Phillies are replacing Dollar Dog Nights after 27 seasons with a buy-one, get-one promotion

The Phillies say “last year was the tipping point” to change their popular promotion after crowds threw hot dogs and clogged concourses waiting in line.

The Phillie Phanatic shoots hot dogs to fans during a break while Phillies played the San Francisco Giants in 2022.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

by Matt Breen

Published Feb. 29, 2024, 10:00 a.m. ET

The dollar-dog days are over.

The Phillies are retiring Dollar Dog Night after 27 years and replacing the popular promotion with two games in April when fans will be able to buy two hot dogs for the price of one. The team said it eliminated Dollar Dog Night after raucous crowds last season began to throw hot dogs and lines at concession stands clogged the concourses.

“Look, we’re very proud of this promotion,” said John Weber, the Phillies senior vice president of ticket operations and projects. “It’s been talked about. It’s been great for 27 years. But it was just time for a change. We’ve been discussing a change for the last couple years. The unfortunate incidents last year of the throwing of the hot dogs plus the feedback from our fans postgame survey, the fans told us that it was time for a change.”

The first “Hatfield Phillies Franks BOGO Night” is scheduled for Tuesday, April 2 against Cincinnati with a second night on Tuesday, April 16 against Colorado. A hot dog costs $5 at Citizens Bank Park and fans will be permitted to buy two dogs (but receive four) per transaction. The Phils held three Dollar Dog Nights last season and imposed a similar four-dog limit per transaction.

“Last year was kind of the tipping point. People were throwing hot dogs,” Weber said. “We still want to provide an opportunity for a discounted concession item. Two hot dogs for $5 and still come out to the game.”

A game last April against Seattle was briefly delayed in the ninth inning while a Phillies’ ball girl collected hot dogs that been thrown onto the field. It was a “waste of a good hot dog,” John Kruk deadpanned on the broadcast. Fans had been tossing hot dogs in the seating bowl throughout the game.

“The fan experience was just not what we want it to be,” Weber said. “Our goal as an organization is to always provide a first-class fan experience to all of our fans. We didn’t meet those goals for those three Dollar Dog Days, for sure. We set out to come up with a solution and hopefully this works for everyone.”

The Phillies introduced Dollar Dogs in 1997 as a way to drum up sales at Veterans Stadium for a team that lost 94 games. As other promotions came and went, the discount dogs returned every season. The Phillies became known for Dollar Dog Nights. They even offered Dollar Dogs during the 257-game sellout streak that started in 2009. The promotion had limited dates in recent seasons but remained popular among fans. The Phils averaged 43,437 fans at last season’s Dollar Dog Nights, each of which was an early-season weeknight game against a non-marquee opponent.

“We can’t have people throwing things,” Weber said. “We want our fans to come and enjoy the games. You don’t see people throwing hot dogs in regular situations. It’s still a discounted program. It’s been 27 years and it’s all about making sure the fan experience is a good one and an enjoyable one.”

Weber said the Phillies will increase staffing and security at this season’s discount-dog nights, hoping to alleviate the long lines at concession stands and calm fans if they become unruly.

“I don’t think anyone who was here for those three games will tell you that it was as enjoyable as it normally is,” he said. “ … You want to engage your younger fan group, especially on those April and May dates where families may not be coming out as much. We hope this does it, while also people won’t have extra hot dogs laying around or people won’t just buy them and start throwing them.”