Philadelphia Phillies Citizens Bank Ballpark: What You Need to Know if You Go
Written: Apr 04 '04
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Aesthetics: |
 |
|
| Food Selection: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Fan friendly, beautiful, nice change from Vet, not too expensive, great views
Cons: Parking can be difficult
The Bottom Line: A wonderful new stadium that is a huge upgrade over the Vet.
|
|
|
| hwz1's Full Review: Philadelphia Phillies Citizens Bank Ballpark |
This Saturday marked the unofficial opening of the Philadelphia Phillies new field- the Citizens Bank Ballpark. The team decided to hold a final spring training game in Philadelphia in order to sell a boatload of tickets and to show off the new stadium. Though the stadium is not 100% finished (There are a few final touch ups that still need to be attended to, but nothing that has an effect on the stadium or the game.), you can already tell that you are in for a totally different experience from anything you have ever been a part of with regards to Philadelphia baseball.
The ballpark is located right beside where the Vet used to be and where the other Philly stadiums currently sit. In other words, hop on Broad Street and you will be at the stadium in a matter of four miles and a few minutes if you are coming from Center City. The first thing you will notice is that this stadium contains a good looking facade, rather than the drab exterior that the Vet possessed. You will notice that the stadium contains statues of former Phillies on the outside of the stadium. You notice that there is some landscaping, versus virtually none at the Vet. You also notice that the ballpark was built with the idea of making it aestetically pleasing, rather than just a concrete bowl. In this manner, each of the four corners of the stadium are built to focus on a specific corner of the city; in other words, the corners are as different as they can be, just like the boiling pot that is Philly.
Then you go inside and notice even more changes. For one, the stadium has open views of Center City Philadelphia. A great touch that I think adds a lot to the stadium. I was for building it in the city, but if not, I am glad that they decided to provide a scenic view. To see what I mean, simply look a little left of dead centerfield. The other thing that immediately strikes the fan is that the stadium is so clean. Now we all know that this will change, but it is nice to see that for the time being the place is virtually spotless. Another big change is the playing field. Anyone who has been to a Phillies game over the past few years has seen the astroturf field that they had to play on. The field was responsible for numerous knee, leg and ankle injuries over the years and looked horrible to the viewer.
But all of this is just a tease of what the place offers for the fan. Remember the Vet and how it never really catered to anyone? Well, the new ballpark has numerous different design touches that show that they put the fan first this time. The first thing you notice with regards to how much more fan friendly this place is is that the field is 23 feet below street level. Big whoop? Well it is because you no longer have to walk endless concourses in order to get where you want to go. In fact, close to half the fans will walk down when they enter. The second thing you realize is that you no longer lose track of the game when going to a concession stand. The areas are open air and the stands back up to the field. Hence, while ordering you can catch the game. A third area that is fan friendly is the way you can move around in the stadium. There are not just fewer concourses, but there are three escalators and 17 elevators.
What else? Well, there are the food options. There is McFadden's, Zanzibar Blue, the Scoreboard and Saloon. They serve the typical variety of ballpark food, but they also serve more of what I would call restaurant quality food. More of the type of food you may eat when taking the family out to dinner- not just burgers and hot dogs, but also chicken and BBQ. In fact, you can take your family out to Zanzibar Blue year round as it will stay open. Additionally, there is an area known as Ashburn Alley that opens hours before and stays open hours after the game. This is an area where you can picnic, shag home run balls, catch batting practice, or just find a different view of the game. How about the all important restrooms? The Vet was sorely lacking in this area and the Linc and the new Phillies Ballpark decided that they would take care of the problem. Hence, there are 24 men's and 24 women's restrooms with an additional 24 family restrooms. The women should notice that the mile long line at the Vet has shrunk to virtually nothing.
So, what about the field? The field does not have a bad seat. I am serious. You are close to the action, but not feeling like you are looking straight down at the game. There are seats behind the foul poles, but they are not sold to the public because they would not be good enough seats (Info from the local news). The dimensions are virtually the same as with the Vet as the team did not want to discourage pitchers from coming to Philly by making the park too small and, likewise, did not want to discourage sluggers by making the field too large. So, they decided to leave good enough alone. What has changed is that you can now snag a home run ball. Previously, the Vet outfield seats were so high that in order to catch a home run ball it had to be a monster. Now you can catch most any home run ball. As I mentioned previously, the grass field is such an improvement that I can hardly describe it.
Finally, prices. The Phillies had to pay for the new stadium and they did so via many different sources. One was by raising prices. The biggest difference that I found was in the cheap tickets. These tickets used to cost $10 but have now jumped by 50% to $15. Not a huge deal as far as I am concerned. The concession stands and drink and food vendors cost about the same as in the Vet; in other words, overpriced.
One final thought that you should keep in mind before attending your first game. The Vet was just imploded. What this means is that the parking is limited right now because of construction vehicles and, well, the mess that used to be the Vet. While this does not mean you will not get a space, it means that you might get a space a long way away if there happens to be something else going on that night. I always do the following and never have a problem: I purchase two tokens and board the Broad Street subway line in the city. About 10 stops later (They will tell you when you arrive) you are at the stadium complex and you have missed all the congestion. The subway is safe and easy.
I love the new ballpark. My only complaint is that I wish it had been built in the city, rather than down in the industrial wasteland that is much of the stadium complex area. But, who cares. Philly finally has a world class stadium and we may even have a decent team to put on the field this year. Good luck getting a ticket, but if you can, by all means get down to the new field and enjoy the changes.
Recommended:
Yes
Parking Availability: Busy But Manageable
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
hwz1
|
 - Top 50 |
|
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Reviews written: 845
Trusted by: 923 members
About Me:
Just got a big promotion that will move my new wife and I to Atlanta.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.