Can the Mets have their own Wrigleyville?

August

Greetings from Wrigleyville, which for all practical purposes, is a Chicago suburb.

Walk around the park four hours before gametime and you can see what the fuss is about. The bars and restaurants are full, the sidewalks are packed. And, take your pick of street vendors.

The only other atmosphere like it is Fenway Park. Yankee Stadium, sort of, but it pales by comparison. Of the new parks, Camden Yards in Baltimore, tries to replicate the experience.

I hope CitiField can have this. That’s supposedly the purpose of getting rid of the chop shops. I wonder if it will because there’s no walk-up or walk-by traffic around the stadium. Who hops on the No. 7 train to hang around the park if they aren’t going to the game?

Here, Boston and Baltimore are inside the city, close to neighborhoods and businesses, so the local pubs and stuff can make it during the winter.

We’ll see if the Mets can have the same.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 4th, 2007 at 1:41 pm by John Delcos.
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6 Responses to “Can the Mets have their own Wrigleyville?”

Mel August 4th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
John: I think Pittsburgh comes close to that atmosphere as well. A walk over the Roberto Clemente bridge brings you right into the moddle of the city. And they’ve built some nice bars around PNC Park. I don’t see it happenng at Shea either.
gentry August 4th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
As I understand it, they are going to try to redevelop the whole landscape, with new housing developments and new shopping centers all around. So while Citi-field may not be Wrigleyville right away, give it a few years and I bet it’s very similar. Depends on how much they actually develop the surrounding areas and how much of a draw it is for people to live there. You always need to have a local residential presence in order to make that kind of community come alive.
Benny Ayala August 4th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
They’re going to have to do a lot to top the atmosphere at the Stadium Motor Lodge.
Dan Gurney August 4th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
No working class people allowed near Citi Field or to transfer their partial season ticket packages from Shea (according to Wally Matthews in “Newsday”). The Wilpons want the yuppies. With $$$. If Doris from Rego Park were still alive, she be forced to stay at home. Wilpon, Steinbrenner, Mara, Dolan, Johnson: corporate welfare queens.
dave August 4th, 2007 at 11:07 pm
Perhaps chinatown will expand west. Then you can have moo shoo pork before the game. that would be fun.
JB August 5th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
Amen, we were in Chicago for Friday and Saturday and I have to say it was among the best baseball experiences I’ve ever had. What a great place to hang out before, during, and after the games. It’s a party atmosphere all around. I would love to see a “Metsville” someday.

Some memories from our two days there…
http://picasaweb.google.com/bicyclemom/ChicagoWrigleyField

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