Robert Moses - Brooklyn Dodgers

Brooklyn Dodgers

Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley wanted to build a new stadium to replace the outdated and dilapidated Ebbets Field. O'Malley determined the best site for the stadium was on the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn (current location of the Barclays Center) at the end of the Long Island Rail Road. O'Malley pleaded with Moses to help him secure the property in a cost effective manner, but Moses wanted to use the land to build a parking garage. O'Malley's plan for the city to acquire the property at a cost several times what O'Malley had announced the Dodgers were willing to pay the city for the land was rejected by officials (both pro- and anti-Moses), newspapers and public opinion as an unacceptable government subsidy of a private, profitable business enterprise. Moses envisioned New York's newest stadium in Flushing Meadows on the former (and as it turned out, future) site of the World's Fair in Queens. O'Malley was vehement in his opposition, stating "we are the Brooklyn Dodgers, not the Queens Dodgers!" Moses won this clash of egos and would not be moved on this issue. After the Dodgers left for Los Angeles and the New York Giants left for San Francisco, Moses was able to build Shea Stadium in Queens on the site he planned for stadium development. Construction began in October 1961 and the stadium opened in April 1964 to house the National League's New York Mets, who played there until the end of the 2008 season, when they moved to the adjacent Citi Field.