On Location: The Luxury Experience at Citi Field

Summer is baseball season, especially in New York, where we are lucky enough to have two Major League teams and several Minor League groups for smaller communities. (Tip: Take a day trip to watch the Staten Island Yankees play in their home stadium, which overlooks downtown Manhattan and offers great value for money on a summer day. Also? The ferry ride is a great way to see the Statue of Liberty, and the stadium is right next to the pier, making it very convenient and affordable.) 

But for those looking to splurge, the Mets and the Yankees offer some very swank seats with a great range of perks. I recently had the chance to visit Citi Field to watch the Mets play the Arizona Diamondbacks recently, and got to try some of the top perks a Mets fan can experience. For VIP visitors to the city, this is a great way to experience a ball game.

Sitting behind the safety screen makes it a whole different view.

My tickets were for the Delta Silver level, which included access to the Delta Sky360 Club. This lounge has just about everything you need: Several food stands from branded restaurants (Two Boots pizza? Why not?), comfortable chairs, a full bar and even a full-scale sit-down restaurant. A steakhouse, even. Because what’s a ball game without a steak dinner first? The stadium opens two hours before the game, and it’s worth getting there as early as possible just to explore everything the lounge has to offer.

Perfect place to unwind before—or during—the game.

My friend and I sat down for dinner at Pat LaFrieda's Chop House and ordered the Steak Frites. This normally comes with parmesan fries, but the lovely staff at the restaurant had no problem with my opting for creamed spinach instead. (I had to pretend something was healthy on that plate.) Other options included a steak sandwich (which I heard was very popular) and burgers and chicken cooked under a brick...but in a steakhouse, one must order a steak. It’s the law, or something. Before the meal arrived, we were presented with a bowl of hand-made potato chips that tasted fantastic--not too salty, good and crisp and a nice alternative to bread. (They’re potatoes, after all. Potatoes are vegetables and vegetables are healthy. So there.) The steak itself was fine--nice and rare as per my request, but I can’t say it compared to cuts I’ve had at Old Homestead or Club A Steakhouses. But for a skirt steak, it was quite tasty. Call 718-595-8102 to make reservations for dinner at the the steakhouse. 

After dinner, we went out to our seats--probably the best seats I’ve ever had or ever will have for a ballgame. (Seriously. This was my view.)

Not too shabby.

Not only were the seats nice and padded, food delivery was available from many of the stands around the stadium. This includes burgers from Shake Shack, and anyone who has ever waited in line at the popular eateries at Madison Square Park or Times Square will appreciate getting a burger delivered right to their seat. Honestly, it’s probably faster to get it delivered than it is to go to one of the restaurants. 

Mixed cocktails delivered to your seat. Perfection.

Sadly, I didn’t get to order a burger, because here’s where access to that lounge became super-important: Midway through the fourth inning, a gentle voice came over the stadium’s PA system and told everyone that due to oncoming bad weather, the game would be paused and that everyone should get indoors immediately. No panic, no sirens, but something serious was clearly about to happen. The sky was already fairly dark by this point, but it was hard to miss the cloud cover. A mass exodus began, with fans heading to for shelter...and those of us with access to the lounge had a much easier time of it than our friends upstairs. We could sit in comfort, order food to our seats, recharge our rapidly-dying phones (there are electrical outlets and charging ports all over the lounge) and grab drinks or ice cream. And we sat in our plush seats and relaxed with ice cream and watched the sky open up over Queens. The downpour was amazing, and the temperature plummeted rapidly. After a few hours, we gave up on the game resuming and headed home...but having access to the lounge meant that we spent those hours quite comfortably. If there’s even a hint of rain on game day, try to book access to the lounge. It may really come in handy...and even if it doesn’t, at least you can get a good meal before the game!

Good to know: The lounge is also available for private functions when the Mets aren’t playing. Click here to get more information on how to book the space.