Citizens Bank Park - Clio (2024)

Consideringthat the sport of baseball is widely regarded as the most prominent American pastime,it is only fitting that a stadium receives as much hype as the team that playswithin it. In some cases, an athletic stadium can be among the most visited locationsin any given city. This holds true for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The city ofPhiladelphia is flooded with history, and even more specifically sportshistory. The baseball team that holds the city’s name, the PhiladelphiaPhillies, is considered to be one of the oldest baseball franchises, as well asone of the originals. Citizens Bank Park is the current home to the Philliesfranchise. However, like many other things the teams home has not remainedconstant. Also ever-changing is the success and popularity of the PhiladelphiaPhillies, being that these factors have fluctuated greatly in the team’shistory.

Built in 2004, Citizens Bank Park is aworld-class, baseball only, stadium in southern Philadelphia, that acts as thehome field for the Philadelphia Phillies franchise. In retrospect to thelife-span of the Phillies, this ballpark is a new home and a breath of freshair compared to where they had played previously. But, that will come up later.Citizens Bank Park opened on April 12, 2004. Designedby two leading architectural firms, Ewing Cole Cherry Brott and HOK Sport, thestadium combines Philadelphia's rich tradition of sports architecture withunmistakably modern style. This 1.15 million square foot facility was built ona 21-acre site, in what is now known as the Philadelphia Sports Complex. Withthe ability to hold 43,651 fans in seats, Citizens Bank Park allows allspectators a view of its 440,000 cubic yards of playingfield. Most importantly, this ballpark is inviting and brings what happens in abustling city within, by offering views of thefield from street level. It houses anOpen Main Concourse, of 360 degrees, and state-of-the-art HD video boards that allowsfans to constantly connect with the game. Also, an open outfield allows for ascenic view of Center City Skyline.

After deciding on the site of an old food warehouse, the newhome of the Phillies cost $458millionto build, with taxpayers and private investors splitting thecosts half and half, or about $229 million on each side. However, as part ofthe deal, the Phillies paid for the construction overruns and pay to maintainthe ballpark. ThePhillies sold the naming rights to Citizens Bank for $95 million over 25 years.This included $57.5 million for naming rights and $37.5 million for thePhillies broadcast media package. Prior to construction, three sites were discussedfor the Phillies' new ballpark. They were Chinatown, a downtown site known asLiberty Yards and a site adjacent to Veterans Stadium. The Liberty Yards itwas. The site in the, now known, Philadelphia Sports Complex was chosen andwould also be the location of a new football stadium for the Eagles. With that,Philadelphia City Council approved the construction of two new stadiums and on November13, 2000, Former Mayor of Philadelphia, John Street announced that the newPhillies' ballpark and Eagles' stadium would be located in the Sports Complex.

Manyof the fans who sit in Citizens Bank Park and enjoy a Phillies game are noteven aware of the struggle the team endured before arriving there. For over three decades the Phillies played at perhapsthe worst multipurpose stadium built,VeteransStadium. Not only was it large, with over 62,000seats for baseball, but was well known for having the worst turf in sports.They also shared it with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. So depending on theseason, the facility acted as a football field or a baseball diamond. It wassaid that spectators were able to see the faint outline of a football gridironon the baseball playing field. In a joint effort with other Pennsylvaniaprofessional franchises, including the NFL’s Steelers and the MLB’s Pirates,the Phillies and Eagles petitioned the state for the ability to construct newstadiums. They requested one for each of the four teams. After 33 years at Veterans Stadium, the Philliesmoved into their new state-of-the-art facility, Citizens Bank Park in 2004. Thestadium opened with an exhibition game against the Cleveland Indians.

Havinghad five different stadiums as their home over the history of the franchise,the Phillies embraced Citizens Bank Park. Sincethat time, the Phillies have captured a World Series championship title, twoNational League pennants, and five consecutive NL East titles, while countlessrecords have been broken both on and off the field. However, even moreimportant than the stadium itself, is the team that calls it home. CitizensBank Park is an essential element to the overall history of the PhiladelphiaPhillies because it summarizes the inconsistent success and popularity of theteam.

Now, in the 21st century, the Phillies are the oldest,continuous, same-name, same-city franchise in all of professional sports. Afterbeing founded in 1883 as the "Quakers", the team changed its name tothe "Philadelphias". The team officially became known as the"Phillies" in 1890. Joining the Baseball scene early on, the Philliesplayed in the first World Series in 1915. They won the first game but weredefeated afterward. Shortly after, the team set an attendance record in 1916 of515,365 that stood until after World War II. By the time the 1920s arrived, the Phillies were slippinginto what would become the grimmest period in association history. It lastedfor 31 years during which time the Phils had just one first division finish.

In 1949, with the soon-to-be named Whiz Kids nearly in place,the Phillies wound up third in the league, their highest finish since 1917. Infact, if there was one thing that characterized the 1950s, it was the WhizKids. Simply, the decade belonged to the Whiz Kids, who were just the baseballteam of the 1950 Philadelphia Phillies in Major League Baseball. This stellarperformance put the Phillies into the 1950 World Series, where they sadly lostall four games to the New York Yankees. Nonetheless, for the Phillies, the1970s marked the start of the team's Golden Era. It was easily the mostsuccessful period the club ever had. This period lasted for about a decadebecause finally, after 97 years, the Phillies finally reached the coveted spot in1980 by winning their first World Championship. While in the World Series, thePhillies defeated the Kansas City Royals in six games. They won the first two,lost the next two, then won games five and six. Afterward, the team took a dip again, losingthe 1993 World Series to the Toronto Blue Jays.

On Sept. 28, 2003, the Phillies played in their final game atVeterans Stadium, and gave the place an emotional sendoff. Regardless, CitizensBank Park brought a hint of luck. The Phillies made it to the World Seriesagain, in both 2008 and 2009. This second straight World Series appearance was afirst in franchise history. In fact, for the fifth time in 30 years, thePhillies played in a World Series, matching the Cardinals and Braves for themost. The Phillies finished the 2010 season with the best record in baseballfor the first time in franchise history. However, finished 2015 with the worstrecord in baseball with plenty of change along the way.

Despite the team’s records, it can be seen that the fans arealways loyal. The team set records in2010for attendance (3,647,249 fans, averaging 45,028 pergame) and sellouts (81). This, though, should be taken with a grain of saltbecause in more recent terms the numbers are not the same. Journalist, Rob Tornoe,who writes for The Inquirer inPhiladelphia, wrote a piece detailing the most recent decline in Phillyfanatics. He discusses how the team leads the entire league in attendance decline,during the 2017 season. Tornoe states, “Average home attendance this season isdown more than 8,000 people per game from last year, plummeting to an averageof 29,975 per game. Compared to 2012, attendance is down nearly 14,000 peopleper game.” However, he makes it a point to say that the Phillies do have somethe highest attendance rates amongst the teams with losing records. Tornoesuggests, “instead of slamming fans for steering clear of the ballpark, weshould credit the 30,000 or so who come out every night despite the lacklusterteam their given to support.” All of this information goes to show that thePhillies have had the highest of highs but also the lowest of lows. ObtainingCitizens Bank Park was an incredible feat, but it may be possible that a flashynew ballpark does not necessarily make the team better. It has even beendebated in other Inquirer articlesthat the Phillies no longer use the park to their own advantage.

Regardless of the numbers put into the scorebook, CitizensBank Park has seen a lot of greats in its short life, and brings somethingspecial to the Philadelphia community. “The Bank,” as it is referred to, hasseen its share of wins, loses, home runs, career records, and even World Seriesgames, all in thirteen years. With the neon Liberty Bell that swings and ringsafter Phillies home runs, visitors and fans are embraced in the Philadelphiaculture. Sports, a key factor in Philadelphian life, are neighbors to oneanother in one sports complex. The Eagles, the Phillies, the Flyers, and theSixers all unite residents and visitors. Not only does baseball bring peopletogether, but Citizens Bank Park and the Phillies bring people together, evenPhillies and Mets fans. This field gives people chances to succeed, especiallyby commissioning four local artists to paint murals of the importance ofbaseball and the team throughout the stadium.

This stadium gives back. The Phillies' Red Goes Green program at Citizens Bank Parkis in partnership with Aramark and Spectra. To offset thecarbon footprint created by the team's utility power usage at Citizens BankPark, the Phillies have purchased over 20 million kilowatt-hours of RenewableEnergy Credits, which matches 100% of electricity usage with wind and solargeneration. So, Citizens Bank Park goes beyond baseball. In fact, baseball issimply the stadium’s avenue to create a unified, yet diverse, community inwhich people can gather, forget their worries, and enjoy something that hasbeen enjoyed for generations.

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Tornoe, R., & Klugh, J. (2014, May 30). May 30: Low attendance at Citizens Bank Park. Retrieved December 03, 2017, from http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/tailgaters/May-30-low-attendance-Citizens-Bank-Park-Phillies.html