Mike's Review: Citizens Bank Park

The city of brotherly love was host to a loud, fun ballgame this weekend. After driving into the sports complex that holds every Philadelphia sporting arena (I would NOT want to be there in October, when three teams could possibly have home games together!), we headed to the ballpark to catch the end of batting practice. With another gorgeous day for baseball, the Phillies offense did not disappoint in the slightest.

The ballpark is another great one. Modern, open concourses, and good views - both of the ballpark, and of downtown Philadelphia - make it a great place to watch the game. The outfield part of the park is open, to catch views of the skyline and Ben Franklin Bridge.

There is also a large open concourse in the outfield to view the game, including an upper level with chairs and tables next to the giant moving light-up Liberty Bell. I particularly like the design of the seating, where there isn't a single rounded corner of the stands. It's all sharp corners, which gives the upperdeck the appearance of a diamond around baseball's stage. Directly behind home plate on the upper level is a bar that can be reserved for private parties, but on other days it is open to the general ballpark. Local beer highlight: Yuengling.
4 / 5

The Game and Fans
Ryan Howard and the Phillies had no shortage of offense - Howard: 2/5, 2 HRs 5RBI (including a grand slam). The fans were into the game the entire time, with the mindset that anyone can get a high five from anyone else after the Phillies score (including the kid sitting in front of us, turning to the sox and yanks fans behind him for high fives every time the Phillies scored, which happened a lot. With the Phils coming from a little bit behind to take the lead with Howard's grand slam, and crowded stands with screaming fans surrounding us, we got to enjoy a great game.
4 / 5

The area surrounding Citizens Bank Park is a sports complex, filled only with parking lots. Sorry Philly, that's not what baseball fans want to see.
0 / 5

Philadelphia itself is a nice looking city with a great skyline. Other than the one building off 76 that's always lit up, the rest of the skyline at night is strangely dark. I wish I got to spend more time exploring the downtown and the night life, it's a problem that will happen again in this whirlwind road trip.
3 / 5