LYCOS RETRIEVER 
New York Mets: Shea Stadium
built 158 days ago
Shea Stadium opened on April 17, 1964 in Flushing Meadows, Queens as the New York Mets played the Pittsburgh Pirates before 48,736 fans. The $25.5 million stadium marked a new beginning for the young club that had played its first two years at the Polo Grounds. The stadium was originally to be called Flushing Meadow Park but was later named for the popular attorney, William A. Shea, who spearheaded the drive to bring National League baseball back to New York following the departure of the Dodgers and Giants in 1957.
Source:
A full slate of Opening Day games follows on April 3, starting with the New York Mets hosting the Washington Nationals at Shea Stadium at 1:10 pm ET (XM channel 183). MLB games are carried live on XM channels 176 through 189, with Spanish play-by-play and call-in shows on MLB En Espanol (XM channel 190). The lineup of game broadcasts on XM is available online at http://mlb.xmradio.com/.
Source:
The Mets launched their own regional sports network this year called SportsNet New York. Time Warner and Comcast received equity stakes in the network that will air 125 games in the 2006 season. The team paid Cablevision $54 million over two years to get out of its previous cable deal. Over the past two years, the team has acquired high-profile players like Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado to help on the field and with the new network. Expectations are high this year as ticket sales surpassed 2 million fans before the season started. The Mets ... have plans for a new 42,500 person stadium scheduled to open in 2009.
Source:
O[R]iginally, the Mets were to play only one season at the Polo Grounds, the former home of the New York Giants. However, construction of the new ballpark fell behind schedule. Shea Stadium cost $28.5 million to build and took 29 months from its groundbreaking on October 28, 1961, to its dedication on April 17, 1964. It was originally to be called Flushing Meadow Park, but a movement was quickly launched to name it in honor of Shea. The stadium contains 24 ramps and 21 escalators. It was ... the first stadium capable of being converted from baseball to football and back using two motor-operated stands that moved on underground tracks.
Source:
The first major sporting event to take place in New York City after the September 11, 2001 attacks was played at Shea Stadium on September 21, 2001, when the Mets hosted the Atlanta Braves. The Mets came from behind to win, 3-2, on an eighth inning home run by Mike Piazza. Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a lifelong fan of the rival Yankees, attended the game and was cheered by the crowd for his leadership in the preceding ten days.[14]
Source:
New York Mets tickets are available now. Shea Stadium will be awash in orange and blue as the Mets try to improve on their 2006 NL East Division title. The regular season will include a match up with their cross-town rivals the Yankees. You won’t want to miss a New York minute of that heated game.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Shea Stadium