Shea Stadium Photos

[margatemanor]

late 70's..double knit uniforms give it away....

[dstoffa]

Originally Posted by tugger

I would wager they didn't have another crowd like that until 1984.

Opening Day, 1983.

[tugger]

Originally Posted by dstoffa

Opening Day, 1983.

Seaver's return?

[NYFan1stYankFan2nd]

Originally Posted by Jim Vaz

They are showing game 5 of the 2000 World Series on Yes. I noticed though how dim it looks. Is that just the Fox broadcast or was the lighting brightness different after that? Shea later on always seemed to have a more amber glare to it, almost like the lighting in MSG, but in this broadcast everything seems so much whiter.

They can do that on TV you know. By alternng the color temperature to a higher kelvin(8 or 9000k) they can make any scene appear brighter(more blue). This also makes the channel stand out if you are surfing by. However It's not accurate.

[Jim Vaz]

Originally Posted by NYFan1stYankFan2nd

They can do that on TV you know. By alternng the color temperature to a higher kelvin(8 or 9000k) they can make any scene appear brighter(more blue). This also makes the channel stand out if you are surfing by. However It's not accurate.

Thats what I generally figured but just wanted to ask.
Its the same way for MSG. The Garden lighting is very yellow and gives an amber hue to the eye and the details in person are not crisp, but on tv they brighten the broadcast.

[Aviator_Frank]

Originally Posted by Jim Vaz

They are showing game 5 of the 2000 World Series on Yes. I noticed though how dim it looks. Is that just the Fox broadcast or was the lighting brightness different after that? Shea later on always seemed to have a more amber glare to it, almost like the lighting in MSG, but in this broadcast everything seems so much whiter.

Shea went through the Dark Ages from 1982-2001 when they replaced the original 1500W halogen & mercury vapor field lighting (top photo) with those mini spots (middle) that were both poorly distributed on the lighting rails and underpowered. Prior to the 2002 season they upgraded to the Musco Light Structure Green system (bottom) which improved things greatly. IIRC one reason they changed in 2002 was to satisfy the candlepower requirement for television broadcasts.

During the '00 World Series when Fox showed the aerial shots, the amount of lighting hotspots on the field was stunning. It looked like amateur hour. Compare the evenness to the Musco system (last photo).

[mets16]

Well I know that MSG and the Staples Center in LA do this to make you feel as though you are watching a "show". They like to get the crowd out of the view of the game. Look closely at a Lakers or Knicks game, you can hardly see the crowd on the broadcast view.

[burroughsmvp]

Was the lighting changed very much when the Jets left?

[ChineseDemocracy]

Originally Posted by mets16

Well I know that MSG and the Staples Center in LA do this to make you feel as though you are watching a "show". They like to get the crowd out of the view of the game. Look closely at a Lakers or Knicks game, you can hardly see the crowd on the broadcast view.

They introduced the "Lights Out!" initiative at Staples Center a few years ago. They bought new lighting solely to illuminate the basketball court, and turned off the house lights.

It's not the case at Kings games, or Clipper games for that matter.

[Jim Vaz]

I know it gives that old time arena look, but I have always disliked the lighting at MSG and Staples for Lakers games. You just can't pick up things as crisp with it.
You go to Prudential in Newark, the lighting is bright, very crisp but not so that you feel you have spot lights on you

[mets16]

Great panorama from 1988 added to my MLB stadiums group on Flickr. Photo credit to Ghost Of Fire

[RichieA13]

Press photo of the first Mets/Shea Stadium game - April 17th, 1964 vs. Pittsburgh.

Makes you wonder WHY there aren't/weren't more photos around taken at this historic game?

[UnderPressure]

Originally Posted by ChineseDemocracy

They introduced the "Lights Out!" initiative at Staples Center a few years ago. They bought new lighting solely to illuminate the basketball court, and turned off the house lights.

It's not the case at Kings games, or Clipper games for that matter.

Are the jumbotron screens at Staples in HD?

[mets16]

Originally Posted by RichieA13

Press photo of the first Mets/Shea Stadium game - April 17th, 1964 vs. Pittsburgh.

Makes you wonder WHY there aren't/weren't more photos around taken at this historic game?

You're completely right. It's not like Shea was built in obscurity or secretly. It was a big deal. Especially with the Worlds Fair, and the NL return to New York. I'm really surprised that finding older pictures of Shea is harder than need be.

[RichieA13]

Found these rare old snapshots today, courtesy of: http://meetthebeatlesforreal.blogspo...dium-1966.html

[RichieA13]

Here are the rest.

They aren't all that clear, nor very well shot .... but they still document a part of Shea Stadium & Beatles history!

[Saltzy23]

Originally Posted by RichieA13

Found these rare old snapshots today, courtesy of: http://meetthebeatlesforreal.blogspo...dium-1966.html

Is it me or are there a ton of empty seats? Specifically in the UD and the Mezz.

I just always thought that people(i.e 13-16 year old girls) were trampling over each other to see those concerts.

[RichieA13]

Originally Posted by Saltzy23

Is it me or are there a ton of empty seats? Specifically in the UD and the Mezz.

I just always thought that people(i.e 13-16 year old girls) were trampling over each other to see those concerts.

Their first concert in 1965 drew over 55,000 fans.
This concert (1966) drew over 10,000 less fans.

[RichieA13]

Some NICE wide photos of the Beatles @ Shea in 1966 on this site (an example below):

http://www.pbase.com/tg6string/beatles

[Saltzy23]

Originally Posted by RichieA13

Their first concert in 1965 drew over 55,000 fans.
This concert (1966) drew over 10,000 less fans.

Revisionist history is something that absolutely fascinates me...

By the accounts I've heard of those concerts people were killing each other to get in.

How does a show with 10,000 seats(where they played for like 45 minutes) become one of the most legendary concerts ever played?

[RichieA13]

Few more of the nicer ones posted there ............

[RichieA13]

Originally Posted by Saltzy23

Revisionist history is something that absolutely fascinates me...

By the accounts I've heard of those concerts people were killing each other to get in.

How does a show with 10,000 seats(where they played for like 45 minutes) become one of the most legendary concerts ever played?

True, though they STILL drew 45,000 fans for the second gig, Saltzy ... and they apparantly set a record (at that time) for profit for a rock concert .... for what it's worth.


PS---Imagine going to a concert TODAY, say Springsteen or even The Rolling Stones ..... & seeing THIS guy standing on a plywood board placed atop a mini scaffold, pointing a spotlight on the act up on stage??!!

We've come a LONG way, baby!!

[JohnCropp]

Originally Posted by Saltzy23

How does a show with 10,000 seats(where they played for like 45 minutes) become one of the most legendary concerts ever played?

According to Wiki:

The Shea Stadium concert on August 15, 1965 was record breaking and one of the most famous concert events of its era. It was not the first rock concert to be held at a major outdoor stadium—Elvis Presley played concerts at outdoor venues in the 1950's—but it set records for attendance and revenue generation. Promoter Sid Bernstein said, "Over 55,000 people saw the Beatles at Shea Stadium. We took $304,000, the greatest gross ever in the history of show business" demonstrating that outdoor concerts on a large scale could be successful and profitable.

Hindsight and the historical divide take 55k at Shea for a concert out of context, but if you look at that first stage and compare it to the last stage, you get an idea of how bizarre it was for four guys from England to come over to America and stir enough excitement to warrant the need for such a large venue for such an event.





And while Elvis may have played stadiums before the Beatles, at the peak of the "Elvis Mania" in 1956, Elvis played the Cotton Bowl in Dallas in front of 26,500 fans. The rest of the tour was in gymnasiums and auditoriums. That's not a knock on the King, but a testament to what 55,000 at Shea in 1965 meant in that era.

[Jim Vaz]

Originally Posted by Aviator_Frank

Shea went through the Dark Ages from 1982-2001 when they replaced the original 1500W halogen & mercury vapor field lighting (top photo) with those mini spots (middle) that were both poorly distributed on the lighting rails and underpowered. Prior to the 2002 season they upgraded to the Musco Light Structure Green system (bottom) which improved things greatly. IIRC one reason they changed in 2002 was to satisfy the candlepower requirement for television broadcasts.

During the '00 World Series when Fox showed the aerial shots, the amount of lighting hotspots on the field was stunning. It looked like amateur hour. Compare the evenness to the Musco system (last photo).

Aviator thats some GREAT information!!
I knew my eyes were not messing with me. It just looked so dark in 2000, and sure enough theres the answer.

[NYFan1stYankFan2nd]

Originally Posted by RichieA13

True, though they STILL drew 45,000 fans for the second gig, Saltzy ... and they apparantly set a record (at that time) for profit for a rock concert .... for what it's worth.


PS---Imagine going to a concert TODAY, say Springsteen or even The Rolling Stones ..... & seeing THIS guy standing on a plywood board placed atop a mini scaffold, pointing a spotlight on the act up on stage??!!

We've come a LONG way, baby!!

Man if that board gave way beneath that spotter the next song would have to be "I'm Down".