Mets finalize plans

Mets.com reports that the Mets have finalized plans for the new stadium:

The New York Mets announced today that they have completed and signed all agreements related to the financing, development and construction for their new ballpark. The ballpark will open on Opening Day in 2009.

Today's news follows last week's announcement regarding the successful offering of bonds to support the ballpark project. The $613 Million bond offering was oversubscribed by a ratio of 5 to 1.

"Today's announcement makes our dream of building a new ballpark for our team and fans a definitive reality," said Mets' COO, Jeff Wilpon. "We will now move forward from site logistics work to an aggressive construction schedule. Already in our parking lot at Shea Stadium, piles are being driven and excavation and foundation work is beginning.

"We greatly appreciate the support of the City and State of New York and our local elected officials as well as our new bondholders, who all helped make the development of this privately financed ballpark a reality," added Wilpon. "We will have an announcement about our ceremonial groundbreaking event in the coming weeks."