Release #449-00

 

Contact:	Sunny Mindel / Lynn Rasic (212) 788-2958
	Joyce Baumgarten (Geto & de Milly, Inc.) (212) 686-4551

MAYOR GIULIANI ANNOUNCES NEW YORK METS MINOR LEAGUE TEAM
TO BE NAMED THE "BROOKLYN CYCLONES"

Mayor and Club Owners Congratulate Suffolk County Fan Who Won Team-Naming Contest

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today joined Mets Club owners Jeffrey Wilpon and Fred Wilpon to announce that the first professional baseball team to play in Brooklyn in 43 years will be named the "Brooklyn Cyclones". The Mayor and Jeffrey and Fred Wilpon congratulated John Diffley of Port Jefferson, N.Y., who submitted the winning team name in a 12-week-long contest sponsored by The Daily News and 660-WFAN-AM that drew more than 7,000 entries.

"Today we're proud to announce that the Mets' new minor league team will be known as the 'Brooklyn Cyclones', in honor of Coney Island's signature roller-coaster," Mayor Giuliani said. "For baseball fans in Brooklyn this is an especially important announcement because this will be the first professional baseball team to call Brooklyn home since the Dodgers left. The Brooklyn Cyclones will no doubt draw people to the neighborhood, initiate the re-development and economic growth of Coney Island, and add to Brooklyn's reputation as a legendary sports borough."

"The fantastic response to the "Help Us Name the Team" sweepstakes demonstrates what we've known all along - that New Yorkers are eagerly looking forward to the return of professional baseball to Brooklyn," Executive Vice-president of Brooklyn Baseball Company Jeffrey Wilpon said.

"For years, the Brooklyn Cyclone has been the last word in heart-stopping summer thrills for roller coaster riders at Coney Island," New York Mets co-owner Fred Wilpon said. "Now the Brooklyn Cyclones are going to bring the heart-stopping thrills of professional baseball to Coney Island."

More than 7,000 fans took part in the "Help Us Name the Team" sweepstakes begun at the groundbreaking of the new Coney Island stadium in August, when Mayor Giuliani submitted the first entry in the contest. The contest winner John Diffley will receive two season passes for all Brooklyn Cyclones 2001 home games and other prizes. One hundred randomly selected runners-up will receive tickets to home games for the upcoming season. The Daily News and WFAN-AM sports talk radio sponsored the contest.

The Brooklyn Cyclones, who will be a Class "A" team in the New York-Pennsylvania Professional Baseball League ("New York-Penn League"), will play the home games of their inaugural 2001 season in a 6,500-seat stadium now being built. The Brooklyn Cyclones will play a 76-game regular season from mid-June to Labor Day against 13 other teams of the New York-Penn League.

Approximately 700 jobs will be created during the Brooklyn Cyclones ballpark construction and corresponding site improvement work. Once the ballpark is open, the team will have a 38-game home schedule, including four games against their new cross-city rivals, the Staten Island Yankees. The stadium will also be used to stage non-game events that could include scholastic and athletic events, concerts, and other community activities. These games and events, along with the City's right to stage up to 35 events per year, will create approximately 240 full and part-time jobs.

The Brooklyn Cyclones ballpark will be located at the site of the former Steeplechase Park in Coney Island, at Surf Avenue and Riegelmann Boardwalk between West 16th and 19th Streets. The ballpark is to be built on four parcels of land owned by the City of New York and will total 869,452 gross square feet.

www.nyc.gov