CITIZENS BANK PARK FAN REVIEWS & EXPERIENCES

Submitted By: Matt N. Grade: A
Pros of the ballpark: Ashburn Alley is a great addition to the park, and is unlike anything in any other park. The large selection of food including Bull's BBQ. Great Atmosphere.
Cons of the ballpark: Not many things wrong with this park. I'd say maybe the location, it doesn't have a beautiful backdrop like Roger's Centre Tower, or the River and Bridge of PNC Park. However, it is not anything to take away from the park.
Additional Comments: This is without a doubt my favorite ballpark in the MLB.I've seen other parks that people have raved about such as PNC Park and Camden Yards, but I just think this is better. There is a huge choice of food, a couple Phillies shops, and one can sit anywhere and have a great view. Another good part is that one can see the field at anytime, no matter where one is standing in concourse lines. The Phillies Statues and HOF plaques and the best mascot in baseball provides a tremendous atmosphere no matter what game one attends. I have been to several games ranging from the Yankees to the Pirates, and the Phillies fans as great. Ashburn Alley is awsome, where everyone can come out from the roof and walk out. Overall it is the best Park in baseball and anyone loves baseball has to make this park a place to go at some point.

 Submitted By: Mike Grade: A
Pros of the ballpark: Citizens Bank Park has a ton of choices to eat at.  There are two restaurants, and tons of specialty concessions.  The bi-level bullpen is really neat, it brings you so close to the game.  The scoreboard is huge and clear, it makes seeing replays very easy.  The giant Liberty Bell is center field is a nice touch that really shows that this ballpark is in Philly.  You can walk all around the ballpark and still catch all the action.  The out of town scores on the right field wall is also a nice touch.  Also there is a big display in Ashburn Alley remembering the past seasons of Phillies baseball.
Cons of the ballpark: Even though there are tons of concession stands there was long lines for food.  Maybe that was because it was the first game played there though.  There are only two places to see what the score and how many ball, strikes, and outs there are.  There needs to be more.  The same type of music is played throughout the game, old Rock & Roll.  There is nothing wrong with that type of music, it would just be nice to have a variety.
Additional Comments: The park is a definite upgrade over Veterans Stadium.

 Submitted By: Adam Grade: A
Pros of the ballpark: Not a bad seat in the place.  A lot of people like to make that claim about a great many things, but we actually went walking all around the park to see what the game looked like from various angles, and none were poor.  The bell for homers was a nice throwback to the past as well.  Food was reasonably priced for a ballpark.
Cons of the ballpark: The seats were a tad too small, and many people would have gotten ticked off at the fans behind me (I sat in Right-Center).  These guys heckled their own team more then the opposition.
Additional Comments: The game was sold out.  Luckily, a scalper (or 'broker') offered me seats at only $10 over list in the 2nd row outfield.  That's not a bad deal in my book.

 Submitted By: Gary Grade: F
Pros of the ballpark: The Phillie Phanatic. Period. I went to my first game at the Vet in 1971. Grew up watching Schmidtty, Bowa, Lefty, and Tugger in a mighty coliseum.  What we have now is a corporate mall-park where the game itself is secondary.
Cons of the ballpark: Where to start?  Parking is horrible, prices are insane for tickets and food, there is overkill as far as advertising is concerned.  There is Walkway in center-field known as Ashburn's Alley..should be renamed Alcoholics Alley.  Educational for the kids, though, as they can walk through and learn about the negative effects of alcohol. Want a Philly Cheesesteak?  Prepare to miss at least 2 innings standing in line.  And they called the Vet a cookie-cutter?  This dump looks exactly like every other corporate showcase retro-stadium going up.  To sum it up..10 lbs. of crap in a 5 lb. bag.
Additional Comments: Give me the ballpark named after our great men and women who defended our country any day.  You can keep your stinkin' little corporate suck-up dump that honors a second rate bank.

 Submitted By: Dan Grade: A
Pros of the ballpark: The excellent food choices, the view from everywhere in the Ballpark is amazing, the history of the past & present inside & outside the park with Statues of former players surrounding all the corners. The Atmosphere inside was great also. Ashburn Alley is really nice touch as is the neighborhood feel with all the concessions representing parts of the City with all kinds of food to chose from. Bulls BBQ is a must along with Tony Luke's & Geno's Steaks... McFadden's Sports Restaurant & Harry the K's named after the Phillies Hall of Fame announcer Harry Kalas are good way to hangout before & after the game. The Liberty Bell is a unique touch to represent Philly. It rings & lights up after every home run, the Bleacher seats above Ashburn Alley that were originated from the old Connie Mack Stadium/Shibe Park days in the early 1900's was a must by the fans to represent the past.  The soon to be nicknamed ballpark is very impressive, especially looking at the
 "Vet" for 33 tears, I mean years.
Cons of the ballpark: As for every new ballpark, very crowded & congested. food lines very long &  although you can still watch the game from the concession line, it seems forever to get your food. The digital scoreboard has to be one of the best in baseball to watch for score's & player stats, unless your not in a seat directed to see it, you don't have anywhere else to view the player stats while there at bat. Like I said it's a new ballpark & I'm sure they will add new features throughout the season.
Additional Comments: After the rubble from Vet is cleared the Phillies are adding an outline of the playing field in the exact spot where the bases, home plate & the pitchers mound once where at. In that there will be a much needed 5500 parking spaces in the Vets old location... Go Phillies, job well done!!

 Submitted By: Mario Pardo Grade: B
Pros of the ballpark: The park could not be easier to get to from Center City, Philly, and neither could parking.  Luckily I left early before the supposed horrid end-of-game exodus.  Seats were super easy to find, and concessions really easy to get to with short lines that don't stick out into people's paths on the concourse.  Being a newer stadium, everything obviously is in good repair and kept clean.  Within the stadium itself, you see lots of the exposed steel beam supports and brick facades which is cool.  The Ashburn Alley/outfield concourse area makes for a good 'standing room only' area if you want to hang out.  Given the park's cozy dimensions, you'll still still have a good view of the game from out there.  While in the seats, beer vendors seemed to pass literally every two minutes with the coldest brews I've ever had a a game.  Oh yes - the scoreboard is HUUUGE, especially when viewed while standing underneath it.
Cons of the ballpark: My only real negatives are: that the field looks like a Little Leaguer's (dimension-wise) especially coming from Shea, for example the left field foul pole is at 329 feet with an 8 foot wall;  some diversions (inevitable in new stadiums) such as Ashburn Alley and an entirely separate children's playground continue to make ballparks a family-friendly entertainment destination, taking focus away from the main event: that is cheering, groaning, and otherwise following your beloved home team on the field.  Also, I sat on the field level but the ramps and stairs leading to the upper decks seemed Mt. Everest-like, though likely it's the effect of seeing the entire walkway exposed (at Shea you just walk up ramp after ramp against the outer edge of the stadium).
Additional Comments: After an entire childhood and 'teenhood' of going to mostly Mets games at Shea and sometimes Yankees games at The Stadium, I've finally seen an MLB game at another stadium.  I was impressed indeed.  What newer ballparks like CBP may lack in history and the type of character earned only through decades of use, it makes up for with open spaces, comfortable seats, and just plain smart planning.  For example, instead of having a centralized stack of PA speakers piled up past the outfield wall, each section had smaller speakers right above the seats.  Overall, this only makes me more excited for the Mets' proposed new home in 2009.