Citi and Mets say stadium deal on

An impression of the new stadium due to open in April

Citigroup says it is to continue with a $400m (£278m) sponsorship deal for the new New York Mets baseball stadium, despite pressure to drop the contract.

The deal has proved controversial since the bank received a $45bn bail-out to help it survive the credit crunch.

Two members of Congress have called on the Obama administration to pressure Citi and the Mets to drop the deal.

Citi and the Mets insist the deal is going ahead, and that no bail-out cash will be used on Citi Field stadium.

'Legally binding'

Citigroup has been in the firing line in the past week, after President Barack Obama criticised Citigroup for trying to buy a new $50m executive jet after receiving $45bn in taxpayer bail-out cash.

The payments have been made since October through the $700bn US Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

Citi is fully committed to their contract. We're fully committed to them Jeff Wilpon, New York Mets

"Citi signed a legally binding agreement with the New York Mets in 2006," the company said in a statement, adding that no TARP cash would be used on the stadium.

The pair have a 20-year marketing partnership, which includes naming the new stadium .

"Citi is fully committed to their contract," Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon said. "We're fully committed to them."

Two US lawmakers, Democratic congressman Dennis Kucinich from Ohio, and Republican representative Ted Poe from Texas, have sent a letter to the Department of the Treasury suggesting government pressure should be put the company to end the deal.

"At Citigroup, 50,000 people will lose their jobs. Yet in the boardroom of Citigroup, spending $400 million to put a name on a stadium seems like a good idea," said Mr Kucinich.

Shea Stadium

The new Citi Field stadium is set to open in April 2009.

It is being constructed in Flushing Meadows/Corona Park in the New York borough of Queens as a replacement for the adjacent Shea Stadium, which was opened in 1963.

In November New York City Council members Vincent Ignizio and James Oddo suggested the stadium be called Citi/Taxpayer Field, in light of the government funding.

With the growing unpopularity of the banks, a number of Mets fans are reported to be unhappy with the naming agreement.

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