Phillies say more ads at Citizens Bank Park are linked to ‘giant payroll;’ uniform sponsor is coming

The Phillies are one of a few teams that don't yet have advertising on their uniforms, but they hope that changes soon.

The video wall in right field displays ads and out of town scores on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer

Published April 1, 2024, 2:13 p.m. ET

Dave Buck’s eyes were locked on the right-field wall, just like everyone else who packed Citizens Bank Park for the 2007 season finale. Buck, now the Phillies executive vice president, cheered as every update from New York flashed on the out-of-town scoreboard. The Mets allowed seven first-inning runs to the Marlins, sending the crowd in Philly into a towel-waving frenzy and putting the Phillies in position to finally return to the postseason.

“[Tom] Glavine gave up a bunch of runs, and I was going nuts in our box with the fans in front,” Buck said. “We were watching the board turn. That was great. That was cool. That was fun. And that was something we’ll never get again. Right now, they would be watching it on their phones.”

And that is partly why the Phillies removed the out-of-town scoreboard after 20 seasons, replacing it with a digital board that covers the length of the right-field wall. Buck said the new right-field board also is intended to inform any fans who are unable to see PhanaVision in left field.

The new board features seven advertisements during the game while also listing statistics of the hitter and pitcher. It shows some out-of-town scores between innings but mostly was used during the season-opening series as a vehicle for increased advertising.

“You have a giant payroll,” Buck said as the Phillies started the season with the National League’s second-highest payroll. “You have to raise revenue. I’m a big Flyers fan. I had season tickets for 20 years. When I first started going, there were no signs anywhere. The dasher boards were blank. Now they’re not. I’m not picking on anyone, but things change.”

The seven ads on the digital board are matched by seven ads on the left-field fence. An advertisement runs across the top of the right-field wall, and another advertisement was added this season atop the left-field wall in front of the flower beds. There are advertisements on the giant PhanaVision the Phillies unveiled last season, ads in the bullpen, and more on the stadium’s second and third decks.

Advertisements in baseball are not new: Baker Bowl advertised Lifebuoy soap and the Phillies still stunk, Dick Allen hit homers over the Coca-Cola sign, the Connie Mack Stadium scoreboard was topped with a Ballantine logo, a Sunoco sign hung in the 700 Level, and Citizens Bank paid for the naming rights before the new park opened in 2004.

But watching the Phillies this weekend at their beautiful ballpark felt like surfing the internet without a pop-up blocker.

“It’s a fine line,” Buck said. “It’s not a science; it’s an art. You walk that line, and you try to make it so you can raise money but you also want to do it so it’s not totally ridiculous.”

The Phillies expect to add at least one more advertisement this season as the team continues to pursue a sponsor for their uniform.

Major League Baseball allowed clubs last season to have advertisements on their jersey sleeves, but the Phillies were unable to secure a deal. They are one of a few teams yet to have one, but they hope that changes sometime soon. The Phillies removed the players’ numbers from their sleeves last season in anticipation of adding an advertisement.

“We’ll get it,” Buck said. “It’s just not done yet.”

The Phillies plan to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Citizens Bank Park all season. They have an anniversary logo on the on-deck circle and showed highlights last weekend between innings of moments from the past.

The final day of the 2007 season was one of the park’s most memorable afternoons, thanks in part to a scoreboard that kept everyone abreast of what was unfolding in Queens.

“Watch that scoreboard change, and look at the reaction from the Phillies fans when they see the score from Shea Stadium,” Harry Kalas said on that day’s television broadcast.

But now, that scoreboard — a fabric of the ballpark that matched the brick and steel throwback look — is a relic of the past.

“I would not trade 2007 for anything,” Buck said. “That was spectacular. But if the same thing was happening now, they would be literally watching the game on their phone. Like the real-live video of the game, which is crazy. ... Hopefully this becomes a pretty cool part of the ballpark. We’ve had it for three days.”