Citizens Bank Park is one of those ballparks that won’t blow you away, but it’s solid across the board. The ballpark doesn’t have a single defining feature, something that makes it truly special, but it also doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses. Opened in 2004, Citizens Bank Park replaced Veterans Stadium, which was one of the ugliest stadiums ever built. The new ballpark helped revitalize the Phillies, with annual attendance increasing by nearly a million fans.
Philadelphia is known for having incredibly passionate sports fans, and the Phillies are no exception. Citizens Bank Park helps harness this passion, creating an intimate fan experience, while simultaneously being one of the larger ballparks. I was actually surprised when I looked up the ballpark’s seating capacity, which comes in at just under 43,000, good for 10th highest in MLB. I was surprised because Citizens Bank Park doesn’t feel that large, a credit to both the fans and the stadium’s designers.
The ballpark’s exterior is somewhat boring, which is fine, but it doesn’t elicit excitement from fans seeing it for the first time. The interior design is a different story. Overall the interior of the ballpark is aesthetically pleasing, and a very pleasant backdrop for a baseball game. The sightlines are very good, and there doesn’t appear to be a bad seat in the house. The concourses are wide, and flow very nicely.
The ballpark is oriented so that you have decent views of the city, but only from the upper levels. If the ballpark were downtown, the city skyline would have been additive to the experience, but I also appreciate the tradeoffs. When the Phillies were contemplating a new ballpark in the early 2000’s, it seemed like a downtown location was the most likely, but ultimately the location in South Philly ended up being the best fit.
Many argue that the ballpark would be much better with a downtown location. I’m not unsympathetic to that argument, but I also recognize the benefits of the current location. I honestly feel like the location strikes a good balance, as the ballpark is only 5 miles South of downtown Philadelphia . You can spend the day exploring the city, and then it’s an easy drive over to the ballpark. Citizens Bank Park is part of a broader sports complex, which also includes the Wells Fargo Center and Lincoln Financial Field, home of the 76ers and Eagles respectively. The complex is surrounded by plenty of parking, and sits between I-76 and I-95, so leaving after the game is a breeze. Contrast this with the typical parking experience of downtown ballparks, which can generously be called frustrating.
I typically don’t assign much weight to a ballpark’s culinary options, but you have to acknowledge the food in Philly. The Philly Cheesesteak is synonymous with Philadelphia, and you can certainly enjoy one at Citizens Bank Park. Aside from cheesesteaks, there were plenty of other food options, and everything I tried was excellent. The food quality was reminiscent of the West coast ballparks, which have praise heaped upon them for similar offerings.
Rankings Update
As I previously mentioned, Citizens Bank Park has no obvious weaknesses, but its lack of standout features prevents it from reaching the top tier of the rankings. I ended up ranking Citizens Bank Park at number 8, and I suspect it will end up just outside the top 10 in the final rankings. Certainly respectable, and I hope indicative of how much I enjoyed Citizens Bank Park. Overall a very solid ballpark, and one any baseball fan should consider visiting if they get the chance.
MLB Ballpark Rankings
- Fenway Park – Boston, MA
- Busch Stadium – St. Louis, MO
- PNC Park – Pittsburgh, PA
- Dodger Stadium – Los Angeles, CA
- T-Mobile Park – Seattle, WA
- Oracle Park – San Francisco, CA
- Petco Park – San Diego, CA
- Citizens Bank Park – Philadelphia, PA
- Target Field – Minneapolis, MN
- Kauffman Stadium – Kansas City, MO
- Nationals Park – Washington, D.C.
- Minute Maid Park – Houston, TX
- Angel Stadium – Anaheim, CA
- Chase Field – Phoenix, AZ
- Truist Park – Atlanta, GA
29. Tropicana Field – St. Petersburg, FL
30. Oakland Coliseum – Oakland, CA
So you’ve been to just over half of the ballparks now and this one is in the middle of your rankings. Sounds like it might or might not make the top 15. It looks like a pretty plain vanilla park in your photo here and on TV. There are plenty to come that will push it down the board (Yankees, Cubs, Rockies) and a few that will rank well below (Marlins for sure, likely the Brewers and Blue Jays).
I’ll be interested to see where the Rangers land. As I’ve noted before, I’m not a fan of indoor parks. I was there for the 2020 World Series when the park was brand new and thought they should move back across the street to their old park.