( CNN ) -- Monday 's 2009 Major League Baseball home opener for the New York Mets at their new ballpark promises to reignite controversy -- and not just over the team 's suspect pitching . Some Mets fans feel the $ 400 million stadium-name deal is a bad one for all parties in these economic times . Though the Mets played exhibition games there earlier this month , they will officially debut their new home , Citi Field , against the visiting San Diego Padres . The $ 800 million-plus Queens facility is undoubtedly a state-of-the-art baseball complex with many modern upgrades from the Mets ' home for the past 44 years , Shea Stadium , which is still in the process of being demolished a few hundreds yards away . One lifelong Mets fan summed up his emotions about saying goodbye to Shea and hello to Citi by saying : `` It was time for a new stadium , but I 'm going to miss Shea very much . '' The controversy arises not from the disappearance of the venerated old stadium but from the fact that rather than attach the iconic Shea name to the new ballpark , in November 2006 the Mets entered into an agreement with Citigroup for naming rights for the new stadium . Reports have put the value of the deal at $ 400 million spread out in payments of $ 20 million per year over the course of the next 20 years . That would make it one of the most lucrative stadium naming arrangements in history . According to the Mets , besides the naming rights for Citi Field , `` The fully integrated partnership includes Citi brand and business unit presence throughout the new ballpark . '' While other corporations have invested in similar deals in the past , the financial crisis has focused particular attention on Citigroup , the Mets , and the practice of paying vast sums of money for what is essentially a long-term advertisement . Citigroup , which now does business as Citi , has been the recipient of billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded bailout money over the past year , causing many to question the prudence of $ 400 million going toward branding Citi Field , especially when Citigroup cut nearly 75,000 jobs in 2008 , capped by 50,000 announced in November . Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich , D-Ohio , has been an outspoken critic of the deal . He has called attention to the issue of corporate spending discretion , or lack thereof , particularly when jobs are at risk . `` At the same time they 're defending this $ 400 million stadium-naming deal , they lay off 50,000 people . Now , how many people could you employ for $ 400 million ? '' The Mets claim that the construction of Citi Field created more than 6,000 temporary full-time equivalent jobs , with approximately 1,000 new positions resulting from ongoing operations at the ballpark . One person whose job is n't at risk is Mets all-star third baseman David Wright . One of the franchise 's most popular and marketable players , Wright is careful not to make any `` errors '' when confronted with the controversy surrounding his new Citi Field home . `` I do n't comment on things that I do n't know about . I 'm a baseball player , so I go out there and worry about my swing , '' he said . Watch fans give views on Citi Field name game » . Kucinich conceded that paying to name a stadium is indeed `` great advertising except for one thing , the American taxpayers have invested heavily in these banks and the bailout fund should not be used for this purpose . '' He advocates that the government , now a direct investor in Citigroup , has the obligation to monitor all aspects of how federal bailout funds are used , which in Kucinich 's opinion includes any marketing or promotional endeavors . Not all Mets fans agree . One ardent fan said he 's happy his hard-earned tax dollars are going to help fund the Mets ' new stadium . `` A lot of people pay for advertisements every day . We should n't be ashamed of it . Taxpayer money goes to waste on a lot of other things . Let 's go Mets , I say ! '' But another fan said , `` If it is indeed our tax money that is actually running the stadium , I wish that I would n't have to pay as much money to go see a game . '' A group of fellow fans , many liking the sound of a `` Mets rebate '' in these troubling economic times , warmly greeted his idea before an exhibition game against Boston on April 3 . David Wright and the rest of the New York Mets , along with 42,000 boisterous fans , will formally open the new ballpark when the first regular-season game there begins at 7 p.m. Monday .
Mets struck deal in 2006 with firm for naming stadium . Price : $ 400 million . Amid economic climate , some baseball fans have mixed feelings about Citi Field . Comment: