Shea Stadium
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 Shea Stadium
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| Location | 123-01 Roosevelt Avenue Flushing, Queens, New York City, New York 11368-1699 |
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| 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) |
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| Capacity |
Baseball: 57,333 Football: 60,372 |
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| Field size |
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| 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 ($220 million in 2017 dollars) |
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| Architect | Praeger-Kavanagh-Waterbury | ||
| General contractor | Carlin–Crimmins J.V. | ||
| Tenants | |||
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New York Mets (MLB) (1964–2008) New York Jets (AFL / NFL) (1964–1983) New York Yankees (MLB) (1974–1975) New York Giants (NFL) (1975) |
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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)
Shea Stadium (formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium) /ˈʃeɪ/) was a stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City. 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.
The origins of Shea Stadium go way 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. 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.
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Wikipedia