Veterans Stadium was a dump. Let’s just be honest about it right out of the gate. It was a giant, concrete donut that smelled like stale beer and looked like a parking garage from the outside. But for a certain generation of Philadelphia sports fans, that ugly hunk of South Philly concrete was a temple. It’s where Mike Schmidt hit his 500th home run. It’s where Tug McGraw leaped into the air after the 1980 World Series. It’s where the 700 Level basically redefined what it meant to be a hostile home crowd. So, when the wrecking ball finally swung in 2004, people didn't just want a souvenir—they wanted to know what happened to the Veterans Stadium home plate.
The Vet is gone. It’s a parking lot now. Specifically, it’s the western edge of the parking area for Citizens Bank Park. If you walk out there today, you aren't just walking on asphalt; you’re walking on the ghosts of the 1980 and 1993 World Series. But the actual physical plate? That’s got a much more interesting story than just being buried under some Subaru in Lot U.
The Day the Vet Died
March 21, 2004. That was the day the stadium turned into a cloud of dust in about 62 seconds. Before the implosion, the city and the teams—the Phillies and the Eagles—had to decide what was worth saving. You’d think the Veterans Stadium home plate would be the first thing they’d grab, right? Well, sort of.
There wasn't just one home plate. Think about how a baseball season works. They swap those things out. They get chewed up by cleats, buried in dirt, and replaced. But the final home plate used in the final game at the Vet—that's the "Holy Grail." On September 28, 2003, the Phillies played their last game there against the Braves. They lost, which was a very "Vet" way to go out. After the game, the ceremonies started, and the focus shifted to moving the spirit of the old stadium across the street to the new one.
The Great Migration
The Phillies actually made a big production out of moving the plate. They didn't just throw it in a cardboard box. They had "The Tugger," Tug McGraw, involved in the transition ceremonies before his passing. The idea was to bridge the gap between the concrete donut and the new, beautiful "retro-classic" ballpark.
Where is the Veterans Stadium home plate now?
If you go to Citizens Bank Park today, you can find a piece of the Vet’s history pretty easily. They didn't bury it in a vault. Instead, the Phillies installed a commemorative home plate in the floor of the main concourse, right behind the current home plate area. It serves as a literal touchstone for fans. You can walk over it, take a picture of your kids standing on it, and remember how much your knees used to hurt sitting in those yellow and orange plastic seats.
But wait. There’s more than one "final" plate.
There is the "ceremonial" plate and the "game-used" plate. The Philadelphia Phillies have kept the actual game-used Veterans Stadium home plate from that final September 2003 game in their archives. It’s a piece of team history, handled with white gloves. It’s not just rubber; it’s a slab of the city’s identity. It sits alongside Mike Schmidt’s jerseys and Steve Carlton’s gloves in the team's massive collection of memorabilia.
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The Granite Markers in the Parking Lot
This is where it gets cool for the real geeks. If you’re a purist, you don’t want to see a plate in a trophy case. You want to see where the magic actually happened.
The Phillies and the City of Philadelphia did something right here. In the sprawling parking lots where the Vet once stood, they placed granite markers. These markers designate exactly where the four bases and the pitcher's mound were located.
- The Home Plate Marker: It’s located in what is now Lot U. It’s a simple granite square embedded in the asphalt.
- The Goalposts: They even marked the spots for the Eagles’ goalposts from the stadium’s football configuration.
- The Distance: It’s a weird feeling to stand on that granite marker in the middle of a parking lot, look toward the new stadium, and realize just how tight that space was.
Honestly, finding the marker is a rite of passage. If you're heading to a game, you’ll see fans intentionally parking near it. They set up their tailgates right on top of "home plate." There’s something uniquely Philly about drinking a light beer and eating a hoagie exactly where Greg Luzinski used to stand.
The Turf War and the "Black Hole"
We can't talk about the home plate area without talking about the turf. Veterans Stadium was famous—or infamous—for "The Black Hole." This was a notorious dip in the turf around the home plate and 1st base area that caused countless injuries. The Veterans Stadium home plate wasn't just sitting in dirt; it was surrounded by NeXturf, which was basically a thin carpet laid over asphalt and concrete.
When players like Wendell Davis of the Chicago Bears (who famously blew out both patellar tendons on the same play) talked about the Vet, they talked about the surface. The area around home plate was a minefield.
When the stadium was being prepped for demolition, some fans actually tried to sneak in to dig up the turf around the plate. The problem? It wasn't "dirt" you could just shovel. It was glued down. People ended up with scraps of green plastic that smelled like thirty years of rain and industrial cleaner. Those scraps now sell on eBay for fifty bucks.
Authenticating a Piece of the Vet
If you are ever in the market for a "real" Veterans Stadium home plate, you have to be incredibly careful. Because the stadium was multi-purpose and hosted everything from high school championships to the World Series, there were dozens of plates used over the decades.
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A true, authenticated game-used plate from the Vet will usually come with a letter of authenticity from the Phillies or a major auction house like Hunt Auctions. Hunt Auctions, based in Exton, PA, handled a massive amount of the official Vet memorabilia. They’ve sold everything from the seats to the signage.
If someone tries to sell you a home plate and says, "Yeah, my uncle grabbed this during the 1980 celebration," they’re probably lying. Security was surprisingly tight back then, despite the chaos. Most "fan-owned" plates are actually stadium-issued replicas or retail versions that people got signed later.
Why We Still Care
Why does a piece of rubber matter? It's just a pentagon.
It matters because the Vet was where Philadelphia sports grew up. It was the site of the 1976 All-Star Game during the Bicentennial. It was the site of the 1980 World Series win that finally broke the city's "curse." It was where the Eagles' "Gang Green" defense under Buddy Ryan terrorized quarterbacks.
The Veterans Stadium home plate represents the exact spot where the tension of the city was highest. Every pitch, every snap, every moment of "will they or won't they" centered on that spot.
Modern Comparisons
When you look at modern parks, they’re designed for comfort. Citizens Bank Park is a palace. It has great food, clear sightlines, and "The Yard" for kids. But it lacks the gladiatorial feeling of the Vet. The old home plate was a battleground.
I remember talking to a long-time season ticket holder who said the Vet felt like a "communal basement." It was messy, it was ugly, but it was ours. Moving that plate to the new stadium wasn't just a PR stunt; it was an attempt to bring some of that grit into a much nicer, cleaner environment.
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How to visit the Veterans Stadium home plate site today
If you want to do the "Vet Pilgrimage," here is how you do it without getting lost in the sea of tailgaters.
- Head to Lot U: This is the parking lot located between 11th Street and the current stadium.
- Look for the Granite: Don't look for a raised object. The markers are flush with the ground so cars can drive over them.
- Find the Pitcher's Mound: Once you find home plate, walk about 60 feet, 6 inches toward the northeast. You’ll find the mound marker.
- Check the Concourse: After you enter Citizens Bank Park (the new stadium), head toward the area behind the current home plate. Look at the flooring. The commemorative Veterans Stadium home plate is right there, often surrounded by fans taking photos of their shoes on it.
It's a weirdly emotional experience for some people. You stand there in a silent parking lot on a Tuesday morning, and if you close your eyes, you can almost hear the roar of 60,000 people and the sound of the 700 Level booing a visiting left fielder.
What to look for in memorabilia
If you're looking to own a piece of this history, don't just settle for anything. Look for "Stadium Giveaways" (SGAs) from the early 2000s. The Phillies released several miniature replicas of the stadium and the bases. While not "game-used," they are legitimate pieces of team-sanctioned history.
Also, keep an eye out for the "Final Season" logo. Anything with that logo was produced during the 2003 closing ceremonies and holds its value much better than generic Philly gear.
The Vet might be a parking lot now, but as long as that granite marker is in the ground and the "real" plate is tucked away in the Phillies' vault, the stadium isn't really gone. It's just under our feet.
Actionable Next Steps
- Visit the Site: The next time you're at a game, don't just rush to the gate. Use a GPS or a stadium map to find the granite marker in Lot U. Standing on the exact spot where Steve Carlton pitched or Mike Schmidt batted is a free history lesson.
- Check the Hall of Fame Club: If you have access to the Hall of Fame Club at Citizens Bank Park, they often display rotating artifacts from the Vet. It’s the best place to see authentic gear up close.
- Verify Before You Buy: If you’re buying "Vet turf" or "Vet dirt" on the secondary market, ensure it has a MLB Authentication hologram or a certificate from Hunt Auctions. Without those, you’re just buying a piece of old carpet.
- Explore the Digital Archive: The Philadelphia Public Library and the Phillies' official website have high-resolution photos of the stadium’s final days. Compare the old aerial photos with current Google Maps views to see the exact footprint of where the plate used to sit.