One Man's Field of Dreams

More than a decade before Shea Stadium was demolished, Mets co-owner Fred Wilpon commissioned a group of architects from Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum to create a conceptual design for a new stadium.

@MetsRewind Mailbag: Many people talk about how the Mets are the spiritual heirs to “’Dem Bums.” This familiar refrain was only reinforced by the Wilpon’s in approving the Ebbets Field influence on the exterior of Citi Field, as well as the installation of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. But what of the legacy of the NY Baseball Giants on the Mets? Mrs. Payson, of course, was a shareholder and big Giants fan, and fulfilled her pledge to bring Willie Mays back to NY. But is that the extent of it?

---

More than a decade before Shea Stadium was demolished, Mets co-owner Fred Wilpon commissioned a group of architects from Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum to create a conceptual design for a new stadium.

In a 10,000-word essay published in The New Yorker in 2011, Wilpon recalled the first meeting he had with the design team saying: