Pet owners, panini lovers and piggy bank collectors are among those who will like some of the new fashion, food and merchandise additions that will be available at Citizens Bank Park this baseball season.
The Philadelphia Phillies and Philadelphia-based Aramark, the ballpark’s concessionaire and retail store operator, held their annual media event Wednesday to show off the new stuff fans will see this year.
For instance, the remodeled Majestick Clubhouse Store has an expanded pet section with jerseys, bandanas, food bowls, leashes and collars.
Other new items include Phanatic pillow pets, more ladies apparel including actress Alyssa Milano‘s Touch line, and Phillies-themed lottery tickets, stained glass lamps, cake pans and piggy banks.
On the food front, the team will have a “Philly Fresh” food stand, behind section 139, that will feature healthier menu options such as hummus dip with pasta crisps, a variety of salads, whole grain pretzels and strawberry, banana and mango smoothies.
Meanwhile, fans will get a chance to vote on a new healthy sandwich for Citizens Bank Park. The finalists are a grilled chipotle chicken wrap (grilled chicken, sliced avocado, tomato, romaine lettuce, cilantro and low-fat yogurt on a whole wheat wrap) and a char-grilled turkey burger (a seasoned turkey patty with sliced avocado and house-made tomato salsa on a multigrain whole wheat roll). The winner will be announced after the All-Star Game.
Also new for 2011 are food stands featuring panini sandwiches, Yogen Fruz frozen yogurt and Tastykakes.
Behind the scenes, the Phillies’ kitchen staff will be trying out a food decomposing system in a pilot program with BioHitech America of Allendale, N.J. The Phillies are the only team in Major League Baseball that will be testing BioHitech’s decomposing system, which takes virtually all organic food waste and breaks it down into a liquid that can be safely disposed of down the drain. The system is designed to divert food waste from taking up space in landfills. The pilot study is part of the Phillies “Red Goes Green” environmental awareness and clean energy program.