Citizens Bank Park (continued)
Sliding into home -- Summary
So Philadelphia has itself a ballpark full of wonderful features,
food and fun (or, following the Phillies' tradition, maybe I should say
pheatures, phood and phun). But there's another word that starts
with "f" that needs to be highlighted: the fans/phans.
Philadelphia's sports partisans are among the best-known in the country.
Love 'em or hate 'em, you can't ignore 'em.
What really makes Citizens Bank Park is its fans. You know, it occurs
to me that there are two words you can never use to describe Philly's
fans: "soft" and "spoken." They are gregarious and
in-your-face.
When I sat down at Harry The K's in the middle of a game during my
trip to Philadelphia, I hadn't even ordered my food before a number of
fans at tables around me struck up conversations with me ... and it was
only a matter of seconds before one of them knocked over a full cup of
beer. Yes, there's no ignoring these fun-loving, never-laid-back fans.
In designing CBP, EwingCole and the entire design team kept the focus
on the fans. There are open concourses, even on the upper level. There
are countless counter tops on which fans can set their food and drink,
while seeing the field clearly. The fascinating features like the historical
murals, baseball artwork and statues will have fans discovering new facets
of the park visit after visit. Fun activities for kids abound. The "fine
points" of this ballpark are very fine, indeed!
When I asked EwingCole principal Bob McConnell what part of Citizens
Bank Park gave him the greatest satisfaction, he told me, "I think
all of the 'big picture' ideas we hit." I'll take that a step further:
I think all of the details of the ballpark were executed as well
as any ballpark in the Majors.
Maybe, in time, I'll get over its location!
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