]

Couple pics from Friday night, but first -

A big CAVEAT for amateur photogs: For the first time ever at Citi Field, I was (temporarily) flagged with my zoom lens. The rule is loosely defined as having no "professional" photographic equipment, which my Canon 40D with Sigma 70/200 zoom is truly not (photos of exact setup below). With the lens separate in my small Mets bag with the attached lens hood (and a regular small lens on my camera), the lens by itself (shown bottom left) was taken out at both the Rotunda and Left Field gates and deemed too large to bring in. An actual security person (in the beige shirts) told me at the LF gate that the rules had just changed. I told them I had brought it in in April, and of course in every year that Citi Field has been in existence! He would have none of it.

Undaunted, after being rejected twice, I removed the lens hood (the front part to reduce glare) and attached the zoom to my camera to make it look less "ominous" (bottom right), and went to the Bullpen Gate, where I was ushered right in without incident, beige shirts and all. So, I have no idea whether there's a rule change or not, because if there is, not everyone at Citi knows about it, lol, and my advice is to remove those Darth Vader-ish looking lens hoods, because they seem to put a scare into our friendly neighborhood Citi Field security personnel!

Wow, same thing happened to me last week.

I've shot between 15-20 games every year since 2008. I have never had a problem getting my camera in (Canon 50D/100-400mm lens) until last week. The guy told me that the rules have changed since the Boston bombing. Wtf??!! I told him if they can't tell the difference between a camera and a bomb, then maybe they should hire more qualified security staff. Like you, I went around to another gate and got in.

If this "policy" is going to be enforced going forward, I'll be sending a letter to the Mets. Year after year they continue to put a lousy product on the field, attendance keeps dropping, and yet they still find new ways to bust balls (they can't hit them that's for sure).

So instead of going to 15-20 games a year, I'll be down to 2-3. They're moving in the wrong direction.

Btw, nice shots Alpine!

[vertigone]

Truely amazing to me that at Citifield,with empty sections everywhere, the Met organization hassles fans who PAY to come and watch this triple A team and have the gall to break their chops because the cameras are too professional. Maybe if the team and front office were half as professional as the camera equipment we could finally get a parade in Manhattan.. This team finds ways to make it very difficult to support them..I was stopped last year for bringing in a Gatorade because it was 32oz. They acted like they caught public enemy number 1..

Perfectly said.

[Paul W]

...I don't think any "special dimensions" are needed.

the composite bats will make up for any physical limitations.

[Paul W]

...Met organization hassles fans who PAY to come and watch this triple A team and have the gall to break their chops because the cameras are too professional...This team finds ways to make it very difficult to support them..I was stopped last year for bringing in a Gatorade because it was 32oz. They acted like they caught public enemy number 1..

they're just chatching up to the bronx folks who have been enforcing the "pro" pix mlb rule for years.
mlb and the photo agencies gotta eat (well) too, right?

[Kingman 26]

they're just chatching up to the bronx folks who have been enforcing the "pro" pix mlb rule for years.
mlb and the photo agencies gotta eat (well) too, right?

Wrong is wrong. The Mets never cease to amaze me at the stupidity of the battles they fight with the PAYING fans. The few that they have. This years team is such a laughing stock. And the prices that people pay is shocking...

[Paul W]

Wrong is wrong. The Mets never cease to amaze me at the stupidity of the battles they fight with the PAYING fans. The few that they have. This years team is such a laughing stock. And the prices that people pay is shocking...

photo stuff has little to do with r & w, has to do with $$$'s.
about the battles, laughing stock and tix prices - you're dead on.
welcome to modern-day mlb with the fam-a-lee...

[vertigone]

they're just chatching up to the bronx folks who have been enforcing the "pro" pix mlb rule for years.
mlb and the photo agencies gotta eat (well) too, right?

I don't understand how this effects the photo agencies. I've never attempted to sell my shots and I'm not taking any food off of anyone's table. Is this really happening with amateur photographers? And besides, although my camera is pretty nice, it's nothing that the pros are using, and I'm not shooting from such a close vantage point either.

It's just a hobby that I (and many others) enjoy, and it gets me out to the park more than I would otherwise. Shouldn't the train-wreck, money starved Mets be happy about this instead of being overly cynical of people's motives? They act like they caught you trying to smuggle drugs across the border. My gut tells me that Security is just getting off on the power of saying "no". But maybe now I'm being too cynical.

Incidentally, I've never had a problem getting my camera into Yankee Stadium.

[Gary Dunaier]

I've never had a problem with my small equipment.



Uh... right... anyway... back in the days of film cameras, I knew - both from where I was sitting and the limitations of my camera - that I'd never be able to get close enough to get shots that were as good as the pros. Besides, if I wanted a good photograph of a player I could try to get his baseball card or just buy a photo somewhere. So, combined with my interest in stadiums, it was a natural for me to get into ballpark photography. These days, I have been concentrating more on the action on the field, trying to capture specific moments - Matt Harvey strikeouts, for example - but I still try to get more of the ballpark in there, to capture the fan reaction and such. Fortunately, you guys seem to like the results of what I do.

They may be able to stop you from bringing in your professional equipment. But they can't stop you from bringing in your professional talent.

[LI METS FAN]

I've never had a problem with my small equipment.



Uh... right... anyway... back in the days of film cameras, I knew - both from where I was sitting and the limitations of my camera - that I'd never be able to get close enough to get shots that were as good as the pros. Besides, if I wanted a good photograph of a player I could try to get his baseball card or just buy a photo somewhere. So, combined with my interest in stadiums, it was a natural for me to get into ballpark photography. These days, I have been concentrating more on the action on the field, trying to capture specific moments - Matt Harvey strikeouts, for example - but I still try to get more of the ballpark in there, to capture the fan reaction and such. Fortunately, you guys seem to like the results of what I do.

They may be able to stop you from bringing in your professional equipment. But they can't stop you from bringing in your professional talent.

The last time I went to the Dentist I told him my son was studying photography in college. The Dentist said "Oh photography, its all about the equipment". I replied, Yep, just like Dentistry.