Shea Stadium

Shea Stadium

Shea Stadium
Location	123-01 Roosevelt Avenue Flushing, Queens, New York City, New York 11368-1699
Coordinates	40°45′20″N 73°50′53″W / 40.75556°N 73.84806°WCoordinates: 40°45′20″N 73°50′53″W / 40.75556°N 73.84806°W
Owner	City of New York
Operator	New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (1964–1981) New York Mets (1981–2008)
Capacity	Baseball: 57,333[1] Football: 60,372[2]
Field size	Left Field   Left Field ('64-'77)   Medium Left-Center   Left-Center   Left-Center (deep)   Center   Right-Center (deep)   Right-Center   Medium Right-Center   Right Field   Right Field ('64-'77)   338 ft (103 m) 341 (104) 358 (109) 371 (113) 396 (121) 410 (125) 396 (121) 371 (113) 358 (109) 338 (103) 341 (104)
Surface	Kentucky Bluegrass
Construction
Broke ground	October 28, 1961
Opened	April 17, 1964
Closed	September 28, 2008 (Final game)
Demolished	October 14, 2008–February 18, 2009
Construction cost	US$28.5 million ($218 million in 2016 dollars[3])
Architect	Praeger-Kavanagh-Waterbury[4]
General contractor	Carlin–Crimmins J.V.[5]
Tenants
New York Mets (MLB) (1964–2008) New York Jets (AFL / NFL) (1964–1983) New York Yankees (MLB) (1974–1975) New York Giants (NFL) (1975)

Shea Stadium (formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium) /ˈʃeɪ/) was a stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.^[6] Built as a multi-purpose stadium, it was the home park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008, as well as the New York Jets football team from 1964 to 1983.

Shea Stadium was named in honor of William A. Shea, the man who was most responsible for bringing National League baseball back to New York. It was demolished in 2009 to create additional parking for the adjacent Citi Field, the current home of the Mets.

History

Planning and construction

The origins of Shea Stadium go back to the Brooklyn Dodgers' and the New York Giants' relocations to the U.S. west coast, which left New York without a National League baseball team. New York City official Robert Moses tried to interest Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley in the site as the location for a new stadium, but O'Malley refused, unable to agree on location, ownership, and lease terms. O'Malley preferred to pay construction costs himself so he could own the stadium outright. He wanted total control over revenue from parking, concessions, and other events. New York City, in contrast, wanted to build the stadium, rent it, and retain the ancillary revenue rights to pay off its construction bonds.^[7] Additionally, O'Malley wanted to build his new stadium in Brooklyn, while Moses insisted on Flushing Meadows. When Los Angeles offered O'Malley what the City of New York wouldn't—complete ownership of the facility—he left for southern California in a preemptive bid to install the Dodgers there before a new or existing major league franchise could beat him to it. At the same time, Horace Stoneham moved his New York Giants to the San Francisco Bay Area, ensuring that there would be two National League West Coast teams, and preserving the longstanding rivalry with the Dodgers that continues to this day.

In 1960, the National League agreed to grant an expansion franchise to the owners of the New York franchise in the abortive Continental League, provided that a new stadium be built. Mayor Robert Wagner, Jr. had to personally wire all National League owners and assure them that the city would build a stadium.

On October 6, 1961, the Mets signed a 30-year stadium lease,^[8] with an option for a 10-year renewal. Rent for what was originally budgeted as a $9 million facility was set at $450,000 annually, with a reduction of $20,000 each year until it reached $300,000 annually.

The Mets' inaugural season (1962) was played in the Polo Grounds, with original plans calling for the team to move to a new stadium in 1963. In October 1962, Mets official Tom Meany said, "Only a series of blizzards or some other unforeseen trouble might hamper construction." That unforeseen trouble surfaced in a number of ways: the severe winter of 1962–1963, along with the bankruptcies of two subcontractors and labor issues. The end result was that both the Mets and Jets played at the Polo Grounds for one more year.

A game at Shea during the 1964 season

It was originally to be called "Flushing Meadow Park Municipal Stadium"^[9] – the name of the public park on which it was built – but a movement was launched to name it in honor of William A. Shea, the man who brought National League baseball back to New York.

Opening

After 29 months and $28.5 million, Shea Stadium opened on April 17, 1964, with the Pittsburgh Pirates beating the Mets 4–3 before a crowd of 50,312.^[10] The stadium opened five days before the 1964-65 New York World's Fair, across Roosevelt Avenue. Although not officially part of the fair grounds, the stadium sported steel panels on its exterior in the blue-and-orange colors of the Fair. The panels were removed in 1980.

Demolition

In accordance with New York City law, Shea Stadium was dismantled, rather than imploded.^[11] The company with the rights to sell memorabilia was given two weeks after the final game to remove seats, signage and other potentially saleable and collectable items before demolition was to begin. The seats were the first ($869 per pair plus tax, a combination of '86 and '69),^[12] followed by other memorabilia such as the foul poles, dugouts, stadium signage, and the giant letters that spell out "SHEA" at the front of the building.

Demolition in progress. Top photo: close-up view of the stadium during demolition. Bottom photo: demolition as viewed from the IRT Flushing Line.

After salvaging operations concluded, demolition of the ballpark began on October 14, 2008. On October 18, the scoreboard in right field was demolished, with the bleachers, batter's eye and bullpens shortly thereafter.^[13]

By November 10, the field, dugouts and the rest of the field level seats had been demolished.^[14]

By mid-December, all of the Loge level seats and a good portion of the Mezzanine level seating were gone as well, leaving only the outer shell remaining.

Plaque commemorating the location of Shea Stadium's home plate, now in Citi Field's parking lot.

Demolition work on the upper deck began by January 1, 2009. The next day, all that remained of sections 26–48 of the upper deck was the steel framework. By January 8, the steel framework for sections 36–48 of the upper deck had been completely removed; all that remained of the "Live & In Person" advertising banner at the top above Gate A was the extreme right portion with the Shea Stadium Final Season logo. As of January 15, the far left field portion of Shea was completely demolished and the left field upper deck (sections 25–47) was stripped to its steel framework. The remaining letters at the top of the ballpark behind home plate were taken down on January 21. Approximately two-thirds of the stadium's outer superstructure was gone by January 24.

On January 31, Mets fans all over New York came to Shea for one final farewell to Shea Stadium. Fans took a tour of the site, told stories, and sang songs.^[15] The last remaining section of seats was demolished on February 18. Fans stood in awe as the remaining structure of Shea Stadium (one section of ramps) was torn down at 11:22 that morning.^[16][17]

Shea's home plate, pitcher's mound, and the bases are immortalized in Citi Field's parking lot, and feature engravings of the neon baseball players that once graced the exterior of the stadium.^[18]

Redevelopment

On October 9, 2013, the New York City Council approved a plan to build a mall and entertainment center called Willets West in the Citi Field parking lot where Shea Stadium stood, as part of an effort by the city to redevelop the nearby neighborhood of Willets Point.^[19][20] However, in 2015, the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court ruled that the site, considered parkland, could not be used for commercial development without permission from New York State.^[21]

Stadium usage

Sports

Baseball

Shea Stadium prior to a game in September 1969.

Shea Stadium was the home of the New York Mets starting in 1964, and hosted the Major League Baseball All-Star Game that year, with Johnny Callison of the Philadelphia Phillies hitting a home run in the ninth inning to win the only Mid-Summer Classic held in the Queens ballpark. A month earlier, on Father's Day, Callison's teammate, future Hall of Fame member and United States Senator Jim Bunning, pitched a perfect game against the Mets.^[22]

The stadium was often criticized by baseball purists for many reasons, even though it was retrofitted to be a baseball-only stadium after the Jets left. The upper deck was one of the highest in the majors. The lower boxes were farther from the field than similar seats in other parks because they were still on the rails that swiveled the boxes into position for football.^[23] Outfield seating was sparse, in part because the stadium was designed to be fully enclosed.

At one time, Shea's foul territory was one of the most expansive in the majors. This was very common for ballparks built during the 1960s, in part due to the need to accommodate the larger football field.^[23] However, seats added over the years in the lower level greatly reduced the size of foul territory by the dawn of the 21st century. On the plus side, Shea always used a natural grass surface, in contrast to other multi-purpose stadiums such as Three Rivers Stadium, Veterans Stadium, and Riverfront Stadium, which were built in the same era and style and used artificial turf instead of natural grass.

Shea Stadium hosted postseason baseball in 1969, 1973, 1986, 1988, 1999, 2000, and 2006; it hosted the World Series in 1969, 1973, 1986, and 2000. IT had the distinction of being the home of the 1969 "Miracle Mets"—a team led by former Brooklyn Dodger Gil Hodges that defied 100–1 odds and won the World Series, after seven straight seasons in last or next-to-last place. Shea became famous for the bedlam that took place after the Mets won the decisive Game 5 of the 1969 World Series, as fans stormed the field in celebration. Similar scenes took place a few weeks earlier after the Mets clinched the National League East title, and then defeated the Atlanta Braves in the first National League Championship Series to win the pennant.

Tommie Agee, Lenny Dykstra, Todd Pratt, Robin Ventura, and Benny Agbayani hit post-season, game-winning home runs at Shea.

Tommie Agee was the only player in the history of the ballpark to hit a home run into the upper deck in left field. The spot was marked with a sign featuring Agee's number, and the date, which was April 10, 1969. Teammate Cleon Jones said the ball was still rising when it hit the seats, so it very likely could have been the longest home run ever hit at Shea Stadium.

In 1971, Dave Kingman – then with the San Francisco Giants and later to play for the Mets on two occasions – hit a home run that smashed off the windshield of the Giants' team bus, parked behind the left field bullpen.

For many years, the Mets' theme song, "Meet the Mets", was played at Shea before every home game. Jane Jarvis, a local jazz artist, played the popular songs on the Thomas organ at Mets games for many years at the stadium.^[24]

On October 3, 2004, the stadium was the venue for the last game in the history of the Montreal Expos when the Mets defeated the Expos 8–1.^[25] Their story ended where it had started 35 years earlier: at Shea Stadium.^[26] The following year, the Expos relocated to Washington, D.C., where they were renamed the Nationals.

As of June 10, 2005, the Mets had played more games at Shea Stadium than the Brooklyn Dodgers did at Ebbets Field.

The last game played at Shea Stadium was a loss to the Florida Marlins on September 28, 2008. However, the Mets were in the thick of the playoff chase until the last day. A win would have meant another game for Shea as the Mets were scheduled to play the Milwaukee Brewers in a one-game playoff for the National League Wild Card had they won. Following the game, there was a "Shea Goodbye" tribute in which many players from the Mets' glory years entered the stadium and touched home plate one final time so that fans could pay their last respects to the players and the stadium the Mets called home for 45 years. The ceremony ended with Tom Seaver throwing a final pitch to Mike Piazza, then, as the Beatles "In My Life" played on the stadium speakers the two former Met stars walked out of the centerfield gate and closed it behind them, followed by a display of blue and orange fireworks.^[27][28]

A baseball game at Shea Stadium in 2007. The construction of Citi Field is visible beyond left field.

Three National League Division Series were played at Shea Stadium. The Mets won all three, and never lost a Division Series game at Shea.

• 1999 against the Arizona Diamondbacks – Mets won 3 games to 1
• 2000 against the San Francisco Giants – Mets won 3 games to 1
• 2006 against the Los Angeles Dodgers – Mets won 3 games to 0

Seven National League Championship Series were played at Shea Stadium.

• 1969 against the Atlanta Braves – Mets won 3 games to 0
• 1973 against the Cincinnati Reds – Mets won 3 games to 2
• 1986 against the Houston Astros – Mets won 4 games to 2
• 1988 against the Los Angeles Dodgers – Dodgers won 4 games to 3
• 1999 against the Atlanta Braves – Braves won 4 games to 2
• 2000 against the St. Louis Cardinals – Mets won 4 games to 1
• 2006 against the St. Louis Cardinals – Cardinals won 4 games to 3

^ The decisive seventh game of this series was played at Shea Stadium, marking the only time that the Mets ever lost the deciding game of a National League Championship Series at Shea.

Four World Series were played in Shea Stadium.

• 1969 against the Baltimore Orioles – Mets won 4 games to 1
• 1973 against the Oakland Athletics – A's won 4 games to 3
• 1986 against the Boston Red Sox – Mets won 4 games to 3
• 2000 against the New York Yankees – Yankees won 4 games to 1

The Yankees' World Series win in 2000 was the only time that visiting teams won a World Series at Shea Stadium. The Mets won both their World Series titles at Shea Stadium (in Game 5 in 1969, and Game 7 in 1986).

Shea Stadium prior to the start of a New York Mets game in 2008. Shea had the best attendance in the National League that year, averaging over 51,000 fans per game.

The New York Yankees played their home games in Shea Stadium during the 1974 and 1975 seasons while Yankee Stadium was being renovated. The move to Shea had been proposed earlier in the decade, but the Mets, as Shea's primary tenants, refused to sign off on the deal. However, when the city stepped in to pay for renovating Yankee Stadium, the Mets had little choice but to agree to share Shea with the Yankees.

On the afternoon of April 15, 1998, the Yankees also played one home game at Shea, against the Anaheim Angels after a beam collapsed at Yankee Stadium two days before, destroying several rows of seats.^[29][30] With the Mets playing a game at Shea that evening against the Chicago Cubs, the Yankees used the visitor's locker room and dugout and the Angels used the home dugout and old locker room of the New York Jets.^[31] Former Mets star Darryl Strawberry, then playing for the Yankees, hit a home run during the game. Stadium operators partially raised the Mets' home run apple signal before lowering it back down, to the delight of the crowd.^[32]

Shea Stadium also hosted the first extra-inning regular season baseball opener ever played in New York, on March 31, 1998,^[33] when the Mets opened their season against their rival Philadelphia Phillies, playing the longest scoreless opening day game in the National League and the longest one in Major League Baseball since 1926.^[34][35] The Mets won the game 1–0 in the bottom of the 14th inning.^[35]

During the 1977 New York City blackout the stadium was plunged into darkness at approximately 9:30 p.m. during a game between the Mets and the Chicago Cubs. It occurred during the bottom of the sixth inning, with the Mets losing 2–1 and Lenny Randle at bat. Jane Jarvis, Shea's organist (affectionately known as Shea's "Queen of Melody") played "Jingle Bells" and "White Christmas".^[36] The game was eventually completed on September 16, with the Cubs winning 5–2.^[37]

Football

A concept drawing of Shea Stadium in football configuration

The New York Jets of the American Football League and later, the National Football League played at Shea for 20 seasons, from 1964 to 1983 (excluding their first home game in 1977 played at Giants Stadium). The stadium hosted three Jets playoff games: the American Football League Championship in 1968 (beat the Oakland Raiders, 27–23), an AFL Divisional Playoff in 1969 (lost 13–6 to the Kansas City Chiefs) and the 1981 AFC Wild Card Playoff game (lost 31–27 to the Buffalo Bills).

For most of the Jets' tenure at Shea, they were burdened by onerous lease terms imposed at the insistence of the Mets. Until 1978, the Jets could not play their first home game until the Mets' season was finished. For instance, in 1969, the defending Super Bowl champion Jets didn't play a home game until October 20 due to the Mets advancing to (and winning) the World Series. Even after 1978, the Mets' status as Shea's primary tenants would require the Jets to go on long road trips (switching Shea from baseball to football configuration was a complex process involving electrical, plumbing, field and other similar work). The stadium was also not well maintained in the 1970s. The Jets moved to Giants Stadium for the 1984 season, enticed by the more than 15,000 additional seats there. Fans ripped apart Shea after the last game of the 1983 season, which also was the last game for Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who threw two touchdown passes to lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 34–7 victory.^[38] Even the scoreboard operator had a field day, displaying the home team as the "N.J. Jets".^[39]

It was at Shea Stadium on December 16, 1973 that O.J. Simpson became the first running back to gain 2,000 yards in a single season^[40] (and, to date, the only player to do it in 14 games or fewer).

In the 1983 season, a Jets game against the Los Angeles Rams featured an 85-yard touchdown run by rookie Eric Dickerson, as well as a brawl between Rams offensive tackle Jackie Slater and Jets defensive end Mark Gastineau when Slater blindsided Gastineau after the Jet performed his infamous "Sack Dance" over fallen Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo.

The NFL's New York Giants played their 1975 season at Shea while Giants Stadium was being built. The Giants were 5–9 that year (2–5 at Shea). Their coach was Bill Arnsparger and their quarterback was Craig Morton. The Giants played their final five home games of 1973 and all seven in 1974 at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut after Yankee Stadium was closed on October 1, 1973 for a massive rebuilding, which was completed in time for the 1976 baseball season.

The football field at Shea extended from around home plate to centerfield, with the baseline seating rotating out to fill left and right fields.

Soccer

The first soccer game at Shea Stadium occurred during International Soccer League tournament play on June 17, 1965.^[41] New York United of the American Soccer League called Shea home in 1980.^[42]

Other events

Shea Stadium and vicinity, with the Manhattan skyline in the distance, 1981

On Sunday, August 15, 1965, the Beatles opened their 1965 North American tour there to a record audience of 55,600.^[43] "Beatlemania" was at one of its peaks at their Shea concert. Film footage shows many teenagers and women crying, screaming, and even fainting. The crowd noise was such that security guards can be seen covering their ears as the Beatles entered the field. The sound of the crowd was so deafening that none of the Beatles (or anyone else) could hear what they were playing. Nevertheless, it was the first concert to be held at a major stadium and set records for attendance and revenue generation, demonstrating that outdoor concerts on a large scale could be successful and profitable, and led the Beatles to return to Shea for a successful encore on August 23, 1966. The attendance record stood until 1973 when it was broken by Led Zeppelin with 56,800 fans at Tampa Stadium.^[44]

The next major music event to play Shea Stadium after the Beatles successful appearances was the Summer Festival for Peace on August 6, 1970.^[36] It was a day-long fundraiser, which featured many of the era's biggest selling and seminal rock, folk, blues and jazz performers including: Janis Joplin, Paul Simon, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Steppenwolf, The James Gang, Miles Davis, Tom Paxton, John Sebastian, and others.

The next music show at Shea Stadium was the historic 1971 concert by Grand Funk Railroad in 1971, which broke the Beatles' then-record for fastest ticket sales. Humble Pie was the opening band. The same filmmakers for the documentary of the Rolling Stones concert at Altamont were commissioned to film it, but to date, a final film has not been released.

The stadium hosted numerous concerts since then, including Jethro Tull with opening act Robin Trower in July 1976 (billed as Tull v. Boeing because of the proximity to LaGuardia Airport), The Who with opening act The Clash in October 1982, and Simon & Garfunkel in August 1983. On August 18, 1983, The Police played in front of 70,000 fans at Shea, a concert that the band's singer and bassist Sting described as "like playing the top of Everest", and announced near the end of the concert: "We'd like to thank the Beatles for lending us their stadium."^[45] The Rolling Stones performed at Shea for a six-night run in October 1989, and Elton John & Eric Clapton played a concert in August 1992. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed at Shea in early October 2003.^[36]

The last concert event was a two-night engagement by Billy Joel on July 16 and July 18, 2008. The concert was dubbed the The Last Play at Shea, and featured many special guest appearances, including former Beatle Paul McCartney who closed the second show with an emotional rendition of the Beatles classic "Let It Be". Other artists that joined Joel on stage for the shows were former Shea performer Roger Daltrey of The Who, Tony Bennett, Don Henley, John Mayer, John Mellencamp, Garth Brooks, and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. The concert was the subject of a documentary film of the same name, which is used along with Shea's history to tell the story of changes in American suburban life.^[46]

The 1978 International Convention of Jehovah's Witnesses was held at Shea Stadium from July 12 to July 16, 1978.^[36]

Shea Stadium was parodied as "Che Stadium" for The Rutles film All You Need is Cash for a sequence that spoofed the Beatles' concert at the stadium.

During his tour of America in October 1979, Pope John Paul II was also among those hosted by Shea Stadium.^[47] On the morning of the Pontiff's visit, Shea Stadium was awash in torrential rain, causing ankle-deep mud puddles, and threatened to ruin the event. But as the Popemobile entered the stadium, the rain stopped although the deep mud remained.

On December 9, 1979, as part of the halftime show of a National Football League game between the New York Jets and New England Patriots, a model airplane group put on a remote control airplane display. The grand finale was a remote control airplane, weighing 40 lbs, made to look like a red flying lawnmower. The pilot lost control of the airplane, and it crashed into the stands and hit John Bowen of Nashua, New Hampshire. Bowen died six days later.^[48]

Between 1972 and 1980, Shea also hosted 3 wrestling events held by the then World Wrestling Federation. In 1980, it hosted a simulcast of the first fight between Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard, won by Duran.

In 1987, Marvel Comics rented Shea Stadium to re-enact the wedding of their two characters Spider-Man/Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson.

Recently on VH1's documentary series 7 Ages of Rock, Shea Stadium was named the most hallowed venue in all of rock music.

In Godzilla: The Series the stadium was destroyed in a fight between Godzilla and Crackler.

Shea Stadium was used in the 1970s for filming the 1973 movie Bang The Drum Slowly starring Robert De Niro and Michael Moriarty and the 1978 film The Wiz. In the latter film, the exterior pedestrian ramps were used for a motorcycle chase scene with Michael Jackson & Diana Ross.

In Men in Black, a Mets game at Shea was featured in the film, with outfielder Bernard Gilkey dropping a fly ball after being distracted by an alien spacecraft in the sky. Shea was also featured in Men in Black 3 which is where K and J intercept Griffin and the ArcNet in 1969 before Boris the Animal can capture it.

In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the stadium became a staging area for rescuers, its parking lots filled with food, water, medical supplies, even makeshift shelters where relief workers could sleep. Ten days later Shea reopened for the first post-attack sporting event in New York where the Mets beat the Braves, behind a dramatic home run by Mets catcher Mike Piazza.^[49]

1975: Four teams, one stadium

The Mets, Yankees, Jets and Giants all called Shea home in 1975, the only time in professional sports history that two baseball teams and two football teams shared the same facility in the same year.^[4] As Yankee Stadium was being renovated and Giants Stadium was nearing completion, there were scheduling clashes between the New York teams in baseball from April through September and both football teams from October through December. Even though Shibe Park housed the Phillies, A's, and Eagles collectively from 1940 to 1954 (excluding 1941), the 1975 sports calendar in Shea Stadium was unrivaled. The Jets and also the Giants could not play "home" games at Shea Stadium until the baseball season ended for the main tenant Mets and the temporary incumbent Yankees. In 1975, there was only a two-week overlap between the baseball and football seasons (the NFL season started on Sunday, September 21 that year, and the Major League Baseball season ended on Sunday, September 28). This meant the Jets opened at home on Sunday, October 5, the third week of the season, and the Giants on Sunday, October 12, the season's fourth week. It also meant that the Giants and Jets had to play a combined 14 home games in the final 12 weeks of the 14-week NFL season. To do so, the Giants played two Saturday afternoon home games, neither of which were televised, and both of which were played the day before a Jets' Sunday home game. Either the Jets or the Giants had a Sunday home game every weekend from October 5 through December 21.

The Mets attracted 1,730,566 and the Yankees attracted 1,288,048 to their respective home games at Shea. Having both the Giants and Jets share Shea Stadium for one season foreshadowed what was to come in the future with the Meadowlands (a.k.a. Giants Stadium) after the Jets left Flushing Meadows for New Jersey following the 1983 NFL season.

Features

Design

Shea was a circular stadium, with the grandstand forming about two-thirds of a circle around the field and ending a short distance beyond the foul lines. The remainder of the perimeter was mostly empty space beyond the outfield fences. This space was occupied by the bullpens, scoreboards, and a section of bleachers beyond the left field fence. The stadium boasted 54 restrooms, 21 escalators, and seats for 57,343. It was big, airy, sparkling, with a massive 86' x 175' scoreboard. Also, rather than the standard light towers, Shea had lamps along its upper reaches, like a convoy of semis with their brights on, which gave the field a high-wattage glow. Praised for its convenience, even its "elegance", Shea was deemed a showplace. These special features helped make Shea more popular during its lifetime than other "cookie-cutter" venues, like RFK Stadium, Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Riverfront Stadium and Three Rivers Stadium.^[49]

The stadium was located close to LaGuardia Airport. For many years, interruptions for planes flying overhead were common at Shea, and the noise was so loud that radio and television broadcasts couldn't be heard. Later, flight plans were altered to alleviate the noise problem.

One of the neon players on the outside of Shea Stadium.

Shea was originally designed with two motor-operated stands that allow the field level seats to rotate on underground tracks, allowing the stadium to be converted between a baseball and an American football/soccer configuration. After the New York Jets football team moved to Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey in 1984, the Mets took over operation of the stadium and retrofitted it for exclusive baseball use. As part of the refitting, Shea Stadium's exterior was painted blue and neon signs of baseball player silhouettes were added to the windscreens prior to the 1988 season. The original scoreboard was removed, and a new one installed in its place (fitting into the shell left behind by the old one), in 1988. The original (wooden) outfield wall was removed also removed at that time, and replaced by a padded fence.^[4]

Shea's exterior, pictured here in 1964, was decorated with blue and orange panels from 1964 until their removal in 1980.

Banks of ramps that provided access from the ground to the upper levels were built around the outside circumference of the stadium. The ramps were not walled in and were visible from outside the stadium. The ramps were originally partly covered with many rectangular panels in blue and orange, the Mets' colors. These panels can be seen in the 1970s movie The Wiz, which used the exterior pedestrian ramps for a motorcycle chase scene with Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. The 1960s-style decorations were removed in 1980.^[4] The banks of ramps resulted in the outer wall of the stadium jutting out where the banks existed.

The design also allowed for Shea Stadium to be expandable to 90,000 seats, simply by completely enclosing the grandstand. It was also designed to be later enclosed by a dome if warranted. In March 1965, a plan was formally announced to add a glass dome and add 15,000 seats.^[23][50] The Mets strongly objected to the proposal.^[51] The idea was later dropped after engineering studies concluded that the stadium's foundation would be unable to support the weight of the dome.^[23]

The distances to the right and left field foul poles were initially boch 341 feet (104 m). There was a horizontal orange line that determined where a batted ball was a home run or still in play. In 1978, Manager Joe Torre suggested moving in the fences to 338 feet (103 m) in the corners with a wall in front of the original brick wall, to decrease the number of disputed calls.^[52]

Originally, all of the seats were wooden, with each level having a different color. The field boxes were yellow, the loge level seats were brown, the mezzanine seats were blue, and the upper deck seats were green. Each level above the field level was divided into box seats below the entrance/exit portals and reserved seats above the portals. The box seats were a darker shade than the reserved seats. The game ticket was the same color as the seat that it represented, and the signs in the lobby for that section were the same color as the seat and the ticket. Before the 1980 baseball season, they were replaced with red (upper deck), green (mezzanine), blue (loge), and orange (field level) plastic seats.

Shea Stadium from the air, 2005. Citi Field was later built in the parking area to the right (east) of the stadium.

Unlike Yankee Stadium, Shea was built on an open field, so there was no need to have it conform to the surrounding streets.

Before Shea Stadium closed in 2008, it was the only stadium in the major leagues with orange foul poles. This tradition is carried on at Citi Field as the foul poles there are the same color.

After the Jets left Shea, the exterior of the stadium was painted blue and white, two of the Mets' team colors.

In 2003, large murals celebrating the Mets' two world championships were added, covering the two ends of the grandstand. The 1986 mural was removed after the 2006 season because of deterioration (the wall was re-painted solid blue, and a window was opened on the mezzanine level where fans could view the progress of Citi Field), but the 1969 mural survived until the final game at then end of 2008.

The skyline from Shea's scoreboard, now on top of the Shake Shack in Citi Field.

The scoreboard was topped by a representation of the New York Skyline, a prominent part of the team logo. After the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were kept unlit, with a red-white-and-blue ribbon placed over them. The scoreboard was demolished in October 2008, but the skyline was preserved and is now located on the Shake Shack in Citi Field's "Taste Of The City" food court behind the giant scoreboard in center field.^[53]

During the 2007 and 2008 seasons, the construction of Citi Field was visible beyond the left and center field walls of Shea.

From 1973 to 1979, fans could estimate the distance of home run balls, since there were several signs beyond the outfield wall giving the distance in feet from home plate, in addition to the nine markers within the field.^[4]

Home Run Apple

Shea's home run apple

The Home Run Apple came out of a magic hat after every Mets home run at Shea Stadium. It was first installed in May 1980 as a symbol of the Mets' advertising slogan "The Magic Is Back!" (the hat originally said "Mets Magic" in script but was changed in the mid-1980s to a simple "Home Run" in block capital letters).^[54] A newer, bigger apple was placed in center field at Citi Field, and original apple was installed inside Citi Field's bullpen gate and visible from outside, on 126th Street. In 2010, the original Shea apple was relocated outside the Citi Field, in front of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda.^[55]

Seating capacity

Baseball

• 55,300 (1964–1984)^[56]
• 55,601 (1985–1993)^[57]
• 55,777 (1994–2001)^[58]
• 56,749 (2002–2003)^[59]
• 57,405 (2004)^[60]
• 57,369 (2005)^[61]
• 57,333 (2006–2008)^[62]

Football

• 60,372 (1964–1983)^[63]

Homages

Four players in the National League named their children after Shea Stadium.^[64]

• Former Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones named his second son Shea after Jones' success in Shea Stadium against the Mets; he hit 19 home runs there, more than any other road park.^[64]
• Former Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin named his eldest daughter Brielle D'Shea, as he enjoyed playing at Shea Stadium.^[64]
• Former Houston Astros third baseman Gary Cooper named his youngest daughter Shea after Shea Stadium. He also named his son Camden after Camden Yards in Baltimore.
• Current New York Mets third baseman David Wright named his first daughter Olivia Shea. Wright began his career playing everyday in Shea Stadium for the Mets.

Actor Kevin James, who is a devoted Mets fan named his youngest daughter, Shea Joelle after the ballpark.^[65]

References

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9. Scanned image of the groundbreaking ceremony in which it is named Flushing Meadow Park Municipal Stadium.
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11. Richard, Sandomir (March 30, 2008). "You Can't Just Blow Up History". The New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2009. And explosive charges will not be set off to blow the ballparks to smithereens, or more technically, to implode them. The city also prohibits implosions.
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13. Sandomir, Richard (October 23, 2008). "Demolition Takes Shea Stadium Piece by Piece". The New York Times. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
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26. Durso, Joseph (April 9, 1969). "Mets Lose on Opening Day for 8th Time in Row as Expos Win, 11–10; Montreal Victor in Its First Game". The New York Times. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
27. Shpigel, Ben (September 28, 2008). "Bitter Repeat on Stadium's Final Day". The New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
28. Robinson, Joshua (September 28, 2008). "Immersed in Gloom, a Farewell to Shea Still Enchants". The New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
29. "April 15, 1998 Anaheim Angels at New York Yankees Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved January 2, 2010.
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45. "Police play Shea Stadium". BBC. Retrieved January 26, 2014
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65. Archived June 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.

External links

• Ballpark Digest Visit to Shea Stadium
• Shea Stadium Opening Day 2006 Photo
• A Photographic Documentary of the Final Summer of Shea
• ESPN: "Be it ever so humble, there's no place like Shea"
• In Mudville, Queens, Shea Scavengers Hunt Soggy Discarded Relics by Corey Kilgannon, The New York Times (New York edition), September 30, 2008, page B3 [retrieved on October 3, 2008]
• With Stadiums Going, Going, Ashes May Be Gone by James Barron, The New York Times, New York edition, October 11, 2008, Page A17, retrieved on October 12, 2008 [Relatives grieve over ashes smuggled into and left under or over Shea and Yankee stadiums.]
• Pics from the 3B Side, 2008 Season