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Citizens Bank Park /
Philadelphia Phillies / 2004 Replacing the wretched Veterans Stadium, the new Citizens
Bank Park was designed jointly by HOK Sport
and Philadelphia's Ewing Cole Cherry Brott and is a slight departure from recent HOK Sport parks in that
it's not a downtown ballpark, but rather a standalone facility
next to Veterans Stadium south of downtown. Visually, the new ballpark should be a killer. It features
an open-air concourse that wraps around the entire ballpark.
The playing field is 23 feet below street level, and almost
half the seats are below the concourse level.
Still, the Phillies made sure that there are some
references to Connie Mack Stadium/Shibe Park, where the
Phillies played from 1938 to 1970. In fact, the Phillies
specifically added a 300-seat rooftop bleachers section above
the center field bullpens -- a section that pays homage to
fans who sat on nearby roofs at Connie Mack Stadium.
(Ironically, when he owned the Philadelphia Athletics Connie
Mack took the owners of the rooftop viewing areas to court to
prevent them from watching games, but he lost the lawsuit, so
he built the high right-field 'spite' fence to block the
views.) Like Baker Bowl (home of the Phillies until 1938) and
Connie Mack Stadium, the seating bowl features a cantilevered
structure placing fans are placed right on top of the action.
There are other visual references to Philadelphia sporting
venues as well. Like Franklin Field and Shibe Park, the
Ballpark will feature arcades clad in brick, precast concrete
and stone, providing shelter, shadow and relief. In a subtle
reference to Philadelphia's great Federal era and Victorian
buildings (as well as the shape of the baseball diamond), the
exterior will feature patterned brick masonry in two colors:
red (the predominant color) and black (the accent brick
color). In addition, the precast concrete and the matching
mortar will be a warm rose color. At the street level, the
Ballpark will have a red granite base and a black accent band.
Following extensive research and recommendations, the
Phillies contracted Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin Inc. (RWDI),
a leading international engineering and consulting firm
specializing in wind engineering issues and environmental
considerations, to perform a comprehensive and sophisticated
baseball trajectory study. RWDI investigated a variety of
equations for the New Ballpark, which included how the wind at
different speeds and directions will impact the ball when it
is hit in the Ballpark. The study also took into account the
time of year and day, type of pitch and speed, and type of
hitter and ball launch angle.
Other special features of the stadium include: The
Phillies unveil plans for Ashburn Alley in center field ---> Philadelphia
Business Journal: New park 'ads' up for Phillies
Philadelphia
Inquirer: Phillies tout progress, show off
ballpark in the works
Seating:
43,000
Architects: Ewing Cole Cherry Brott (Philadelphia) and HOK Sport
(Kansas City)
Dimensions: 
Despite
HOK Sport's propensity toward retro ballparks in other
projects like Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the retro elements
in the new Citizens Bank Park are muted, and there's a
noticeable emphasis here on sightlines and what's happening on
the field. Yes, the area does mimic an urban setting, and at
home plate, third base and first base, there will be 50-foot
high glass enclosed towers that when lighted glow at night.
But elements like these are muted in favor of a purer ballpark
experience. 
In
addition, the Phillies encouraged the designers, Ewing Cole
Cherry Brott (ECCB) and HOK Sport+Venue+ Event (HOK), to
develop a uniquely shaped outfield wall that creates a new and
fun dynamic to fielding balls -- as was the case with Connie
Mack Stadium/Shibe Park, where the asymmetrical outfield
dimensions seemed to change every five years or so. The
outcome includes a distinctive shape in the wall just left of
center field, where unique angles create a corner with
distances that extend from 381' to 385' and reduce to 369' at
the left field power alley. Just left of center field, the
angled center field wall that is 6' high creates a corner with
a wall that is 19' high -- establishing the deepest part of
the field at 409'. Following are some of the unique distances,
angles, and heights of the outfield wall. 
The
overall field geometry is based on straight lines and is
angular -- and the shape of the field between the foul poles
is reminiscent of Shibe Park. Fans will be closer to every
swing of the bat, since the distance from home plate to the
backstop is 49' 1/2" -- that's 10' closer than what fans
are accustomed to at Veterans Stadium. The distance from each
dugout to the nearest baseline is 51'. 
Those
used to attending games at Veterans will not recognize their
surroundings at the new ballpark. For starters, the concourses
will be expansive and well-lit, as opposed to the cramped and
dark concourses currently at the Vet. The stadium features the
obligatory club level with a higher level of services
currently found anywhere at the Vet. Sightlines at the Vet
were iffy, as it was built as a multipurpose stadium for both
the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles and the Phillies; the new
stadium is baseball-only and accordingly all seats are
centered toward the pitchers' mound. Most of the 43,000 seats
in the new stadium are in the grandstand, with only 9,000 in
the outfield. Parking should not be a problem, with 20,000
parking spaces in surrounding parking lots. (Can we say
tailgating? Whoo!) And, perhaps most importantly, the playing
surface will be natural grass, not the artificial turf
currently found at the Vet.
Phillies to honor
Philadelphia A's in new ballpark--->
New restaurant to honor
broadcaster Harry Kalas--->
Phillies All-Stars to be
honored in Ashburn Alley All-Star Walk--->
News
Posted February 10, 2003 (feedback)
(submit story) (discuss)
While
the Philadelphia
Phillies' new ballpark will be more intimate
with fewer seats and a smaller number of luxury
suites, it will have more of one revenue-producing
item: signage. The team plans on selling
advertising space on the outfield wall -- in a
departure from what's currently being done at
Veterans Stadium -- and facility's most prominent
signs will be the six on the huge video scoreboard
above the seats in left field. I'm not a purist
who thinks that advertising should be minimized in
ballparks: one of the most entertaining things
about looking at pictures of old ballparks is
seeing what kind of advertising is displayed.
Posted February 4, 2003 (feedback)
(submit story) (discuss)
Work
is progressing steadily on the new Philadelphia
Phillies' stadium, as more than half of the
concrete bowl has been poured and more than a
quarter of the steel skeleton has been erected.
The Phillies will spend 2003 in Veterans Stadium
before moving into the new ballpark for the 2004
season.