Steve Cohen has considered a costly retractable roof on Citi Field and here’s why he should
If there’s a choice and I get a vote, I say spend for a retractable roof for Citi Field over free agents to be Julio Urias, Aaron Nola or Matt Chapman. Or all three.
Or over Shohei Ohtani even.
I’m not kidding.
After this weekend’s total washout of the eagerly awaited Braves versus Mets matchup, I’m willing to try anything.
Let’s check the scorecard. Friday: an uncomfortable, rain-shortened loss. Saturday: rainout. Sunday: rainout.
This weekend: a total waste.
Of course, I’m always up for spending other people’s money. And it turns out I’m not above borrowing other people’s ideas, either.
It was Dave Lennon of Newsday who raised the idea of a retractable roof for Citi Field on Twitter the other day. He obviously imagined this while waiting between raindrops. Which never stopped for 48 hours.
Maybe the whole idea is crazy. But smarter folks than me (and maybe even Lennon) have considered it.
Mets owner Steve Cohen is one who’s looked into building a retractable roof for Citi Field, no surprise since he’ll consider anything to improve Mets fan experience.
And word is Cohen was told it would cost $800 million to add a retractable roof, which seems to have given him pause to the point where he is currently considering it a missed opportunity. (The cost would have been a mere fraction of that upon construction, more on that later.)
At one point in our text exchange Sunday, he suggested an alternative to my retractable roof suggestion: “Let’s put small umbrellas on helmets.” Which I took to mean that a roof on Citi Field is even less tenable — at least to him at the moment.
A roof was added to Arthur Ashe Stadium on the other side of the 7 train for a mere $150 million, but a tennis court is much smaller than a baseball field. The $800 million figure might even be light considering inflation.
Sources suggest the Wilpons did investigate a roof back in 2007 when they were conceiving of Citi Field and found it would cost an additional $100 million to $125 million back then. I’m not here to bash the Wilpons. They did know their real estate, and Citi Field is one of the best of the newer parks in baseball (say what you want about the Wilpons, but they succeeded with their TV endeavor, SNY, and they did know their real estate, which was their main business).
Citi Field is a gem, with only one obvious shortcoming.
And I get why they ultimately decided against the roof. Back then, $125 million was a lot of money — although I’d point out now that they would have been better off spending the loot on a roof than Jason Bay, or as much as we all loved David Wright, even the Mets’ captain.
For those bad at math, the cost is about seven times that now. Forget inflation, which isn’t low, the bigger issues are many, including retrofitting the roof to fit the existing structure and fortifying the land, which is said to be soft.
No other baseball owner could even consider adding 33 percent to the total cost of the franchise. But Cohen stands alone, and he’s already run his bills to record heights, having spent a record $377 million on payroll (plus $100 million or so on tax).
Cohen isn’t a parsimonious man (he once spent $139 million for a piece of art with a puncture wound), and he’s one of the world’s great investors. But it seems to me, not only would the roof be better for fans, long term, it may be a better investment than another free agent or two. It’s difficult to advise Cohen on economics, as he’s doing quite a bit better than me (and 99.999999 percent of humans; that’s actually the right figure), but perhaps he should consider the franchise value, surely already up from the $2.4 billion he paid, would rise further.
It certainly would eliminate the need for a traditional doubleheader as was necessitated Monday. But most importantly, of course, it would add considerable comfort and certainty to the fan experience, even on days where there’s no downpour and it’s simply too cold or too hot.
I’ve never improved a home, but I also hear building improvements may come with tax benefits.
That’s directly opposed to free agents.
Take the case of Ohtani, who surely interests, Cohen, his general manager Billy Eppler, who originally signed him for the Angels, and everyone else in New York who ever wears orange and blue in combination. Ohtani is an all-time great player and one-of-a-kind marketing opportunity, but Ohtani will cost $500 million (or more).
Plus, in the Mets’ case, the so-called Steve Cohen fourth-tier tax, which rises to 110 percent next year, would bring that $500 million outlay to $1.05 billion, with the majority targeted to line the pockets of poorer billionaires.
Ohtani is the sexier buy, of course.
Many would say I’m all wet with his idea. But on the contrary, I’d just like to stay dry.
