March 29, 2009
The
threat of thunderstorms and heavy rain couldn’t dampen the spirits
of 22,397 fans yesterday, all ticket holders for the historic first
ever game played at Citi Field in Queens between St. John’s and
Georgetown, at the new official home of the New York Mets. This
NCAA Division I baseball contest ended with the Hoyas topping the
Red Storm 6-4, but whatever your allegiance all witnesses in
attendance were captivated by the architecture and design of this
magnificent state-of-the-art facility, the fan-friendly site lines
and comfortable seating, and an array of restaurants and food
choices to go with the overriding thrill of being a part of
something special.
“It’s exciting for St. John’s and certainly exciting for our
baseball program,” said St. John’s Head Baseball Coach Ed
Blankmeyer, in his 14th season. “The novelty of playing the first
game here and the opportunity to play in a ballpark like this is
something our players will remember for the rest of their
lives.”
The
idea was born back in November when the Mets Brass came to St.
John’s with the idea of opening up their new venue in order to test
the field conditions and help to give the organization a dry-run
through prior to the Big League Club taking the field for the start
of the regular season.
St. John’s and BIG EAST opponent Georgetown were only too happy to
accept the invitation.
“We had a variety of St. John’s constituent bases (Loughlin Society
University donors, prospective students, current students, Red and
White Club Athletics donors and alumni) who attended the game and
at the end of the day it’s a great experience for all concerned,
especially the student-athletes playing a BIG EAST game in this
environment,” said Chris Monasch, Director of Athletics at St.
John’s University. “And the fact that it’s St. John’s and
Georgetown adds a little more to it.”
Another fitting twist to the day was the special guest appearance
of former New York Mets All-Star and St. John’s star, John Franco,
who threw out the ceremonial first pitch to begin the game. Decked
out in Mets apparel, Franco waved to the crowd (many of whom were
clad in St. John's red and white throughout the stadium) while
taking the mound then ripped off his jacket to display his #45 St.
John’s jersey to the approval of the cheering masses.
“It
was a nice touch (to don the St. John’s jersey again) but I give
credit to the Mets organization for coming up with the idea,” said
Franco. “To be here today is a great thrill especially since its
St. John’s – where I started my career in college – and the Mets
where I made my living for all those years,” said Franco. “And I’m
happy for the University and Ed Blankmeyer who has done a great job
with the team, to get a chance for some recognition to show that
St. John’s is a pretty good (baseball)
program.”
The Mets and St. John’s have joined forces in the past most
recently in 2000. The Major League Club came to Queens to have one
of their Minor League affiliates call St. John’s home for one year
while the team built what is now KeySpan Park in Brooklyn. The
Ballpark at St. John’s, a state-of-the-art facility, was built and
funded by the Mets organization in the spring of 2000 on the
University’s Queens Campus. The facility was renamed Jack Kaiser
Stadium in 2007 in honor of the former Director of Athletics.
Both
the Mets and St. John’s also have relationships with the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding their energy
conservation strategies and “green” initiatives so future
partnerships are being discussed at this time between the three
parties.
For more information contact Dominic Scianna, Assistant Vice
President for Media Relations at St. John’s University by calling
(718) 990-6185 or e-mail inquires to sciannad@stjohns.edu. For
news and information regarding St. John’s visit the University web
site at www.stjohns.edu/news.