A look at what's new with MLB's New York Mets and Citi Field for the 2019 season
As located in Queens, New York, Citi Field is best known as the home of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. Home to the Mets since 2009 -- it replaced Shea Stadium, where The Beatles notably opened their 1965 North American tour -- Citi Field hosted the MLB's 2013 All-Star Game.
Citi Field was built with the intention of being a state-of-the-art facility, which it continues to be in 2019. I had the pleasure of attending the Mets' "New for 2019 at Citi Field" event yesterday at which attendees were introduced to the stadium's new visible and interactive elements. This included a look at Citi Field's latest culinary offerings and its upcoming slate of promotional giveaways during the upcoming Mets season.
One of the main concepts highlighted at the "New for 2019" event was 2019 marking the 50th anniversary of the Mets' 1969 World Series Championship. In addition to a "1969 Weekend" coming up for the weekend of June 28th -- in which members of the '69 Championship team will be on-site at Citi Field -- Citi Field's on-site Mets Hall Of Fame & Museum has plenty of new artefacts on display. This includes Ron Swoboda's game-used glove from "the catch" in Game Four of the 1969 World Series.
With regards to giveaways, Citi Field will continue its "Free Shirt Fridays," wherein all attendees to Friday Mets games get a free limited-edition t-shirt; July 5th is reportedly the one Friday exception to the rule. "Super Saturdays" will also be happening, including the April 6th game against the Washington Nationals where 25,000 fans will get a Todd Frazier WWE Day Bobblehead. Beyond WWE, the Mets are working with other high-profile partners this season, including HBO for a Game Of Thrones-themed Bobblehead and the Disney team for a Star Wars-themed Obi-Wan Kenobi Bobblehead.
One of the hardest things to decide about when going to a Mets game at Citi Field is making choices about the available food and drinks. This season -- beyond already-established and popular vendors like Chef Josh Capon's Bash Burger, David Chang's Fuku, Danny Meyer's Shake Shack, Dave Pasternack's Catch Of The Day and Chef Michael White's Nicoletta -- Citi Field is introducing the pizza of Emmy Squared, the acclaimed dumplings of Destination Dumplings, the Spanish flare of Dulcinea, the sandwiches of Stuf'd, the burgers of both Sliders & Sinkers and Marty V's Burger, and what's become my favorite new offering, Pizza Cupcake. Meanwhile, the Blue Point Brewing Company is behind the new Blue Point Brewing Company Patio that is located above the K Board in the Left Field Corner.
As also discussed at "New for 2019," the Mets will be officially changing the name of 126th Street -- where Citi Field is located -- to honor 1969 World Series Champion pitcher Tom Seaver, who was recently diagnosed with dementia. The rumor is that the new address of Citi Field will be "41 Seaver Way," but this has not yet been announced to the public.
For the 2019 Mets schedule, promotional giveaways, food menus and all things Mets, please visit www.mlb.com/mets.