Philadelphia Baseball, Gentrified

The last time I went to a Phillies game, I made the drive to Philadelphia to watch the Braves play at Veterans Stadium.  When the Phillies still played at "The Vet," a mixed-use facility that the team shared with the NFL's Eagles, going to a baseball game in Philadelphia was a scary proposition, especially for a fan of a visiting team.  I distinctly remember wearing my Braves gear in and around the stadium and having a series of insults - and sometimes objects - hurled at me from all directions.

What a difference a new stadium makes.  On Wednesday, I once again drove down to Philadelphia for a Phillies vs. Braves game, but this time in the relatively new Citizens Bank Park for the first time.  Citizens Bank is part of a giant sports complex that includes the Eagles' new stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, and the Wells Fargo Center, home of the Philadelphia 76ers and Flyers.  The three stadiums are all within easy walking distance of each other, and the parking lots for all three were open prior to the baseball game, making parking extremely simple.  The area outside all of the stadiums was beautifully landscaped, too.

The area outside of Citizens Bank Park makes the stadium feel very inviting.

Unlike other new stadiums that are all steel and concrete, the interior of Citizens Bank Park is almost entirely covered in red brick.  Not only does this make the stadium match many of the older, classic buildings in downtown Philly (including Independence Hall), but it also makes the park feel more expensive and classy than other similarly recent venues.  The concession signage had an old-school look-and-feel, too, and matched the Phillies banners and posters hanging from the rafters in the concourses.  While the playing surface at Citizens Bank is notoriously small, the entire field is surrounded by beautifully manicured lanscaping.  Overall, the stadium just felt like part of the city, and is a great place to spend a summer night.

The great view from our seats in the upper deck behind home plate.

More impressive than the park itself, though, is the way it has transformed the culture of Phillies baseball.  Not only were there tons of fans in the seats - back in the early 2000s, no one showed up for games at The Vet - but Citizens Bank Park is a family-friendly atmosphere.  The drunken Phillies faithful have likely been priced out (seats aren't cheap at Citizens Bank), instead replaced by families, young couples and businessmen.  In our section in the upper deck, we were surrounded by a nice elderly couple, a young couple with an infant, and a father and his son, none of whom gave me a hassle about my Braves jersey or taunted me when the Phillies won on a walkoff single in the ninth.

I had a great time at the game, despite the Braves loss, and was definitely impressed by the quality of the Phillies' new ballpark.  If there was a negative, though, I have to say that it was almost disappointing not to have been taunted more by the Phillies faithful.  On the way out to the parking lot I did receive a few playful jabs from Phillies fans, but nothing nearly as vicious as what I could have expected had the team still been playing at The Vet.  While it's always nice to go to a beautiful new ballpark, the stadium's high prices seem to have driven away the rough and rowdy Phillies diehards.