PHILADELPHIA – Take a ride down the Jersey Turnpike to Citizens Bank Park, Mets and Yankee fans, and you’ll see what you are missing.
“This place is fantastic,” says Deirdre Rajoppi, 36, who bought four tickets on eBay and made the hour and a half trek from Basking Ridge, N.J., along with husband Scott, 37, and friends John Swon, 29, and Aida Rodriguez, 27.
“It’s not just a game here; it’s an event.”
That is music to the ears of Phillies management. The fans are coming in droves to not only see the sluggin’ Phils in their new home-run happy park, but to experience the buzz of this immaculate venue that features nearly a half-million hand-laid bricks, grand entrance plazas, 62 restrooms, open-air concourses with an open view of the field and other delights, including rooftop bleacher seats – a throwback to the 20th Street rooftops that overlooked Shibe Park in the 1920s – and, of course, a Liberty Bell, which towers 100 feet above street level and rings and sways after every Phillies home run.
There’s an All-Star Walk in Ashburn Alley in the outfield and a Philadelphia Hall of Fame on the club level that is like a trip to Cooperstown. Some favorites include the white elephant that was perched on Connie Mack’s desk, representing his A’s; a Mike Schmidt jersey and even a painting of Yankee Reggie Jackson, who was born in Wyncote, Pa., slugging a home run.