A Call to Give Philadelphia's New Baseball Stadium a Meaningful Name

This is a petition calling for the owners, corporate partners and all involved in the Philadelphia Phillies organization to resist the lure of money that comes with a corporate sponsorship and to give Philadelphias new baseball stadium a meaningful name.

In this virtual baby boom of new stadiums, the most important aspect of a stadium is being sold off. If people look to their home teams as the symbolic brethren of their city, the stadiums in which they play are equally important. This is truly embodied by the fact that most people (even those who are not die hard baseball fans) are able to name the cities of stadiums that dont even exist anymore as opposed to those built within the last 5 years.

When someone says Polo Grounds, they think New York.
Ebbets Field - Brooklyn
Connie Mack Philadelphia
Three Rivers Pittsburgh

Even today, the historic names of Wrigley, Fenway, Shea, Dodger and Yankee Stadium spark instant visuals (and to a lucky few, memories) of shrines to baseball, America's Pastime. The names of these ballparks are testaments to the staying power of their citys love of the game and tradition, equally.

Compare this to a certain baseball field in Houston, which had to contractually maintain the name of a company that went bankrupt months before.

The city of Chicago has recognized this terrible pattern of a city selling one of its national symbols to fleeting corporate money. They have elected to maintain the dignity of Soldier Field, and their city, by bringing the name to their new football stadium.

Philadelphia is, historically, the most important city in this nation.

It was on Market Street where Thomas Jefferson penned the most important document in modern history, The Declaration of Independence. The Constitution was written in Independence Hall. Philadelphia was the first Capital of the United States.

With an existing stadium that was dedicated to Americas Veterans about to become a parking lot, the Philadelphia Phillies organization has an opportunity to do right by the city that has hosted them for over 100 years.

Please do not turn our baseball stadium into another anonymous advertisement.