Big Shea

Approaching Shea Stadium on the No. 7 train, Apr-2001. This photo is taken through the dirty window of the train car.

The seating bowl, Apr-2001.

You can’t see it here, but the Throgs Neck Bridge is often visible past left field. This shot is from Sep-1993.

• Location: 126 Street & Roosevelt Avenue, Flushing, N.Y.
• Opened: 1964
• Home team: New York Mets, National League (1964-2008); New York Yankees, American League (1974-75, one game in 1998)
• Capacity: 55,777

Rating: 3 baseballs

Most people complain incessantly about Shea, saying the upper deck seats are way too high, the wind howls through there like nobody’s business, and when planes take off from nearby LaGuardia Airport, they can’t hear themselves think.

They’re all valid complaints, but the Mets have done everything possible to keep Big Shea (named for William Shea, a New York politician who was instrumental in bringing National League baseball back to the city in 1962 after a four-year absence) a serviceable facility while they work on their new imitation Ebbets Field in the parking lot. In August 2006, the Mets broke ground for Citi Field, beyond center field closer to 126 Street, set to open in 2009.

Ticket prices have risen in recent years as the club has had to pay the stars who have turned it from a pretender into a contender. But a game at Shea is still more affordable than at its counterpart in the Bronx, and it’s very possible to enjoy a game here.

Actually, the Yankees have been tenants of Shea on several occasions. While their park was under renovation in 1974-75, they played their full schedule here, sharing the facility with the Mets. They returned for a single game in April 1998, when a structural failure caused Yankee Stadium to be shut down for a few days for inspection and repair.

Note: My impression of Shea is colored somewhat (rose-colored, one might say) because Shea was the first place I saw a game in my life. I grew up a Mets fan, and there’s still a hint of that somewhere even after I’ve seen parks numbering in the hundreds and I’ve come to “root, root, root for the home team” no matter where I roam.