Baseball-Savvy Actress Explores Mets' New Park

The call to spend taxpayer money more wisely may overshadow agreement

(NEWSER) - Citigroup, trying to duck controversy over its use of taxpayer bailout dollars, is considering reneging on a $400 million marketing deal with the New York Mets, the Wall Street Journal reports. The 20-year partnership—which includes naming the Mets new stadium Citi Field—may be scratched because Citi accepted $45 billion in TARP funds from the Treasury, as well as federal guarantees on $301 billion in loans. More»

New stadium, opening next year, will open financial 'chasm' for other NL teams

(NEWSER) - National League teams visiting Shea Stadium this summer can’t help looking past the outfield with fear at the New York Mets’ new home, Citi Field, which opens next year. “It is the ballpark that could make the Mets financially untouchable,” Rich Hofmann writes in the Philadelphia Daily News, urging his hometown Phillies and others to get their swings in now. More»

(NEWSER) - New Yorkers would like to go out to the ball game, but the Wipons and Steinbrenners “have let their unfettered greed keep the fans at bay,” writes Allen Barra in the Wall Street Journal. Fans are outraged that their tax dollars have gone to fund stadiums they can’t afford to visit, with the cost for a family of four to take in a Yankee game jumping 49% this year, to $410, while the Arizona Diamondbacks, for instance, dropped 29%, to $114. More»

$400M, over decades, will generate lots of publicity, help pay back bailout funds

(NEWSER) - Citi’s $400 million naming-rights deal with the New York Mets may seem “tone-deaf and stupid” after the bank took $45 billion in bailout funds, Daniel Gross writes in Newsweek—but it’s a good idea. “Companies—even companies getting bailed out by the feds—need to attract customers and to build their brand image.” And Citi’s exposure will be huge on TV, in print, and, yes, at the ballpark. More»

As Shea and Yankee stadiums shut, relatives fret over final resting places

(NEWSER) - Now that Yankee Stadium and Shea have shut their doors forever, people who scattered ashes in their favorite ballpark worry that their loved ones may spend eternity in a parking lot, the New York Times writes. Some are searching for a way to get some dirt out of the hallowed grounds before demolition begins. The Mets and Yankees officially forbid scattering ashes, but many fans have managed to stealthily slip them in. More»