:: Life on Planet Dan-E ::
Thoughts, observations, and introspections from an
:: Friday, July 02, 2004 ::
CITIZEN'S BANK PARK - PHILADELPHIA
Sunday, June 20
Everyone outside of Philly who’s heard and thing or two about old Veteran’s Stadium would think that all architects had to do was just put any type of decent, nondescript building, call it “Not Veteran’s Stadium” and the people would forms lines that would make the end scene from “Field of Dreams” look like the outside of a theater playing “Gigli.”
They really outdid themselves.
What the rabid fans of Philly are now treated to is a beautifully crafted steel and brick gem of a ballpark that stands in contrast to the attractive but industrial looking Lincoln Financial Field (what’s with the bank names anyway?!?) just across the street. Many of the new ballparks (Cincinnati for example) are decent but lack those idiosyncrasies that make places PNC and Camden Yards so magical.
Philly’s latest isn’t particularly original – brick structures are nothing new – nor does it possess a distinctive feature like Camden’s warehouse, SBC Park’s ocean view or even Dodger Stadium’s simple, timeless beauty. It’s just an amalgamation that’s considerably more than the sum of its parts.
Architecture:
Like I mentioned earlier it’s beautiful from the outside, and not just because its surroundings is a drab industrial area. But you have to be inside to truly appreciate the thought that went into making it fan-friendly. Walk in through the main gate and head right towards Ashburn Alley, where the first thing you’ll see is a nice little souvenir shop. But walk past that and you’ll run into a row of concession stands that emanate a mouth-watering odor. It’s main attractions are two Philly institutions: Tony Luke’s and Geno’s Steaks. Go a little past it and you arrive at the play area that has stuff both kids and adults will love. There’s speedpitch, a run-the-bases, and a homerun hitter pinball game (and you play for free!).
Ok, I digress, that's not so much architecture as it is amenities, of which there are plenty. One of the coolest things about CB is the near-360 degree views from the concourse at all levels. You can walk around the entire stadium, order a cheesesteak or three and never miss a moment of the game. This is good since the game we attended was sold out and the only thing left was standing room tickets. Standing room counters went around the entire park and at game time you’d be hard pressed to find a gap to set your beer down for an inning.
Atop the aforementioned concession stands is yet another standing room only section that features an area that can be roped off for private parties. Even this section of the park had good, if slightly distant views of the action. Like PNC, there isn’t a bad seat (or counter space) in the place.
The stacked bullpens are built right behind the right-center wall so spectators can look down at the relief pitchers warming up as well as enjoy an outfield view. This being Philly, the visitor’s mound is up against the walkway to make it easier for fans to shout obscenities at the visiting players.
Outside the ballpark, the Philly skyline is distant enough to be almost insignificant. In comparison, Pittsburg’s park hits you the moment you see it and when you walk in whereas the virtues of Citizen’s Bank Ballpark sometimes sneak up on you. Especially when you’re inside, you notice not just the beautiful design but the thought that went into making sure every attendee has a great experience. *****
Quality of the Food:
First thing people think of when you mention Philadelphia is cheesesteaks - at least when you’re talking about food. There’s not only one but two well known Philly institutions here: Geno’s Steaks and Tony Luke’s. (Where’z Pat's?) And well, Geno's didn’t disappoint, except once again I ate at their restaurant outside the park. My buddies didn’t share the same enthusiasm, saying it reminded them too much of “Steak’ums.” Maybe they got a little too worked up over the anticipation of their first Philly Cheesesteak while actually in Philly. I found it to be everything I expected; slightly greasy, cheesy, and yummy. Maybe we should have gone to Pat’s? Whatever, get it with Cheez Whiz and onions.
As for the stuff in the park? I only had the hotdog from one of the many carts around the concourse and like Pittsburg, it was satisfying but not much else. When I ordered I hoped to get one of the sausages right off the grill but instead I got one that was already packaged placed in the warming oven. Still, it was a nice hearty size and grilled.
One thing I should have tried was Bull’s BBQ that was at the end of Ashburn Alley. You can’t miss the smoke coming from three massive wood grills they use to cook the ribs, pork and beef and you certainly can’t miss the great smell. The only that stopped me was the huge line that already formed ninety minutes before first pitch and never got any shorter. But from the happy, satisfied looks I saw on people scarfing down on their meals, they looked liked they’d be at least as good as Manny’s BBQ. *****
Beer Selection:
Like most ballparks with the standard selection of domestic (Bud, Bud Lite) and imports (Heinekin, Corona) and a few local Philly Brews. I was really impressed that you could get Red Hook ESB and an India Pale Ale, all off tap and none of it costing over $6.00. ****1/2
Ballpark Experience:
There was a part of me that was hoping that the Phillies would lose, or at least fall behind in this game just so I could witness firsthand the near-legendary fervor with which Philadelphians boo their own teams, never mind the opposing players. As it was, they were playing Kansas City so chances of that were slight. Still, the boos were quite plentiful when the starting lineup for KC was being announced and cheers for the home team were even more boisterous. Despite it being a blowout, it was still an exciting game thanks to Jim Thome’s two homers and Jimmy Rollins’ inside the park homerun. Homeruns are fun to cheer for but they don’t nearly compare to the excitement of seeing an inside-the-parker. That Rollins is a speedy little bugger.
And the atmosphere of the place didn’t disappoint, and the place being sold out didn’t hurt either. Philly Phans are every bit as enthusiastic as you might hear. They’re surprisingly friendly too, when they’re not hurling epithets at the players. There was genuine interest from various people whenever we mentioned that we’re on a ballpark road trip. They were curious as to what we thought of the new place and we didn’t have a single negative comment about it, partly because the place was in fact, so nice, but also because we were a little frightened for our lives should we say anything bad. ****
Intangilbles:
The only bad thing about the place doesn’t really have anything to do with the park but with its surroundings. Like I mentioned earlier, there isn’t much outside of CB Ballpark so the only thing to do is tailgate before and after the game. Driving through the city to get to Geno’s after the game, you eventually learn that a lot of Philadelphia is pretty crappy. Really, this place is a dump. Not really its fault, having been around since colonial times but you’d think they’d invest in a street cleaner or two.
Being tourists, we stopped by the historic area of the city before leaving for New England. It turned out to be both a pleasant surprise and a disappointment. A pleasant surprise because that area was much nicer and a disappointment because we couldn’t get closeup look at some historic shrines like the Liberty Bell. There were barriers everywhere and the only reason we were able to take a half-decent picture of some stuff was thanks to GB’s camera and its awesome 300mm zoom lens.
Still, there’s something extremely cool about walking around such an ancient part of America and seeing various information and artifacts on how our (still) great country came to be. Overall, I give it a ****
:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 6:14 PM [+] ::
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