If you’re interested in a piece of nostalgia from the New York Mets’ Shea Stadium, say a turnstile or the left field foul pole, the time to act is now.
The Mets turned out to be something less than amazing again this season, but the organization is scoring big bucks without a post-season appearance by selling pieces of the now defunct stadium, largely through the MeiGray group, a sports memorabilia marketer.
The pre-razing sale, advertised through TV and radio spots, and print ads, actually commenced in mid-September. And ultimately, just about everything imaginable, including dirt from the playing field, will be sold directly through MeiGray or auctioned on MLB.com in a bidding war set to start for everything still available on Oct. 6.
Someone already bought the Mets championship flag from 1986 for $50,000, but the 1969 championship banner, from the days when the Amazin’ Mets truly earned that nickname, can still be had.
The Mets have been marketing the stadium seats, at $869 a pair, directly. The blue and orange seats—reflecting the team’s colors—are spoken for, but green and red seats are still available. With a seating capacity over 57,000, that will produce a windfall of nearly $25 million. (New York City, which owns the property, will split the proceeds 70/30 with the Mets, with the team’s share going to the Mets Foundation.)
MeiGray isn’t saying what it’s take of the sales will be. Apart from the public ads, it started marketing memorabilia to a list of 2,000 of its customers and Mets season ticket holders, according to Barry Meisel, president of MeiGray. A “Premiere Club” of 100 people who put up deposits between $2,500 and $10,000 were taken on a stadium shopping tour to select items.
Turnstiles are among the most popular, according to Meisel, with original models installed in 1964 going for $1,500, and new ones for $1,000. The Mets dugout is a mere $100,000; the visitors’ dugout, $50,000. Meisel himself bought a section of the centerfield fence with the 410-foot marker on it.
There are more affordable items: the third base Men’s Room door and a Must Present Ticket to Re-Enter sign are each $75; a KidZone banner featuring the team’s Mr. Met mascot is $200.
“We are in an era of nostalgia,” said Meisel, whose company also handles National Basketball Association and National Hockey League artifacts. “We enjoy holding onto the past. This is a legitimate extension of that.”
An undetermined selection of Shea artifacts will be sent to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, he said. Other artifacts—notably the big apple in the top hat that lit up for home team home runs—will be housed in a museum at the Mets’ new Citifield Park. The Museum of the City of New York and the downtown New York Sports Museum will also get pieces of Shea.
But most of it is still very much up for grabs. The 105-foot foul poles—$25,000 apiece intact—will likely be sold in segments, with the length and prices to be determined, along with sections of the outfield fence. All told, Meisel expects the total take from what his company is selling to hit between $2 million and $2.5 million.
And Meisel said he’s still not sure how MeiGray will market dirt dug from around the nine defensive field positions, which also figures to be relatively affordable. All interested parties can call MeiGray at 1-888-463-4472 or e-mail the company at [email protected] for an inventory list and prices.
Meanwhile, New York Yankees fans will have to stay tuned for what the team’s plans are for selling off chunks of that historic ballpark.
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