‘Piano Man’ To Close Out Shea
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Singer Billy Joel will make the final play at Shea Stadium, giving a concert at the soon-to-be-demolished Mets ballpark on July 16.
During a press conference yesterday, the Bronx-born Mr. Joel held aloft a jersey emblazoned with the words “Billy Joel: Last Play at Shea.” His performance this summer will mark the last concert at the team’s longtime home base. The stadium will be supplanted in 2009 by Citi Field, now under construction in Flushing.
Opened in 1964, the stadium is one of the oldest in Major League Baseball. It has seen its share of marquee performers — among them the Rolling Stones, the Who, Simon and Garfunkel, Bruce Springsteen, and the Beatles, who played the first-ever concert there on August 15, 1965. Mr. Joel’s expansive pop catalog includes the chart-topping tributes to the city, “New York State of Mind” and “Uptown Girl.” Tickets go on sale February 16.
