Mets' Steve Cohen considered adding retractable roof to Citi Field

It turns out New York Mets owner Steve Cohen considered taking a drastic step to avoid home rainouts during MLB seasons. 

Jon Heyman of the New York Post has reported that Cohen "looked into building a retractable roof for Citi Field" but found that such a project would cost roughly $800M. Heyman added that the Wilpon family, the previous majority owners of the Mets until the fall of 2020, "did investigate a roof back in 2007 when they were conceiving of Citi Field and found it would cost an additional $100M to $125M back then." 

Heyman shared his report after the Mets and Atlanta Braves nearly had an entire series washed out due to rain. Friday's game that Atlanta won 4-0 ended after just five completed innings due to constant showers and arguably shouldn't have occurred in the first place, and Saturday and Sunday contests were both postponed. Monday's doubleheader involving the National League East rivals was also threatened by potential rain as of the late morning hours. 

"Let’s put small umbrellas on helmets," Cohen jokingly texted Heyman, which the MLB insider interpreted meant adding a retractable roof to the Mets' existing ballpark is not "tenable" at this time. 

Interestingly, Heyman also threw in a brief mention regarding Cohen and Mets executives being interested in Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani. Heyman previously linked the Mets with Ohtani and most recently wrote that the 28-year-old could "cost $500M (or more)." Heyman is among reporters who have speculated that Ohtani could earn up to $600M if he hits the open market as a free agent after the season. 

"But it seems to me, not only would the roof be better for fans, long term, it may be a better investment than another free agent or two," Heyman said at a time when NFL franchises such as the Cleveland Browns are discussing new stadiums that may or may not have retractable roofs.

It's thought such a structure could allow teams and cities to attract events such as the NCAA's men's basketball Final Four and also year-round concerts.