Citizens Bank Park – The Phillies’ Stadium is a winner, but is the team?
Written: Sep 09 '05 (Updated Jan 09 '06)
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Pros: Good sight lines. "Retro" design. Large scoreboards.
Real grass field.
Cons: Very long lines at concessions. Traffic jam after the game.
The Bottom Line: Citizens Bank Park is an excellent ballpark for seeing major league baseball. I was very impressed!
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| trailhound's Full Review: Philadelphia Phillies Citizens Bank Ballpark |
I have long been a fan of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team and have been looking forward to seeing their new stadium, Citizens Bank Park. Since I no longer live in the Philadelphia area I missed their maiden season at Citizens Bank Park in 2004. Fortunately I was able to catch a ballgame at the new field in August 2005, and was very impressed with stadium.
Stadium Design
Citizens Bank Park is designed in the “retro” style like ball fields of old. It is not a cookie-cutter ring like their old home, Veterans Stadium, but is very open. The seats are all angled to face the field, no matter which area you sit in. Some of the stands have gaps between them, connected by walkways.
Seating
There are three levels of seating here, which are, lowest to highest: Main Concourse, Club Pavilion, and Terrace. We sat in the Terrace Level behind home plate (Section 421), which is the highest. It is quite high up, but we had a nice view of the whole field and as an added bonus, a view of downtown Philadelphia through the open stadium beyond left field. We paid $20 for these seats. Other seats currently range from $15-$40 for a Phillies game.
I walked all the way around the stadium on the concourses to get a feel for the views at all vantage points. It was fun to see the different sections of seating, and I recommend doing this if you have the time. The sightlines are very good from just about everywhere.
In this stadium you can always see the field of play from the walkways, they are not walled-off from the stands. In some areas there are designated places to stand and watch the game, and a table to rest your beer/hot dog on right in front of you. There is also handicapped seating available in specified areas.
Field and Scoreboards
The playing field is real grass, which is a nice improvement over the rock-hard fake Astroturf at Veterans Stadium. The outfield is asymmetrical with dimensions of 329’ down the left field line, 330’ down the right field line, and 401’ in dead center field. There is a notch in the left-field fence too. Behind the center field fence are the bullpens for both the Phillies and the visiting team.
Behind the left-field stands is a massive scoreboard, top with the word “Phillies” written in bright red. The scoreboard is contains all the game’s statistics, as well as displaying live action video shots. Sometimes they show instant replays (unless there is a controversy).
In right field there is a large scoreboard displaying scores of other on-going games around the league. There are also smaller scoreboards scattered about for fans sitting in areas where the main scoreboards are not visible.
Museum
There is a small “museum” behind the batter’s eye area called “Memory Lane”. It is basically three brick walls with various photographs in Phillies history. Most of the photos are of popular players and their single World Series victory moment, which occurred in 1980 (Yep, one World Series title in over 120 years!) On a nearby wall is their “Hall of Fame” which has plaques of some of the best Phillies over the years. A recent entrant was Bob Boone, who was once a catcher for the team.
Concessions/Other
The concessions are plentiful and very busy at this ballpark. Many are the usual walk-up concession stand, but some also have seating where you can continue to see the game.
We happened to visit on a “Dollar a Dog Night” which meant hot dogs were just $1, and no limit. This seemed to draw out thousands of extra fans (Over 40,000 in attendance on a Monday!) and the concession stands were jammed.
The biggest concentration of concession stands was in the center field area. Prices are a bit high – expect to spend close to $10 total for a food and beverage item. At least there was a good variety of grills (Philly Cheese steaks) BBQ, ice cream, and pizza concessions. Behind the home-plate stands is McFadden’s Restaurant & Saloon, which was open after the game too (and was jammed with patrons).
Restrooms seemed to be plentiful and were relatively clean too. The one I used even had an attendant making sure the towels dispenser was full.
There is a ticket window outside the stadium on the corner of Pattison Ave. and Darien Street. We had bought our tickets ahead of time over the internet (Phillies.com) and just had to print out the ticket, which was then bar-scanned upon entry.
The Fans
Philadelphia sports fans do not have a good reputation for kindness (they even booed Santa Claus once at an football game). I’ve seen “just about everything” coming to sporting events in Philly. On this night though the fans were in good spirits (must have been all those hot dogs) and there was little heckling or jeering. We only saw one fight, and that was after the game had ended.
Location of the park
Citizens Bank Park is located in South Philadelphia close to Interstate I-76 on Pattison Avenue and Darien Street. Most (but not all) of the surrounding area has other sports facilities and food processing plants. The Walt Whitman Bridge into New Jersey and Interstate 95 are both within a couple of miles of the park. Access is pretty easy, but expect some traffic tie-ups before and after the games.
Parking
There are many parking lots within 2-3 blocks of the stadium, Expect to pay about $10/vehicle and don’t park at the back of the lot or in a dark corner (someone may pee on it). There is some on-street parking but you may be taking a chance in Philly. I recommend the chained kink fence lots myself.
Overall
I was very impressed with Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. They really did things right this time! The stadium is not quite as polished off as some retro stadiums, like Camden Yards in Baltimore, but is still excellent. It was pretty clean too - not always a given in this city. The Phillies even won on the night I visited. Overall I have to give Citizens Bank Park 5 stars!
Citizens Bank Park
1 Citizens Bank Way
Philadelphia PA 19148-5249
(215) 463-1000
Other review that may interest you:
Juiced by Jose Canseco
http://www.epinions.com/content_189311651460
Elysian Fields Quarterly Baseball Magazine
http://www.epinions.com/content_196230024836
© trailhound. 2005.
Recommended:
Yes
Parking Availability: Busy But Manageable
Seat Location: Upper Deck
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