Citizens Bank Park Update: First they came for Dollar Dog Night… now you can’t even chirp the opposing team’s bullpen?

Citizens Bank Park underwent a few quiet renovations heading into the 2025 season.

One in particular? A new barrier around the bullpens in Ashburn Alley — and if you’re wondering why you can no longer lean over and talk shit to opposing relievers mid-warmup, well, there’s a very Philly answer.

Matt Gelb: Citizens Bank Park officially enclosed the opposing team’s bullpen

Visiting relievers across baseball will rejoice: The Phillies enclosed the bullpens. Opposing pitchers can hide from the hecklers. pic.twitter.com/JbbZhEOq1A

— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) March 31, 2025

We’re not saying America’s in decline, but when Dollar Dog Night gets the axe and heckling a Reds reliever is suddenly frowned upon, you can’t help but feel like something’s slipping away.

First it was the dogs. Now it’s the dugout. What’s next, a permit to chant?

Jokes aside, the new bullpen barrier is likely a response to that moment last year, when a Phillies fan flew over the railing in Ashburn Alley and landed inside the Red Sox bullpen like it was the Royal Rumble.

The Liberty Line had the story at the time:

“A spectator fell over a protective railing and into the bullpen in the top of the first inning of the Phillies-Red Sox game at Citizens Bank Park. The fan fell over the fence out in Ashburn Alley while attempting to get a baseball that a player had thrown. The game resumed after about a 10-minute delay.”

It was an instant “oh no” moment — the kind of thing where you just knew changes were coming. Sure enough, a year later, Matt Gelb posted this, and you could feel the vibe shift in real time.

The once-interactive bullpen setup at The Bank — part of what made the fan experience in South Philly so unique — now feels a little more sterile. Less rowdy. More… enclosed. It’s harder to jaw with visiting pitchers. Harder to get that eye contact before a three-run meltdown. And harder for kids to grab a ball without the fear of recreating a 10-foot drop into a live game.

To be fair, safety matters. Nobody wants to see another fan carted out of Ashburn Alley because they leaned a little too far for a toss. But the changes represent something bigger: another inch shaved off the raw, loud, one-of-a-kind edge that made Citizens Bank Park what it was.

The 2025 version of CBP still rocks but with every new rule, railing, and restriction, it feels like the ballpark we grew up with is quietly growing up itself. And as much as that might be necessary… it still kind of sucks.

So yeah, cheer loud. Keep the energy high. Just know Spencer Strider probably can’t hear you like he used to…

spencer strider getting bodied by philly fans https://t.co/IxH7Bat0cL pic.twitter.com/3Z9Kl1LEN3

— 𝙲𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚜💫 (@lynchxblueprint) October 15, 2023

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