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Snow covers the field. Players prepare to report to Spring Training. Fans mark off boxes on their calendars in anticipation of opening day. But the 2009 Baseball season started early for a select group of New York-based meeting and event planners. In January, about three dozen planners were taken on an exclusive preview of the latest, and perhaps most unique entry in the Northeast meeting/event space market, Citi Field, the new baseball stadium of the New York Mets.

 The $850-million Citi Field is a 45,000-seat baseball park due to open in April in the New York City borough of Queens. Through a joint partnership between the New York Mets and ARAMARK Sports & Entertainment—the provider of food, beverage, and retail merchandise services for the New York Mets since 1995—more than 60,000 square feet of meeting/event space has been made available for year-round rental during non-game day events. (Typically a team plays half of their 162 regular season games at home).

Meeting and event spaces in stadiums and similar facilities are not a new idea, but often they are constructed ad-hoc by retrofitting an existing space in order to attract additional business. A new stadium is a rare opportunity to integrate cutting edge conference space into the facility itself. "From the very beginning, we wanted to include state-of-the-art meeting and event space in the stadium’s design," said Heather M. Collamore, Director, Hospitality & Catering Events, New York Mets, who co-led the tour with Natily Santos, Director, Client Solutions, Suite & Catering Sales, ARAMARK Sports & Entertainment.

Bookings for the meeting and event spaces have already taken place—although no non-baseball events will take place prior to opening day. "We have gotten a lot of interest for a range of events, and we are very flexible in terms of meeting the needs and requests for an event," said Collamore. "We designed the space with flexibility in mind."

"The feedback we have received is very encouraging, and we already have a lot of local and national interest," added Santos. "We will feature world-class service, diverse menus, flexible space, in a beautiful, unique venue with competitive pricing as well."

 The tour group—all wearing the mandated hard hats—were led through the interior spaces of a much-publicized stadium in the throes of its final phase of construction. Citi Field has a retro design similar to early 20th century baseball stadiums and is smaller than Shea Stadium—the old field for the New York Mets. "There are about 10,000 less seats, so it is more intimate and closer to the field," said Collamore. "That intimacy is carried through to the meeting and event spaces."

 With meetings and related corporate type events in mind, Citi Field’s auditorium and two adjoining conference rooms, which are approximately 700 square feet apiece, were a focal point of the tour. The conference centers—which can be combined—are also adjacent to the 1,200-square-foot Citi Business Center. In turn, these meeting facilities adjoin the climate controlled 150-seat Citi Field Auditorium, which will feature plush, theater-style seats, stage and state-of-the-art audio/visual technology, as well as an adjoining reception area. "The auditorium can be used for speakers, presentations in conjunction with the other meeting spaces or by itself, with the reception area," said Collamore. "I believe Citi Field is the only ballpark with an auditorium."

The conference center rooms, business center and auditorium area are located at the end of an enclosed concourse aligned by the five Empire Party Suites, between 575-750 square feet each, with a capacity for about 40 people per suite. The five suites, which feature flat screen televisions, comfortable furniture, dazzling views of the field, and indoor and outdoor seating, can also be combined for larger meetings and events. The walkway flows into the Excelsior Club, where the tour concluded and everyone was able to remove their hard hats, network and enjoy refreshments.

The Excelsior Club is a 10,000-square-foot space, which easily accommodates up to 600 attendees for receptions, banquets and theater-style seating. A sleek yet warm space, the Excelsior Club features an expansive bar area and views of the Flushing Meadows Corona Park district of Queens, with its landmark Unisphere, the well known remnant of the 1964 World’s Fair. Waiters served highly delectable hors d'oeuvres, including: Duck Rillettes on onion fussilli crouton with cornichon, Smoked Salmon Roulade, on warm blini with herb crème fraiche, Sundried Tomato and Ricotta Salata Frill Pizza, Smoked Chicken Tart and Dried fruit and arugula. Stations at the bar featured: Cheese Platter Du Jour - served with flat bread, water cracker and sour dough toast; Fresh Fruit, Farm Stand Crudités -  served with lemon yogurt dressing and mustard Zinfandel, mushroom caponata, hummus, baba ghannuj, taramasalata served with pita breads, and  Asparagus with Prosciutto.

By design, no hot dogs, peanuts or cracker jacks were in sight. “These types of events are a great opportunity for us to introduce the space but also showcase the quality of menus we can provide for a variety of events at Citi Field,” said Santos. “Each signature menu item will possess a unique blend of the freshest ingredients. All menus have also been created with seasonality and locally sustainable ingredients in mind. Our Event and Culinary team is dedicated to producing memorable events and exceeding our guests expectations all year round. “

Due to ongoing construction, the tour had to bypass some of the spaces at Citi Field, viewed only from a distance. Of particular note was the 19,000-square-foot Jackie Robinson Rotunda, located directly beneath the Excelsior Club, Citi Field’s iconic main entrance. Resplendent with Field of Dreams nostalgia and a memorial to one of the great figures of baseball (and American) history, the Jackie Robinson Rotunda is vast and grand. For meeting and event planners, this multi-level space, with its terrazzo floor—160 feet in diameter, 70-foot tall brick archways, two stairways and four escalators can easily be transformed into a dynamic exhibition space, with exciting opportunities for signage, branding and booth placement. "We’ve already have several consumer trade shows that have booked the rotunda," said Collamore.

Other spaces pointed out on the tour included the glass enclosed Left Field Restaurant (visible across the snow covered field), an 8,000-square-foot room with full views of the playing field, the New York City skyline, and the World’s Fair Marina; the 1,200-square-foot Knothole Alley, located on the edge of far right field next to the bullpens, and the 20,000-square-foot outdoor Mets FanFest & Taste of New York areas.

 The January tour group also included a smattering of New York hoteliers who hope to provide lodging services for attendees to events at the facility. "The stadium itself is a great destination and there is a novelty to having a meeting or event here," said Jennifer Bulgrin, Account Executive, Courtyard by Marriott, New York City. Marriott is working with Events at Citi Field, and Bulgrin pointed out that there are more than 20 Marriott Hotels in the New York Metropolitan area, including two in the Borough of Queens, where the Mets play ball. "You can just as easily have a meeting or event here as in Manhattan."

"You’re 20 minutes from Manhattan and 20 minutes from the Airport," added Kathy Pineda, New York LaGuardia Airport Marriott.

Planners attending the tour appeared pleased with the meeting-oriented design of many of the spaces, which will include with lap top docks and flat screens to enhance audio visual presentations. In addition, the space offers the convenience of a New York meeting facility—easily accessible by highway, air travel and mass transit with the added bonus of a unique setting. "It certainly adds to the options of spaces here for the planner, and it can draw from Manhattan as well as Long Island," said Melisa Imberman, President of The Event of a Lifetime, Inc., an event-planning company based in Millwood, New York. "It will have a great appeal for out of towners attending an event, because you’ll be able show them something they otherwise may not be able to experience."

The novelty of a ballpark, particularly one with an ‘old-is-new-again’ retro design celebrating America’s Past Time, with cutting edge meeting amenities and technology may also prove to be the edge a new conference center will need in a city where there is an abundance of stylish meeting venues. "Especially in today’s economy, where planning and attending a meeting or corporate event is more difficult, offering something new and different is very important," added Imberman.