The Phillies’ 10-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday marked a milestone 22 years in the making: the 1,000th Phillies victory at Citizens Bank Park.
It is the fourth home ballpark where the franchise has reached the mark, joining Baker Bowl, Shibe Park/Connie Mack Stadium and Veterans Stadium. The Phillies reached 1,000 wins faster at Citizens Bank Park than at any of the previous three, requiring 1,784 home games.
One thousand wins later, let’s take a stroll down memory lane and Pattison Avenue in celebration of the milestone.
Citizens Bank Park opened on April 3, 2004, replacing Veterans Stadium as the home of the Phillies. Built with touches of traditional Philadelphia architecture, the modern ballpark was designed around the fan experience, with its playing field set 23 feet below street level, open concourses and an iconic view of the city skyline.
Few areas better capture the personality of the ballpark than Ashburn Alley. Located beyond center field, the concourse combines Philadelphia food, Phillies history and one of the stadium’s most distinctive features: its stacked bullpens. After initially placing the home bullpen above the visitors, the Phillies switched locations, moving their pitchers closer to the field and leaving opposing relievers directly beneath the fans gathered along the railing.
Over the past 22 years, Citizens Bank Park has witnessed all that Major League Baseball has to offer from players hitting the cycle to triple plays to playoff no-hitters. The Bank has also played host to some of the best players in Major League history such as Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Pedro Martinez, Greg Maddux, Ichiro Suzuki, and so many more.
Just days ago, the top talent in today’s game played at Citizens Bank Park in the All-Star Game, including Mike Trout and Kevin McGonigle, who spent their childhood years roaming the Bank. McGonigle was not yet born when the stadium opened its doors in 2004. Born later that year, McGonigle’s early childhood years were marked by a streak that had not yet been seen in the National League.
From 2007 to 2012, the Phillies were among the most elite teams in baseball, “the team to beat” as Jimmy Rollins famously said. The stretch included the second World Series title in franchise history along with perennial postseason appearances. As a result of the success on the field, the Phillies faithful flocked to Citizens Bank Park, selling out the stadium for 257 consecutive games. At the time, the streak was the longest in the history of the National League (that title now belongs to the San Francisco Giants).
No singular moment can better define Citizens Bank Park’s legacy in Philadelphia than October 31, 2008 as, in front of thousands of celebrating fans, the soft-spoken Chase Utley uttered five words that sent the crowd into a frenzy: “World Champions. World f***ing Champions!”
Two years later in 2010, as the G-20 Summit forced the Toronto Blue Jays to vacate Toronto, the Phillies were the away team in their own park. The Blue Jays were the home team as the designated hitter made its first appearance in Citizens Bank Park in a three-game series, more than a decade before the DH would become the norm in the National League.
The history of Citizens Bank Park even transcends professional sports. On May 1, 2011, as fans watched the Phillies face off against the Mets, a team of Navy SEALS undertook a raid of epic proportions: the raid that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden, the al Qaeda ringleader. As news of the operation began to permeate Citizens Bank Park, “U-S-A” chants began breaking out during the nationally televised game.
More recently, Citizens Bank Park has played host to several iconic moments including a rare 7-4-3 triple play in 2017 and the “Bedlam at the Bank” moment in 2022.
Speaking of the postseason, CBP has a claim to fame unique across all of Major League Baseball: it is the only stadium to have seen not one, but two postseason no-hitters. There have only been three such feats in MLB history with the first belonging to Don Larsen in 1956. Since then, both postseason no-hitters have been pitched at 1 Citizens Bank Way. Roy Halladay was the first to do so in October 2010 against the Reds in his first postseason start. 12 years later, the Phillies were on the receiving end of a combined no-hitter in Game 4 of the World Series against the Houston Astros.
Citizens Bank Park has not just hosted baseball over the years, however. The venue has played the host to 45 concerts over the years with Jimmy Buffett being the first in 2005. Most recently, Noah Kahan toured the venue on June 26.
In 2012, the Bank was turned into a hockey player’s dream as it hosted the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers in the 2012 NHL Winter Classic, an event that had nearly 47,000 fans in attendance.
The Phillies have time and again committed themselves to improving and maintaining the fan experience at Citizens Bank Park. In 2018, the Phillies opened The Yard, a unique experience for young fans in right field off of Ashburn Alley. The area features a wiffle ball field replica of Citizens Bank Park along with other mini games for young fans to engage in.
Then, in 2023, the Phillies unveiled a new 4K HDR video board as an upgrade to their previous video board in left field. The board is 77% larger than the previous board and presents a more clear, modern video experience for fans. At that time, the Phillies also added a video board into the right field wall where the out-of-town scoreboard used to reside, along with adding new ribbon video boards across the ballpark.
For the 2026 season, the Phillies focused on improving upon their team store and Hall of Fame Club, both of which received modern decor and lighting.
“Baseball stadiums are kind of like a good wine,” said John Middleton at the beginning of the 2026 season. “They improve with age, and they take on a patina and an ambiance.”
Middleton continued to explain that there is a reason stadiums such as Wrigley Field and Fenway Park continue to exist today despite being over 100 years old: the teams invest in them. Renewing his commitment to do the same in Philadelphia, Middleton commented that “There's no reason in my mind why this stadium shouldn't be operating 100 years now.”
Twenty-two years into the stadium’s service life, the Phillies have reached 1,000 wins at Citizens Bank Park. While there is no guarantee the stadium will last to 100 years, there is every chance the stadium lives to see another 1,000 Phillies victories.
Perhaps, currently at a franchise record of 10359-11437, the Phillies might finally reach .500 as a franchise within the walls of Citizens Bank Park?
