OK, so the cross-town rival Yankees have their majestic new stadium and a 2009 championship. The division rivals Phillies have a 2008 championship and plenty of parking. So what. The Mets have an unendingly loyal fan base, cooler hats, and the Ebbets-influenced outstanding new ballpark in Flushing. Citi Field is a vast improvement over the former home of the Mets, Shea Stadium, in nearly every way. Even with the Mets underperforming over the last couple of seasons, the Mets faithful still fill the place. Want to join them? Here’s some things you need to know.

The Mets don’t sell out every game, but the lower-priced seats do go quickly, so if you want to buy directly from the Mets you should sign up for the ticket alert newsletter on their website, which will keep you posted on upcoming deals and special nights. You’ll need an account on MLB.com; for step-by-step instructions on how to sign up, click here.

Like most teams, the Mets charge a corporate-sized price for their best seats, but the upper level seats are relatively affordable by comparison. The Mets have a very complicated ticket pricing system, but by following some rules of thumb you can save money on tickets. Games are cheaper during the week, in April and September, and against lesser opponents like the Pirates. If you just want to get into the place, look for a Tuesday Pittsburgh game in April.

Most of the seats at Citi are very good; there are plenty of different seating arrangements with advantages and disadvantages. For example, you can sit underneath the right field seats in the Modell’s Clubhouse—these are very cool and inexpensive field level seats, but you won’t be able to see any of the scoreboards from here. Similarly, the Pepsi Porch hangs over the lower level right field seats a la Tiger Stadium, but bring a hat and sunscreen!

If you’re going to sit in the Promenade (500) level though, you need to be aware of the awful obstructed views. For some reason, glass landings were placed in between sections on this level; certain seats are blocked so poorly as to be unacceptable. To avoid this, try to stay out of the first 3-4 rows of the Promenade level seats, or spend a few extra dollars and go for Promenade Box seats in the 400 level in front of the landings. If you do get one of these seats, call a Mets usher over and asked to be moved. I have read that the Mets are very good about doing so.

Once you have your seats picked out and bought, you’ll need to get there. The most popular method of transportation to get to Citi Field is the MTA 7 train made infamous by nutcase Braves reliever John Rocker. The 7 runs from Manhattan to the Mets-Willets Point station right at Citi Field. It’s nowhere near as bad as Rocker claimed, but Queens isn’t much to look at unless you like graffiti. When leaving after the game, walk around to the opposite side of the platform and get on a train with a red diamond on the side—these are the Mets Express trains that cut the travel time to Manhattan in half with fewer stops.

If you do decide to take your car, there are spaces at or around Citi Field; not enough to handle a sellout if everyone drove but ample enough that you should find a space if you’re early enough. Near the 7 train platform is the Southfield commuter lot; if you get here well before game time, you may be able to grab this at the commuter rate rather than the game day rate. You’ll need to kill some time, but heck, it’s New York, you should be able to find something.

When you’re inside Citi Field you’ll want to sample some of the multitudes of locally based food items; Citi Field has some of the best ballpark food in the majors. There is the ever-popular Shackburger at the Shake Shack—go early if you want to avoid long lines for this. Then there is the Blue Smoke Barbecue for pulled pork sandwiches, El Verano Taqueria for tacos, Box Frites for amazing fries, Cascarino’s New York-style pizza, and much more. In the right field corner is Mama’s of Corona, making some of the best subs you’ve ever had at a ballpark—with a blue and orange sprinkles cannoli for dessert.

Like Citizens Bank Park, Citi Field has a McFadden’s attached to it as well, with Irish pub food and cheaper drinks. Check McFadden’s site before you buy tickets, by the way. You may find some incredible deals.

Citi Field offers a great new experience seeing a ballgame. It’s great to look at and offers a total New York ballpark atmosphere, not to mention lots of great ballpark eats. Take advantage of all this terrific new venue has to offer with these tips!

This article is of course just an introductory guide. You can learn much, much more about all of the aforementioned tips with a PDF-format Citi Field E-Guide—available here!