The Mets HOF is Coming! The Mets HOF is coming!

[batmagadanleadoff]

NY Mets Hall of Fame under construction at Citi Field
By Brian Costa/The Star-Ledger
January 13, 2010, 4:53PM


NEW YORK -- Construction of the new Mets' Hall of Fame is underway at Citi Field, and the team expects the museum to be ready by Opening Day.

The Hall is being built to the right of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda in the area previously occupied by the team store. There will still be a team store on the first-base side, but the area is being expanded to make room for the museum, Mets vice president for business operations Dave Howard said.

The construction of the Hall of Fame is one of two significant offseason renovations underway at the ballpark. The bullpens are also being rebuilt. And the Mets have added some smaller touches, like painting the stairwells orange and blue, to -- as the Mets put it -- expand the club's presence at the club's ballpark.

Look for more details about the Hall of Fame to be announced between now and Opening Day, including the induction to the Mets Hall of fame of honorary Met Jackie Robinson.

http://www.nj.com/mets/index.ssf/2010/01/ny_mets_hall_of_fame_under_con.html

[Guest Edgy DC]

Ooh, you just had to have fabricated the last bit.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

It's breathtaking.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Ooh, you just had to have fabricated the last bit.[/quote:30eyml58]
Did you see Jackie Robinson in our Hall?
Sandy Koufax's a comin' and that ain't all.
Yeah boy, yes, yes.
Jackie's in our Hall.

[metirish]

" I'm donning my hard hat once again to do all I can for our fans"

[nymr83]

" I'm donning my hard hat once again to do all I can for our fans"

[bmfc1]

"Hey Jeff, will the fans be paying for this new addition through increased ticket or concession prices?"[/quote:3c6qu7ae]

Jeff W.: "Someone's gotta make up for the revenue we lost when we closed the team store for the Hall of Fame."

[Benjamin Grimm]

So we griped when they didn't have a Hall of Fame, and now we gripe that they're spending money on building one.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Yeah, I know.

Apparently if a team loses 90 games, any criticism of them is rational.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

I like that they're building a Hall. I also liked that store when I was at the game in August. Are they going to have another store somewhere else, or just a series of smaller stores scattered about the stadium?

[Guest Edgy DC]

According to the report, yes.

[Guest themetfairy]

I like that they're building a Hall. I also liked that store when I was at the game in August. Are they going to have another store somewhere else, or just a series of smaller stores scattered about the stadium?[/quote:quo1ic01]

There's another large store one level up from the one they're converting. If you enter through the Rotunda and take the escalator up, it's on the right. It's not quite as large as the one on the ground level, but it's pretty large.

[Gwreck]

The point of putting the team store on the ground level was so it could be open year round (ie. access from outside the stadium). It's not clear to me whether that plan has been abandoned or not.

[Ceetar]

Thought I read that the Mets store will be right behind it, where previously there were storage rooms or something. Probably still can have an outside door.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

The point of putting the team store on the ground level was so it could be open year round (ie. access from outside the stadium). It's not clear to me whether that plan has been abandoned or not.[/quote:3pvf3kzv]


If they follow the Reds model -- heck, and most museums these days -- the end of the galleries will put you right into the gift shop on the way out. If they make the Hall of Fame open year-round, if they do a decent job with it, it could attract visitors and be a new revenue stream.

[batmagadanleadoff]

The Rotunda should be the Mets HOF. Not that I expect it to happen.

[G-Fafif]

This appears to be a positive development. It's so hard to tell, though, not having seen that many.

[nymr83]

The Rotunda should be the Mets HOF. Not that I expect it to happen.[/quote:1zd0s8gj]

good ideas aren't allowed at the Wilpons' Dodger Shrine.

[Farmer Ted]

Tour guide: "And this hunk of pleasure, is the 1986 World Series Trophy. It is adorned with orange spring training hats on each of the flags representing the other major league teams, for purchase at $24.99. To my left is the glove that Jesse Orosco threw into the air after the final out of the '86 series. It sits atop a fresh pile of Jason Bay #44 t-shirts, for purchase at $19.99."

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Is that any different from MoMA nudging you into its gift shop to get your Monet fridge magnet or the Museum of Natural History directing you to the stuffed dinosaurs?

If I'm taking a stadium tour and seeing the Hall of Fame, I want to go to the gift shop to get my David Wright pennant and half-price Carlos Beltran t-shirt.

[Farmer Ted]

My inference was that the HoF and the gift shop would become one and the same. You know, "clever" thinking to sell more goods.

[metirish]

The writing is on the wall if Beltran shirts are already getting flogged for half-price.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Tour guide: "And this hunk of pleasure, is the 1986 World Series Trophy. It is adorned with orange spring training hats on each of the flags representing the other major league teams, for purchase at $24.99. To my left is the glove that Jesse Orosco threw into the air after the final out of the '86 series. It sits atop a fresh pile of Jason Bay #44 t-shirts, for purchase at $19.99."[/quote:1g8nh2gk]

By exaggerating the point, you're unfairly harsh on the Mets. They'll probably sell Orosco's glove and the WS Trophy for the right price.

[Guest OlerudOwned]

And they'll give you Luis Castillo for free, if you swallow the contract.