The Mets' game-day experience will be improved this year
Written by Dalton Allison
On a recent Saturday morning, I went to Citi Field to participate in a Spartan Race that’s held at the stadium every year. The key word is participate, as I was lapped many times by the pros in attendance. I arrived via car that morning, one of the different ways I am able to get to Citi Field from my home in Jersey City. I can also bus to the 7 Train at Port Authority, which is an ideal option when it is a high-volume traffic day. This season however, there’s a new, very appealing option to get to Citi Field if you are not looking to drive, or take the Subway or LIRR. On Monday, the Mets rolled out that through Fevo, they will be offering an $8 per person ($22 for four people) shuttle to Citi Field from the Paramus Park Mall, Newport Mall in Jersey City, the Mall at Bay Plaza in the Bronx, the Roosevelt Field Mall in Uniondale, and the Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington Station.
This shuttle will depart three hours before first pitch, and leave the stadium 30 minutes after the conclusion of the game. There are several ways that this could upgrade the game-day experience for fans who live outside of New York City or close to an LIRR stop. For New Jersey residents, they will save the price of having to pay for parking and tolls in the city, which adds up quickly when driving in. It also saves the headache of timing your exit from the stadium, which usually leaves fans waiting in line to leave the parking lot- and that’s before hitting traffic. For $8, that is an absolute steal when considering the headaches you get to avoid.
When you arrive at the stadium you’ll notice a soccer stadium has appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. This of course is the new stadium being built for NYCFC. The stadium is a large 24,000 seat venue, that has been built incredibly fast as it was announced as a soccer venue for the 2028 L.A Olympics. This is the first step in developing the area surrounding Citi Field, which will be known as Metropolitan Park and feature a casino, hotels, food hall, and green space. The changes that are coming to the Citi Field area are long overdue, and arriving to the stadium, it was incredible to see that progress is finally starting to be made.
Inside Citi Field, the food options were also recently rolled out. A highlight of returning items this year is $5 Tuesdays, where select items like hot dogs and popcorn will be $5. A new menu item that sticks out to me that will be served at The Queensboro is the Kimchi Reuben, which will feature corned beef with russian dressing, kimchi, and red cabbage apple slaw on rye. Other highlights include Mookie Wilson’s Legacy Catering serving up barbeque pulled chicken sliders, and an outrageous 9-9-9 box that will feature 9 mini hotdogs, and 9 4 oz beers that serves as the Mets response to the viral 9 beer and 9 hotdog in nine innings challenge that went viral last year.
Its no secret that Citi Field is one of the top ballpark experiences in the MLB. This is the case despite the outside of the stadium looking like an industrial wasteland, and it costing a small fortune to get to. Last year, the Mets experienced a year-over-year attendance increase of over 800,000 people, banking off of the experience of going to the NLCS in 2024. There was no playoff magic last season, but the team is making significant strides in their attempt to lure fans back to the ballpark. Their ultimate goal of course is to follow the model of the Atlanta Braves with their park experience, The Battery. This destination enabled the Braves to generate significant revenue despite turning in a disappointing season.
With elite food options, valuable promotional deals, and new transportation options brought to the forefront, it’s clear that the Mets are in action mode to improve their gameday experience. Is there still room to grow? Of course. There still is no reason that they can’t increase the amount of giveaways that they hand out before the game on promotional nights, as they instead opt to only hand out 15,000-18,000 to the first fans that arrive. There is also the main reason people go to the stadium: the actual team that takes the field. The best experience will always be the team winning, but with the improvements added this offseason to the stadium experience should make it that much more enjoyable when the Mets win, and a little easier to swallow when they lose.
What a great process to get people to Citi Field. If you can get them there, they will spend gobs of money on stuff. The only real expensive way to get there is to drive and then sell one of your kids to pay for parking. Even parking under the highway, the free trick from the past has evaporated. Love the $2.75 it costs each way to take the 7 Line to and from Manhattan. As for the food, I am usually glued to the game and settle for a hotdog, pretzel and a soda. That still sets you back $18 and you are still hungry. Perhaps Uncle Steve will hand out casino chips with each ticket a few years down the road when that’s all built. Thanks for an out of the box article.
Nice job Dalton.
As I was reading, the Braves in fact did come to mind. But, the Orioles first did it around Camden Yards in the 90’s featuring Boog Powell’s BBQ. I believe the Pirates also did it at PNC park, but don’t know if Philadelphia did it at Citizen’s Bank Park. Another way the Mets were behind the times all these years - or was it NYC not permitting it - I’m glad to see it now as part of the fan experience.