March 25, 2026
Kate Frese/for PhillyVoice
The outfield at Citizens Bank Park looks a lot different than it did a few years ago.
Baseball stadiums are a little different.
Philly sports fans and residents know well the drama in this city over stadiums. The Sixers wanted a new one downtown. The Eagles want to totally replace Lincoln Financial Field when their stadium lease expires in 2032. But not the Phillies.
In the midst of a years-long $600 million upgrade at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies want to keep their stadium forever. Just like the Red Sox and Fenway Park, the Cubs and Wrigley Field, the Dodgers and their stadium, the Phillies are investing every year in their friendly confines.
Over the last few years, the team has upgraded their jumbotron, has rebuilt the outfield out of town scoreboard and has made touches and changes throughout the park.
Heading into the 2026 season, the team has made its biggest changes yet — with a sprawling two-story team store that is sure to entice fans to part with their cash. It also made sprawling changes to the Hall of Fame Club, which now resembles a classy South Beach hotel while still honoring the storied history of the franchise.
Some other changes are going to be less welcomed by fans. At least by some fans. The Phillies sold the naming rights to the old "Harry The K's" in left field — named for the legendary television announcer Harry Kalas who passed more than 15 years ago. It's from henceforth going to be the Ghost Energy Deck.
"I get it. There's an emotion to that," Phillies managing partner John Middleton told a small group of reporters Tuesday night as the organization officially unveiled its newest upgrades, "but there's a seven-foot statue of the guy in left field. The broadcast booth is named for him, there's a plaque... I mean, you know, it's not like we're not honoring his legacy, and it's not like we're not going to continue to honor his legacy going in the future."
Sadly, there is a pragmatism to the decision the Phillies brass made to change the branding of the porch. And it certainly benefits the team. Middleton explained that they had to pay the Kalas family to name the porch. Ghost Energy is going to pay the team.
"It's going to maybe buy some napkins or something like that," he said on the savings. "It's not like a serious, serious money. We're not going to go out and buy a new player. Now, the money that Ghost is paying us... I mean, if you want a $300 million payroll, you need a $600 plus million of revenue. You're looking for money everywhere — and if you go by the way, if you go to Yankee Stadium, you go to Dodger Stadium — I mean, it's all over the place. But that's modern baseball, modern. The cost of doing business."
A second recognizable spot that held history for hardcore fans was the analog clock that was high atop the outfield — like the one in old Connie Mack Stadium. That's gone too — replaced with branding for the 2026 All-Star Game to be held in the city in July. It's not coming back.
"I mean, look. I'm 71 years old," Middleton said. "I understood what that clock is. How many people do you think ever sat in Connie Mack Stadium? And if the people who sat in Connie Mack Stadium, how many people would remember the clock on the top of the Budweiser scoreboard in right field?"
Middleton was outspoken about the clock's removal, and about making a bigger point. That the team is going to modernize, monetize and find new ways to honor its past. And fans will eventually adjust to it.
"Honestly, I'm telling you if you ask the 3.375 million people who came through our ballpark last year," Middleton said, "how many of those people do you think would know that clock represents the clock on top of the right field scoreboard? And seriously, five percent? 10 percent? Do you think the nostalgia will be missed in 20 years?
"No. The world changes, you get new fans, new customers, you know. There are younger people who look at that and say, why is that there? I've got my phone. I don't need a clock. Why is it there? Who cares?"
People certainly do care, and change is hard. Phillies fans will no doubt feel the absence of two of the two deleted landmarks. But they'll get over it. Especially if that extra Ghost Energy money helps pay for a World Series title.
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