Citizen's Bank Park

Philadelphia Phillies, National League

7/10

A very busy sky at the entrance to the ballpark.

A decent crowd takes in the Phillies and Reds on a Saturday afternoon.

Looking back in you can see the upper deck is sparsely populated, but the lower bowl is nearly full.

This is as close as I could get to the standard, "behind home plate" shot.

I headed out to onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike from Pittsburgh for the few hours over to Philadelphia for the Reds/Phillies. I ended up having some issues with my debit card and paying the tolls on the turnpike, so I arrived in the 2nd inning. This is another retro-modern park, located in the middle of the "Sports Complex". I paid to park in the lot directly next to the football stadium across the street. The arena hosting the 76ers and Flyers is off in another corner.

It was a muggy, overcast, spring afternoon in Philly, with a decent, but not huge crowd out to see the Fightin' Phils. The Phinatic was out and had a steady entourage of wellwishers following him around the entire day.

The park itself however, I would describe as "adequate". It's a much needed upgrade over Veteran's Stadium, with a decent view of the downtown skyline. Besides the large Liberty Bell light display in right centre field, there's nothing really unique about it. The food is also(surprisingly) average, although it's always tough to judge that in just one visit. I had the "Crab Fries", which were also very popular in Pittsburgh the night before. I'm honestly not sure why, I found them pretty average. The atmosphere, for all the lore of the rabid, borderline toxic Philadelphia sports fan, was enthusiastic, but par for the course too. The game was very back and forth. Michael Saunders hit one of very few homeruns as a Phillie and Tommy Joseph hit a walk off single in the bottom of the 9th.

Overall, this is hardly a bad ballpark, but I'd put a return trip to Pittsburgh ahead of coming back here. 7/10.


Linescores
                        123   456   789   RHE
Cincinatti           200  001    000   390
Philadelphia       110  100    001   470
Temp: 73F  Time: 2:47  Att: 30,100

PNC Park

Pittsburgh Pirates, National League
9/10

 

The Facade was not actually redbrick, but was not easy to get a good picture of....

The ballpark is pointing AT downtown! Makes for an unbelievable view. Possibly the best I've seen so far.

PNC looks surprisingly normal from the outside in however.....

Bonus shot: The park sits on the shore of the Allegheny River, just across the Roberto Clemente bridge.

I came through Pittsburgh for the first time as part of my May 2017 loop that saw me go basically from Calgary toWashington DC and back. I had come in from Nashville after seeing a game there the previous night. I ended up getting a hotwire hotel about 3 or 4 blocks from the ballpark, dropped the car and walked over.

PNC Park is located right next to the Allegheny river, a few blocks from the NFL’s Steelers at Heinz Field. A boardwalk goes by the outside it’s possible for homerun balls to make it into the river, especially on a bounce. The park is very open looking out from home plate and has an unbeleivable view of the downtown skyline, which is VERY close. This is easily one of the top 3 backdrops in the majors, which only St. Louis and San Francisco can compare to in my opinion (and only from the upper deck at both of them). The stadium has a lot of concourse that the game can be viewed from, including a series of ramps from to the third deck on the left field side.


Concession was good but a slight bit pricier than I might have liked. I ended up with a gyro or something if I remember correctly. It seemed pretty good overall, with lots of offerings.

Atmosphere was a big positive of this place. It was a Friday night home game against the Mets, with Jacob Degrom starting for them. The local fans(and a good crowd for the Mets) were into the game, but avoided going totally crazy. I ended up speaking with length to a retired middle manager for US Air, who filled me in on all things sporting and Pittsburgh.There was a younger crowd, because of a post-game concert, I'm pretty sure it was Flo-Rida.

Overall, a really good night. I was expecting good things, after seeing what others had to say, but experiencing for myself, I was still surprised. A good facility in a great location, with a good fanbase and some above average food means this place would be a solid 9 in my book, bordering on 10. The only downside is that I’m not sure when I’ll be able to make it back.

Linescore:

2017-05-26
                              123   456  789  R H E
New York (NL)          012  023  000  8 12 0
Pittsburgh                000  100  000  1 6 0
Temp: 69F Time: 2:57 Att: 29,408