Do you have an upcoming business Expo where you expect more than 5,000 people? How about a networking event where you expect between 300 and 400 people? Or even a small company party for your 50 employees?
If any of these events could apply to you, and you want an “All Star” venue to host your function, look no further than Citi Field.
Metropolitan Hospitality, which runs the non-game day events at Citi Field, has 15 unique venues occupying more than 200,000 square feet of hospitality space that can accommodate crowds from as small as 25 to as large as 6,000.
“The most popular events that we see on the business side are trade show meetings and general luncheons or dinners,” said Heather Collamore, Director of Metropolitan Hospitality.
Some of the popular venues for hosting events include:
? The Caesars Club – a 12,000 square foot facility located on top of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda that can accommodate 900 people and be tailored to how a trade show, banquet or cocktail reception.
? The Delta Sky360 Club – the most exclusive space at Citi Field with a full-service kitchen, a high-end dining area, and two full-sized bars that can accommodate events for 400 people.
The various spaces can be used for birthday parties, bar mitzvahs and even weddings with a number of ceremonies scheduled to take place at the different Citi Field spaces this year.
All of the non-game day events that Citi Field hosts are catered by ARAMARK, and Metropolitan Hospitality will work with the clients to ensure that the menu – like any of their other wishes – are tailored to their specific event.
“A lot of the showcases will say, ‘Come out to the event and you will have the opportunity to have a tour of the ballpark when it’s over,’” Collamore said.
Long before Citi Field opened last year, the Mets decided that they wanted their venue to be more than just a ballpark that is used to hosting the 81 home games the team plays there each year. When architects designed the stadium, they wanted to have the facilities to host a wide variety of events and have the venue available 365 days a year.
“From our perspective, it’s really a matter of education and growing our brand,” Collamore said, about building on the success of the group’s first year. “Not too many people knew we had the capability to hold these events during the first year.”
Karen Trella, who runs Karen Trella Consulting, a company that provides fundraising consulting for non-profit organizations, said she worked with Queens Community House on a fundraiser at Citi Field last year, and she gave the experience high marks.
“If I have a friend that is doing a special party, I would absolutely tell them to go right there,” Trella said. “I would tell them that this is the first place they should check out.”
