Get ready to be wowed!
The New York Mets just unveiled a dazzling array of fresh features at Citi Field, all part of their “New in 24” showcase, just in time for the 2024 season.
Among the notable features are the redesign and expansion of the team store near the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, the addition of the new Delta Sky360 Club lounge, the Mets Hall of Fame plaques being moved to the top of the rotunda and the Mets Hall of Fame Museum being moved to the FanFest area in centerfield, with some artifacts spread out across the ballpark. Additionally, many of the food that will be available at the ballpark, many of which from local restaurants, were shown off for attendees of the showcase to try. Additionally, LED stadium lights have been installed in an effort to enhance the visual experience at the ballpark.
Designed by the architectural design firm Populous in April 2023 and built by Turner Construction in just over five months, the Delta Sky360 Club is almost 7,000 feet. The club is adorned with Mets memorabilia pictures related to the team’s history. One of the walls features several stills of Mets great David Wright taking a swing, displayed in front of a green background.
The new team store is twice as big as its previous iteration, both in terms of square footage as well as its assortment and checkout counters. Populous and Turner Construction also worked on this expansion. The items at the store will all have radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, allowing fans to scan them at the RFID self-checkout system and helping to make checkouts quicker. The team store also features a perceptual art piece by artist Michael Murphy hanging from the ceiling. From one angle, it forms the Mets logo and from another, it forms the Mets’ NY logo.
The Mets also announced that for the second year in a row, Citi Field was named USA Today’s readers choice winner for best stadium food in the country. The ballpark has added more food from local eateries in the span between awards. Among the new New York City restaurants that will be represented at Citi Field in 2024 are Prince Street Pizza, Nixtamal NYC, Tea and Milk, Gyro Jimmy’s and more. Some of the popular food locations returning to Citi Field include an expanded Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors location, Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack, Fuku from David Chang and Pig Beach BBQ.
Additionally, Citi Field has partnered with celebrity chefs Anne Burrell and Judy Joo to offer food from their restaurants, Anne Burrell’s Italian Eats and Seoul Bird. Adam Richman of “Man v. Food” has also partnered with the ballpark to bring in burgers from his “Burger Hall of Fame.”
All 23 promotional items that will be given out to fans throughout the season were also shown off. These include a Harry Potter scarf series, with fans getting sorted into houses as they enter the ballpark and bobbleheads, including a Hello Kitty light-up bobblehead and Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry bobbleheads, who will each have their numbers retired by the team this season on Apr. 14 and June 1 respectively.
Citi Field will be hosting several other events in addition to Mets games this year. NYCFC has six matches scheduled to be played there. The Foo Fighters are scheduled to perform Wednesday, July 17 and Friday, July 19. Blink-182 will be playing there Sunday, July 21. Green Day will play there Monday, Aug. 5. Def Leppard, Journey and the Steve Miller Band will each be playing on Wednesday, Aug. 7. Additionally, on Saturday, June 22, the Spartan Stadion 5K race will be held at Citi Field.
The Mets also introduced their new dance team, the “Queens Crew,” Who showed off some of their moves to those who attended the event.
“The feeling for this upcoming season is ecstatic,” Emma Featherstone of the Queens Crew said. “I’m personally very thankful and grateful for the people who are a part of this team and for the community that Mets fans are. It’s going to be an amazing experience for both them and ourselves.”
The Queens Crew will be looking to bring plenty of energy and enthusiasm to the fans at the stadium as they look to engage with fans.
“We are so honored to be part of the first ever Queens Crew for the Mets,” Emma Thomas of the Queens Crew said. “We’re really excited to start. The fans can definitely expect some really good vibes and great energy. We’re here to hype everybody up. No matter what’s going on in the game, we want them to have high spirits.”
