Dept. of Tradition & Fan Experience Suggestion Box

[Frayed Knot]

Which begs the question of why the owners seem to want to keep the team for whom the stadium exists in the first place a secret.
Or is it more a case where the Citi money came with the condition of having nothing else on the building except their brand?

[Zvon]

Frayed Knot wrote: Which begs the question of why the owners seem to want to keep the team for whom the stadium exists in the first place a secret. Or is it more a case where the Citi money came with the condition of having nothing else on the building except their brand?

It's a rich man imposing his desires. He's obviously more concerned with his own sense of nostogia as opposed to what a Met fan considers nostalgic.

[Fman99]

Lots of good stuff being bandied about here.

[Ceetar]

Frayed Knot wrote: Which begs the question of why the owners seem to want to keep the team for whom the stadium exists in the first place a secret. Or is it more a case where the Citi money came with the condition of having nothing else on the building except their brand?

Tell me again where on Shea it said Mets?

One of the standard shots of Citi Field from the front features the Home Run Apple with the Mets logo.

If you're in the back, or on Northern BLVD, you can see the "Home of the Mets" scoreboard.

The outdoor areas are really nice, blue and orange flowers, the apple, the player banners on the poles along the main walkways.

Oh, and the banners of the players in the LF corner. Also visible from the outside.

[Theoldmole]

I don't know about statues...sports statues tend to be awful. I think I'd prefer Cooperstown-style plaques.

[Guest d'Kong76]

dinosaur jesus wrote: Worked for Nebuchadnezzar.

I have to ask ... how do you know this?

[Zvon]

Ceetar wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: Which begs the question of why the owners seem to want to keep the team for whom the stadium exists in the first place a secret. Or is it more a case where the Citi money came with the condition of having nothing else on the building except their brand? Tell me again where on Shea it said Mets? One of the standard shots of Citi Field from the front features the Home Run Apple with the Mets logo. If you're in the back, or on Northern BLVD, you can see the "Home of the Mets" scoreboard. The outdoor areas are really nice, blue and orange flowers, the apple, the player banners on the poles along the main walkways. Oh, and the banners of the players in the LF corner. Also visible from the outside.

Well, in a very real sense the blue and orange panels did say Mets, as the neon players on blue did afterwards. Citi says Ebbets/Dodgers, can't deny this.
All you say there are nice bright points. It's a brand new ball park. I would hope it has plenty of positive about it and it does. Unfortunately some unsound decisions make the negatives so glaring.

[batmagadanleadoff]

They built a 1990's stadium 20 years after 1990. A 1990's stadium modeled after a stadium that opened in 1913. The Mets are always late to the party. They incorporated black into their uniforms right about when that trend began to wane, and then clung to that hideous mistake for 13 or 14 seasons.

[dgwphotography]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: They built a 1990's stadium 20 years after 1990. A 1990's stadium modeled after a stadium that opened in 1913. The Mets are always late to the party. They incorporated black into their uniforms right about when that trend began to wane, and then clung to that hideous mistake for 13 or 14 seasons.

I blame the black on Charlie Samuels. I don't think it was a coincidence that they both disappeared at the same time...

[dinosaur jesus]

Worked for Nebuchadnezzar. I have to ask ... how do you know this?

You mean, how do I know this personally, or how does anyone know that Nebuchadnezzar built it? I know it because when I was a kid I read a book that speculated that Nebuchadnezzar's dragon, the one Daniel killed, was actually a kind of dinosaur that lingered into historic times, and that it's depicted on the Gate of Babylon. Fun stuff. And many years later I got to see the gate itself, or the reconstruction of it, using some of the original bricks, in Berlin. And we know Nebuchadnezzar built the gate because he left an inscription saying so:

I built this. Nebuchadnezzar

Until yesterday I never put it together that the Great Gate of Babylon was colored Mets blue and orange.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

I think the panels and coloring may work better on the bland exterior down the baselines rather than the area near the rotunda.

[Edgy MD]

Lest it be overlooked, let's end the cold war with the league office over the city agency hats immediately, and wear them in perpetuity on September 11. Or maybe from September 11 to September 21.

[Zvon]

Edgy MD wrote: Or maybe from September 11 to September 21.

That's a bit much. I think just on the 11th. So that way if I get a baseball card and the players wearing the hat, I know exactly what day that pic was taken on. I know, my reasons don't usually mesh with other adults, but there it is.
Also, more than one day will water it down. It really should be special.

[Guest themetfairy]

Related to the Mets Fan Club for Kids - Back when MK was small, there was a table at Shea where he could check in each game, show his membership lanyard, and receive a gift. Usually something small, like a pencil or a ruler, but at the end of a season he'd sometimes get leftover giveaway items. He enjoyed getting a little something special when he attended the games. The Mets should consider bringing this back as a way to get the Youth of Metsopotamia interested in the Youth of America.

[Guest themetfairy]

themetfairy wrote: dinosaur jesus wrote: Something like this? That's not bad. But what if the blue and orange glass panes were interspersed, along with some clear ones?

dj - those windows on the top have six large panels apiece. For each window, what if one had two orange panels and one blue, the next two blue panels and one orange, etc. It would keep the overall look more open and airy, but add a blue and orange accent to the windows. There are four smaller panels on the bottom of the top windows - they can remain clear, or maybe add a color accent to one of each four.

I'd love to see a Mets logo stained glass design on the middle window on the bottom. The other bottom windows can either remain clear or have a few colored accents - whatever you think works best.

The large flat windows on the sides of the building could also have the occasional blue or orange panel as an accent.

[dinosaur jesus]

themetfairy wrote: themetfairy wrote: dinosaur jesus wrote: Something like this? That's not bad. But what if the blue and orange glass panes were interspersed, along with some clear ones? dj - those windows on the top have six large panels apiece. For each window, what if one had two orange panels and one blue, the next two blue panels and one orange, etc. It would keep the overall look more open and airy, but add a blue and orange accent to the windows. There are four smaller panels on the bottom of the top windows - they can remain clear, or maybe add a color accent to one of each four. I'd love to see a Mets logo stained glass design on the middle window on the bottom. The other bottom windows can either remain clear or have a few colored accents - whatever you think works best. The large flat windows on the sides of the building could also have the occasional blue or orange panel as an accent.

Yeah, I see what you're getting at. That would be more subtle, and more fun, than my version. I won't be at a computer with Photoshop for a while. Z, do you want to take a crack at this?

[Zvon]

I can't commit to the when but I'll try messing with it. We are gonna have plenty of down time pretty soon and we can do stuff like this in the off season.
Yesterday I tried a mockup of a lighter colored brick. I did this in a few minutes using the magic wand and it's really an awful job (I wasn't even going to share it cuz it came out so bad), but it gives you an idea of how it would look.

That's a clown stadium bro!

I wonder if I did a tighter job if it would have looked better. It would suck if just a bad presentation like above would take the idea of another color for the brick off the board.

[Guest themetfairy]

Yeesh!

Yes - the off season is fine. Mess around when you've got the time.

[batmagadanleadoff]

You know that any truly good ideas posted on these threads will probably get stolen by the team up in the Bronx. An exhibit of Daily News front and back pages? Sure? Why not? And the Yankee version of that display could fill up an entire Jackie Robinson Rotunda that the Yankees don't have. A wall of Yankees Topps? You betcha. And their wall would cover the entire history of Topps.

[dgwphotography]

Get rid of "Takin' Care of Business" after a Mets win.

This team hasn't taken care of business in half of a decade - playing that song is an embarrassment, and I now hate that song...

[Edgy MD]

This comes from a favorite FaFiF column, but I'd ask them to embrace a more expansive/inclusive philosophy regarding the Mets Hall of Fame, one that would allow for the inclusion (or at least the consideration) of Jane Jarvis, Marty Noble, and/or Karl Ehrhardt.

[Guest themetfairy]

Edgy MD wrote: This comes from a favorite FaFiF column, but I'd ask them to embrace a more expansive/inclusive philosophy regarding the Mets Hall of Fame, one that would allow for the inclusion (or at least the consideration) of Jane Jarvis, Marty Noble, and/or Karl Ehrhardt.

If not induction, at least a display within the museum commemorating their place in team history.

And put Joan Payson's hat back on display. I miss that.

If the HOF museum doesn't have room enough to display this kind of item permanently, then the space needs to be expanded. I would actually be in favor of a free standing building near the stadium to house an expanded Mets HOF - perhaps in the plaza between the subway and the Shea apple. Or on the other side of the apple, where tents and displays had been set up for the All Star Game. Something that could open several hours before game time and give early arriving fans something to do while waiting for the ballpark gates to open.

[Edgy MD]

Sounds good, but I wonder what the admission on that second building would be.

[Guest themetfairy]

Edgy MD wrote: Sounds good, but I wonder what the admission on that second building would be.

Free with a ticket to that day's game or ballpark tour, and $5 all other times.

[Lefty Specialist]

Cut ticket prices in half. You'll make it up in concessions and parking.

Full up those seats behind home plate every game by selecting people from the upper deck to come down in the third inning.

Have GOOD giveaways, not crap. Everything's an ad for someone anyway, so the only cost incurred is extra personnel to reach into a box and hand it to people when they come in.

Have a contest for a fan age 12-18 to wear a uniform, take batting and fielding practice and sit in the dugout for a game. Yeah, I know it's technically against league rules, but work it out.

[HahnSolo]

Instead of doing it now, run the free kids ticket offer that they're doing in June/July/August instead. By September, it's cold, school has started, and a lot of fans have moved on from the Mets.

[Edgy MD]

themetfairy wrote: Edgy MD wrote: Sounds good, but I wonder what the admission on that second building would be. Free with a ticket to that day's game or ballpark tour, and $5 all other times.

As long as you're conceiving the building, you get to set the prices. I like it.

Lefty Specialist wrote: Have a contest for a fan age 12-18 to wear a uniform, take batting and fielding practice and sit in the dugout for a game. Yeah, I know it's technically against league rules, but work it out.

Keith Hernandez's head explodes.

[Lefty Specialist]

Edgy MD wrote: Lefty Specialist wrote: Have a contest for a fan age 12-18 to wear a uniform, take batting and fielding practice and sit in the dugout for a game. Yeah, I know it's technically against league rules, but work it out. Keith Hernandez's head explodes.

Only if it's a girl.

[Ceetar]

Lefty Specialist wrote: Cut ticket prices in half. You'll make it up in concessions and parking. Full up those seats behind home plate every game by selecting people from the upper deck to come down in the third inning. Have GOOD giveaways, not crap. Everything's an ad for someone anyway, so the only cost incurred is extra personnel to reach into a box and hand it to people when they come in. Have a contest for a fan age 12-18 to wear a uniform, take batting and fielding practice and sit in the dugout for a game. Yeah, I know it's technically against league rules, but work it out.

I'm positive they've run the numbers for these things, and have priced the tickets at close to the highest revenue price point. They have all sorts of algorithms for these things. Most of what's keeping people away is not the price.

Also, no one cares about the seats behind home plate. That's an empty gripe. Teams would even prefer those fans are back in the clubs ordering food and drink. I'm not sure why anyone cares what other fans are doing, but certainly few of these modern parks were built with the 'sit in your seat and don't move for 3 hours' attitude in mind.

Some of the giveaways are decent. bobbleheads, etc. I'm sure they can do more, but then again, is this enough to get people into a park? If they upgraded from a crappy gym back to a quality duffel, is it going to cover the costs (to the advertiser or team?)

They've done a lot with season ticket holders, at least comparatively, in recent years. giveaways and taking positions on the field and such. I'd like to see 'dugout seating' as a thing though, in an extra dugout a little further down the line that's simply a seating area. would be neat.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Ceetar wrote: Lefty Specialist wrote: Cut ticket prices in half. You'll make it up in concessions and parking. Full up those seats behind home plate every game by selecting people from the upper deck to come down in the third inning. Have GOOD giveaways, not crap. Everything's an ad for someone anyway, so the only cost incurred is extra personnel to reach into a box and hand it to people when they come in. Have a contest for a fan age 12-18 to wear a uniform, take batting and fielding practice and sit in the dugout for a game. Yeah, I know it's technically against league rules, but work it out. I'm positive they've run the numbers for these things, and have priced the tickets at close to the highest revenue price point. They have all sorts of algorithms for these things. Most of what's keeping people away is not the price.....

It might be. Isn't this your basic Supply and Demand Economics 101? I'd bet anything that if they sold field level seats for $4.00 say -- what they cost when I was a kid -- the price reduction alone would attract many customers.