Put a Roof On It
When the Knicks were eliminated from the playoffs by the Heat, I thought I had something to write about: It would be yet another "wait til next year" for fans of the NBA and NHL teams that reside in the New York City and Buffalo areas. Adding the NFL and MLB to the mix, it's been over a decade since a NY team from any of those four leagues has won a title - we have to go back to February 2012, when the Giants defeated the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI. Judging by the current state of the Mets and Yankees, both teams will have some serious work to do in order to prevent 2023 from becoming another complete washout.
Speaking of washouts, that's what I wanted to talk about. The last weekend of April, the Mets hosted the Braves in the first clash between the two teams this season; because of rainy weather, both weekend games were postponed, with the Saturday game moved to a doubleheader on August 12, and Sunday's game moved into a single admission doubleheader (wow, what a concept!) on Monday May 1. Now, on paper, it's just a rescheduled game, but try telling that to the fans who bought tickets to what they thought was going to be a Sunday afternoon game, only for it to turn out to be an early Monday afternoon doubleheader. That might not be a huge deal for those who live within a subway ride to Citi Field, but for the fans that came from out of town, that means either trading their tickets in for a game later in the season, ensuring the need to travel to Queens and pay for the gas, tolls, parking, hotel room nights, etc. all over again, or attend Monday's game and potentially have to, at a minimum, (1) add another hotel night to their stay, (2) take a day off from work and (3) have the kids (if any) miss a day of school.
During that weekend, New York Newsday columnist David Lennon wondered, via Twitter, why NYC doesn't have any retractable domes. A retractable dome, in this instance, would have meant the four-game set against Atlanta would have gone off without a hitch, Mets fans would not have spent days checking the weather forecast to see whether their game might be rained out, and nobody would have been denied the chance to see the game that they paid to see. Mets owner Steve Cohen mentioned that he had thought about adding a retractable roof, but it would have cost about $800 million. That's $30 million shy of what it cost to build Citi Field in the first place. Had the roof been built during the initial construction phase, it would have tacked on about $100 million to $125 million to the $830 million cost. Yes, that would have been a huge chunk of money, and chances are the New York taxpayers would have been on the hook for most of it, but it would have been a move that would have paid dividends for as long as the ballpark remains in existence.
The Braves series went fairly easy on the fans in that the games were postponed well before the first pitches were thrown for either contest. This brings us to the most compelling case for mandating that roofs be built for any new MLB ballpark going forward: Mets at Nationals, May 13, 2023.
Despite the fact that it was raining, albeit not very hard, the Nationals made the decision to proceed with the 4:05 game, forcing both teams to play on a field that was gradually turning into a mess. In the top of the 3rd, the rain got worse, the tarps came out, and everyone at the ballpark waited for the game to resume.
The fans waited.
And waited.
And waited some more, all while not being told anything by the Nationals staff. Finally, a ridiculous four hours later, fans were told they game was suspended, and to kindly vacate the premises. In case they hadn't taken enough abuse, the fans were told they should come back the next day - at 12:30 on Mother's Day - to watch the rest of the game they paid to see. And for those who bought tickets to a 1:00pm Mother's Day game? Up yours, that's at 4:30 now. No single-admission doubleheader either - you want to see two games? Buy two tickets! The Nationals, and MLB, caught a lot of well-deserved heat for consistently making the wrong choice at every opportunity.
It's not over yet, though. After the Mets finished that series, they came back to Queens for a six-game homestand against the Rays and Guardians. After losing the opener against the Rays, the Mets built a three-game winning streak thanks to two wild extra-inning walkoffs. It was the Mets' first three-game win streak in about a month, and were really starting to build momentum. That came to a halt this past Saturday, when yet another game was postponed due to rain. To their credit, the Mets called the game off before fans had the chance to take their seats at Citi Field. But it's another split twinbill on Sunday - no single-game tickets for you, Mets fans! (Fortunately, the Mets won both Sunday games anyway, so the momentum is still alive and well!)
So please, MLB, get your stuff together and mandate that roofs be a part of all new stadiums starting today, and use some of your 11-figure annual revenue to help teams, over time, add retractable roofs to their current parks. Doing so will allow MLB teams to play their games as scheduled, whether there be snow, rain, or scorching heat, and avoid having rain delays and doubleheaders wreak havoc on pitching staffs. It will also give fans comfort in knowing they’ll definitely be able to attend that game with the team Hall of Fame induction ceremony before it in addition to that other game with the bobblehead giveaway.
If that’s not a win-win situation, I don’t know what is.