Football @ CitiField

[bmfc1]

In today's "Monday Morning Quarterback", Peter King writes that the Wilpon's are planning on owning a team in a new football league and that team will play at CitiField:

"The UFL is scheduled to kick off -- and I use "scheduled'' because one never knows what can happen with startup leagues -- a year from now, with a season that will last until Thanksgiving. Huyghue said there will be six teams: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Orlando, New York and Hartford. Yes, Mark Cuban will be one of the owners, as, apparently, will be the Wilpon group of New York.

The New York team, interestingly, will play at the new Citi Field, home of the Mets. (I can't wait to hear what the Mets think about their field being chewed up by football during a pennant race next September.)"

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/peter_king/08/10/ufl/index.html

[stevejrogers]

It is strange considering how insane Joan Payson and M. Donald Grant were about keeping Shea "pristine" for the Mets when the Jets played at Shea. They didn't want their precious little field getting ripped up!

I also doubt this will happen, but I guess if the Wilpons own both teams, they would figure a way to make it work.

[Gwreck]

The CitiField "Fast Facts" page on the Mets website has listed as the first item: "Baseball-only design."

[metirish]

I hate this idea , or rumor or whatever it is.

[Guest AG/DC]

One thing I recall about high school football was how much it hurt to be tackled on the part of the football field that doubles as the infield dirt. When a wideout was slammed down there by a defensive back during an actual game, there was usually an injury delay. It felt like being thrown onto asphalt covered wtih sandpaper.

I imagine the removeable surface would come into play when the New York Jackie Robinsons were at home.

[HahnSolo]

This isn't totally new: the XFL played games in Pac Bell, barely squeezing into there.

Kind of weak, though. I wonder what the configuration would be.

OE: now that I see there's a SF team in this league as well, I would bet they'd be playing at Pac Bell as well. I can't imagine the Niners would allow another team in their park during their season.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I see this as an argument for keeping Shea standing.

[Guest AG/DC]

Startup leagues should use startup-sized stadia.

You start too big, you become totally reliant on broadcast dollars. When the novelty wears off and, broadcast ratings shrink, and broadcast money disapppears, the leagues become unsustainable.

Start at Keyspan and sell the place out. If you get good ratings, move some games to Red Bull Park.

[Farmer Ted]

Shea was beat up enough after a freaking Billy Joel concert.

[Frayed Knot]

And alternate football leagues have such a great track record of success too!

[nymr83]

]Startup leagues should use startup-sized stadia.

true in general, but Citi Field is already being built and belongs to to the Wilpons who will own the new football team, so it isn't costing them anything extra to play at Citi (i keep typing "Shea" and having to delete it) beyond the costs of converting the field for games and they'd incur a similiar cost at Keyspan (though Keyspan does have the benefit of their season ending earlier so that football doesnt interfere with games)

[Guest AG/DC]

Citifield will belong to the City of New York.

[nymr83]

oh, i thought it would be the wilpons. do they own keyspan or is that also city property?

[bmfc1]

Today's NY Post says that SI was wrong:

The Mets shot down a report by SI.com yesterday that a franchise in the upstart United Football League could play at Citi Field next season and be owned by Fred Wilpon. "We took a meeting with them, but that's not going to happen," Mets VP David Howard said.