Ballpark Visited: Citizens Bank Park
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.
Ballpark Visited:
Citizens Bank Park 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.
Ballpark Visited:
Citizens Bank Park 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.
Ballpark Visited:
Citizens Bank Park 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!!
Ballpark Visited:
Citizens Bank Park 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.
