It’s true! It’s true! I jinxed the Mets! As Squawker Jon noted, his team’s seven-game winning streak – with ace Johan Santana on the mound, yet – was no match for a sassy Squawker in a Yankee A-Rod t-shirt. Oopsie!
You would think I would be pleased at this turn of events, and I was. But I’m also ticked off at something – how much Citi Field has gotten right that the new Yankee Stadium has gotten wrong. I was on the Baseball Honeymoon podcast last week talking about this subject, and I have more to add after my second visit to Kiti, err, Citi, Field (sadly, no cats interrupted the game by running onto the field):
* The food: It’s really no contest. Citi’s fare is so much better – and cheaper! Not only are there so many different types of food at CitiField, from Shake Shack to Subway to seafood, but unlike Yankee Stadium, they actually have a ton of variety of food in the upper deck. As Squawker Jon noted, we didn’t love everything – the shrimp po’boy would have better with more shrimp and less mustardy slaw. But give the Mets credit for trying – and the fried flounder sandwich was fantastic, as were those delicious tacos and specialty corn on the cob.
I understand the food is good at Yankee Stadium in the luxury suites and clubs; too bad that, with the exception of the $15 steak sandwich and the $9.75 sushi rolls, we plebes don’t get many tasty options. And even the basics aren’t done well; – it ticked me off at the last game I went to that the Yanks couldn’t even cook the hot dogs and Italian sausages decently. Sheesh.
* The adult beverages: In the beer department, the Mets have at least one specialty variety – Brooklyn Beer, Blue Point, etc. at pretty much every concession stand selling food. They also have a Beers of the World stand, with the biggest selection I’ve ever seen at a ballpark. And the prices are reasonable for a ballpark beer – $6.50 to $7.50, depending on the size of the beer. Compare and contrast with Yankee Stadium, where Bud et al will cost you $10, and something that tastes semi-decent costs $11.
* The seating: The $20 seat at Citi Field (which actually cost $14 on StubHub), had a much, much better view than the $50 terrace (cost me $25.50) and $60 main outfield (cost me $12) seats I had at the new Yankee Stadium. And even though the Mets tix were at the highest level, I didn’t feel like I was going to pass out after climbing the stairs, the way I did with all of Yankee Stadium’s endless ramps.
Granted, Citi Field isn’t perfect – the lack of Mets memorabilia is glaring – but they have a real ballpark in Queens. On the other hand, the Yanks have a real mess on their hands. How nobody seems to have lost their job over it is beyond me. The sad thing is that the new Yankee Stadium could be fixed, but nobody seems to have the will to do so.
Squawker reader Bob from Kiev reminded me the other day about Yankee COO Lonn Trost’s infamous quote about how the Yanks “tried to reflect a five-star hotel and put a ballfield in the middle.” That they have. Too bad, with all the Yankee front office’s champagne tastes, they forgot that most fans are on a beer budget!
What do you think of the two new stadiums? Leave us a comment!
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