The Express Train team was recently honored with an opportunity to take a behind the scenes tour of the planning for the recently announced new stadium for the Underground. Ahead of a forthcoming public event the Express Train team was allowed to check out the goings on and even sit down with General Manager Cyan Winters to discuss the project in a bit more detail. Though he strictly forbid us from publishing this piece prior to the public event, we were permitted to post it directly following the opening of that event for fans who could not make it out to London.

One thing auspicious in its absence at Winter’s PEBA Winter Meeting announcement was a name for the new stadium – typically a pretty important detail in a league steeped in as much history as the PEBA. Well, Winters told us, they simply had gotten ahead of themselves in planning the details of the stadium itself and forgot to circle back to the name. Shortly after the Winter Meetings the team decided to drive fan #engagement by setting up a contest where fans could submit their name suggestions via social media or a special website with the top selections to be considered for the final name. However, despite it being 2033 after a week of submissions “Stadiumy McStadiumface” led all other options by a wide margin. The website was quietly shuttered at that point and the social media profiles stopped promoting the contest. Instead, Winters met with a variety of prominent London historians and did some of his own research before settling on a name. He beamed as he waved the manila folder in front of us, explaining he had just gotten off the phone with the PEBA Commissioner who had approved their name.

Pearson Metropolitan Park. What’s in a name? Well – the Metropolitan part comes from the Metropolitan Railway was London’s first under the ground rail system and direct predecessor to the subway the Underground take their name from. It was also one of the very first built in the world, opening to the public in 1863. Any London rail fans will know where this is headed now. Charles Pearson was the brain behind it and fought for many years before finally being granted approval for the project. He is rightly considered the father of underground rail in London. Later he became a politician and was considered a progressive of the time championing such righteous causes as universal suffrage, prison reform, and an end to the death sentence. In Winters mind, this is the perfect homage to the history of London and to the identity of the team together.

Winters also announced the stadium would be built on an existing Underground line and the nearby station would be fully remodeled – at the team’s expense – in order to enhance the experience for guests choosing to come to the game by the tube. Brand new trains would also be purchased for exclusive use on the routes to and from the newly renamed Pearson Metropolitan Station. Though a significant expense to the team it was deemed well worth it – new trains were a rarity in the London subway and were an easy way to quickly engender great amounts of goodwill and support from the London commoner who might not otherwise care for the brand new baseball stadium being built right next door.

We were also shown the first artists renderings of plans for the park. A truly gorgeous citadel to baseball with an unbelievable amount of brick by today’s standards. One thing notably absent however was a retractable roof. Originally part of the plans, Winters explained they simply couldn’t get the epic look and feel they wanted in any of the roofed stadium designs they looked at. The weather in London wasn’t so bad after April that they expected much issue, and felt the aesthetic was worth it. We can’t say we disagree! As promised at the Winter Meetings, the right field is dominated by an 18’ wall in honor of the 2018 PEBA Championship team. Atop that sits a replica Tower of London – set back a few feet so as to not be part of the field of play. Another change since the winter meetings is the turreted towers on either end now will also serve as light stanchions.

The inside of the tower will house a dual-purpose British history and London Undergound museum with artifacts and memorabilia from the storied past of both the nation and its premiere ballclub. We were delighted to learn that the Underground were partnering with the British Baseball Hall of Fame to bring their entire museum in house to Pearson Metropolitan Park, affording them a more spacious and significant space. Winters considers this a significant victory for British baseball fans and is part of his promise to have this stadium be a mecca of baseball for all PEBA fans, especially those in Britain. Another effort to that end is a secondary ball

field that will be built directly beside Pearson Metropolitan. This will provide a well-maintained ball field in London which will be available for primary school, university, lower professional teams, and even recreational leagues. The hope of course is to continue to grow the game in the hearts and minds of Londoners and bring about a golden age of British baseball. Despite being American, Winters seems genuine in his appeals to make baseball a British game.

The initial capacity of Pearson Metropolitan Park is slated to be 45,000, about the same as Wembley today. Winters emphasized that not only would it be 45,000 far more comfortable and happy people but that the stadium was specifically designed to add additional seating in the future and that he hoped to quickly expand the ballpark to 50,000+ seats once it was paid off. Though he reiterated that this would be a baseball park and the Underground would always get priority, in the offseason he expects the stadium to host its share of massive concerts, conventions, and large corporate events. In a nod to the historic events of 2008 in which the Foo Fighters trashed the field at Wembley, Winters announced the band will be playing the first concert at Pearson Metropolitan. With a smile he says he hopes their advanced age (lead singer Dave Grohl will be 65 in 2034) will keep them from repeating the events of 2008, although he wouldn’t be too mad if they did. He’s a big fan.

Beyond that, the stadium is packed with all the modern amenities you’d expect. High end seated dining, vast concessions options, high tech digital signage and interactive events between innings, and a variety of entertainment options to keep the little ones entertained. Winters seemed particularly excited for the virtual reality batting cages which would give kids and adults alike a chance to take batting practice from home plate of Pearson Metropolitan or Wembley Stadium. The stadium itself is a destination, every bit as much as the team is. Maybe even more, at least for now.

After several hours our tour and interview were finally concluded. Winters expects a ground breaking ceremony to follow shortly after this gala and the Express Train team will be there covering it!