Menu
Facilities

After Hosting Autistic Children At Citi Field, Mets Consider Designating "Quiet Zone" At The Ballpark

Mets Exec VP/Business Operations Dave Howard said Thursday that club officials "began thinking about designating a quiet section after hosting autistic children and their families at Citi Field on May 6, the Mets’ 10th annual Autism Awareness Day," according to Michael O'Keefee of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. A report that "mocked the Mets" for considering designating a quiet section "was sparked by a questionnaire sent this week to about a thousand Mets fans about music, the scoreboard and other parts of the Citi Field experience." The questionnaire asked, “The Mets are considering adding a designated ‘quiet’ seating section with lower-volume PA announcements and no music or cheerleading. How likely would you be to purchase tickets in that section?” Howard said that the team figured if "families with autistic children were interested in the quiet section, others who are turned off by loud music and announcements, including senior citizens and people who require hearing aids, might be, too" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 6/15).

GETTING A FACELIFT: On Long Island, Anthony DeStefano notes an ambitious $3B project "would transform Willets Point -- a sprawling warren of auto body shops, dilapidated buildings, rutted roads and the occasional junkyard dog -- into a modern retail and entertainment complex around Citi Field." N.Y. Mayor Michael Bloomberg Thursday announced that the project, which will "involve the owners of the New York Mets, is expected to provide 12,000 construction jobs and 7,100 permanent jobs, plus hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue in an area where the ground is believed to be permeated with oils and other toxic wastes." The first "redevelopment phase, an area east of Citi Field, calls for construction of retail, hotel and commercial space" (NEWSDAY, 6/15). In N.Y., Irving DeJohn notes Sterling Equities and Related Cos. are working together on the $3B project and will be "responsible for 5 million square feet of new development" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 6/15). Also in N.Y., David Seifman notes cleaning the "contaminated land probably couldn't start before 2014," which would mean "construction on the project would begin sometime"  in '15. The Mets' parking area on the west side of Citi Field "would be moved temporarily to prepare for construction" (N.Y. POST, 6/15).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2012/06/15/Facilities/Citi.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2012/06/15/Facilities/Citi.aspx

CLOSE