New park makes the grade

I was not sorry when they announced that Shea Stadium was going to be replaced. Yes, I have some great memories of the place, both sitting in its uncomfortable seats and watching on television as the team experienced its roller coaster history.

Two World Series championships, a couple of other appearances and some excruciating collapses. Shea was home to all of them.

But Shea also was a hole whose time had passed and the new Citi Field gives Mets fans what they should have had from the beginning -- a fan-friendly ballpark with great sight lines, roomy seats and some of the best ballpark food I've ever tasted.

From the first approach, you can see you'll be having a different experience, the metal frame monstrosity -- a relic of the early 1960s -- has been replaced with bricks and mortar, somehow a warmer feel, more current but harkening back. This has been the trend in new parks since Camden Yards was built in Baltimore and it's good to see it's finally arrived in New York.

The visibility is fantastic, even when you're not seated, when you're wandering the concourse or getting a beer. We were seated in the upper deck but it didn't feel that far at all -- you could get a sense of what was being thrown and pick up the slight upper cut that's developed in David Wright's swing.

And, everyone working the game was so incredibly nice -- it was almost like I wasn't at a Mets game.

Some recommendations:

• Get there early so you can explore and get a sense of the new stadium.
• Try the chicken tacos and the chicken nachos. They were quite good, better than what you would get at a chain restaurant like On the Border or at many Tex-Mex places.

The only quibbles:

• The name -- Citi Field not only ties the Mets to a troubled financial institution (a better name, as my friend Bill says, is Debits Field), it's beyond boring. My friends and I think a petition is in order and that the field should be renamed Gil Hodges Field.
• The shut the concessions too early. Bill and Vince -- got up to get ice cream late in the game (I think during the eighth or ninth inning) and they were out of luck.
• The scoreboard seems a bit too big.

I'm going to give the new park a A.