Phillies scrap Dollar Dog Night, cite fan behavior
PHILADELPHIA — For more than a quarter century, Phillies fans considered Dollar Hot Dog Night among the best ballpark promotions — but the team has now decided it was the wurst.
Those dog days of April — when the Philly weather is cold and the wieners are a steal — are going, going, gone.
The Phillies officially ended the popular promotion Thursday and replaced dollar dogs on select dates with a 2-for-1 deal at two April games at Citizens Bank Park.
A statement from the team said the change was made “based on the organization’s ongoing commitment to provide a positive experience for all fans in attendance.”
What wasn’t positive about Dollar Dog Nights?
Armed with projectile frankfurters, some unruly Phillies fans began chucking their favorite Hatfield meat during a game last season, and the dogs soared like cans of corn throughout the stands and onto the field. The demand for the discount dogs also led to clogged lanes on the concourse, leading to security and safety concerns.
An April 11 game last season turned into a Philly food fight when fans — largely good-naturedly — tossed their ballpark franks in several sections, leading to multiple ejections.
“It wasn’t just the throwing,” said John Weber, senior vice president, Phillies ticket operations and projects. “It’s the concourse, the crowds of everybody being at the same X amount of stands. But obviously, you know, the throwing was a little bit of a tipping point.”
To be frank, the Phillies don’t necessarily need the deal these days to pack in crowds. The Phillies started the promotion 27 years ago when they still played at cavernous Veterans Stadium to try to boost ticket sales on an otherwise dreary game night.
But the Phillies stuck with the food-frenzy deal through the decades, even as they rose again to become one of the best teams in the National League. The Phillies topped 3 million fans last season — and scheduled three Dollar Dog Nights for two April and one May weeknight game when attendance is generally down compared to weekend games.
“The idea originally was much more family-orientated, four, five, six people and having a discounted concession item,” Weber said. “As it’s morphed over time, it’s gone more to a younger demographic, which is great as well, especially in the April, May time frame.”
The Phillies BOGO nights this season are April 2 against the Reds and April 16 against the Rockies.
Aramark did not provide sales totals for 2023.
The company said ahead of the 2022 World Series when the Phillies played the Houston Astros that 1 of every 3 fans eats a hot dog at Citizens Bank Park, and an average 6,951 hot dogs were sold per game — enough to line Ashburn Alley five times.
The Phillies kept a running dollar dog sold tally on the scoreboard for each game they were marked down.
The Phillies first caught blowback in 2022 when they tried to scale back from three Dollar Dog Nights to two.
The unpopular move failed to cut the mustard with fans — even in the highest branches of government. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) responded to a writer for the Crossing Broad website who complained about the decision with a post on social media that read, “I agree, more Dollar Dog Nights. @Phillies Let’s do this.”
One more dog night was added to the schedule.
He took a high road Thursday, posting on social media, “Double [hot dog emoji ] sounds like a great way to fuel up for #RedOctober.”
Phillies fans applauded the decision on social media.
By midafternoon, one apparel shop already had a T-shirt made lamenting the decision with the inscription “RIP dollar dog night. Pork Flew. Heads Rolled.”
“Our goal is to always give a great fan experience,” Weber said. “If you were there at the game, it was not a great experience.”
If cheap meats are still your thing at the old ballgame, head across the state to Pittsburgh, where the Pirates will hold at least six $1 hot dog nights. Just a long relay throw south down I-95, the Class-A Wilmington Blue Rocks offer $2 dog Wednesdays.
The Texas Rangers sell dollar dogs at every Wednesday home game, and the Minnesota Twins have a $1 dog deal at each Tuesday home game. The Kansas City Royals are among the teams that still offer low-cost hot dogs.
Just not in Philly anymore, where some bad apples spoiled the Phillies’ appetite for a good-dog deal.
“Hopefully our fans will still come out and view two hot dogs for $5 as a value and support the team in those two April dates that we have,” Weber said.
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Adam Rittenberg
BOULDER, Colo. — Colorado coach Deion Sanders said he feels “healthy and vibrant” after returning to the field for preseason practices after undergoing surgery to remove his bladder after a cancerous tumor was found.
Sanders, 57, said he has been walking at least a mile around campus following Colorado’s practices, which began last week. He was away from the team for the late spring and early summer following the surgery in May. Dr. Janet Kukreja, director of urological oncology at University of Colorado Cancer Center, said July 30 that Sanders, who lost about 25 pounds during his recovery, is “cured of cancer.”
“I’m healthy, I’m vibrant, I’m my old self,” Sanders said. “I’m loving life right now. I’m trying my best to live to the fullest, considering what transpired.”
Sanders credited Colorado’s assistant coaches and support staff for overseeing the program during his absence. The Pro Football Hall of Famer enters his third season as Buffaloes coach this fall.
“They’ve given me tremendous comfort,” Sanders said. “I never had to call 100 times and check on the house, because I felt like the house is going to be OK. That’s why you try your best to hire correct, so you don’t have to check on the house night and day. They did a good job, especially strength and conditioning.”
Colorado improved from four to nine wins in Sanders’ second season, but the team loses Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, the No. 2 pick in April’s NFL draft, as well as record-setting quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the son of Deion Sanders. The Buffaloes have an influx of new players, including quarterbacks Kaidon Salter and Julian “Ju Ju” Lewis, who are competing for the starting job, as well as new staff members such as Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk, who is coaching the Buffaloes’ running backs.
Despite the changes and his own health challenges, Deion Sanders expects Colorado to continue ascending. The Buffaloes open the season Aug. 29 when they host Georgia Tech.
“The next phase is we’re going to win differently, but we’re going to win,” Sanders said. “I don’t know if it’s going to be the Hail Mary’s at the end of the game, but it’s going to be hell during the game, because we want to be physical and we want to run the heck out of the football.”
Sanders said it will feel “a little weird, a little strange” to not be coaching Shedeur when the quarterback starts his first NFL preseason game for the Cleveland Browns on Friday night at Carolina. Deion Sanders said he and Shedeur had spoken several times Friday morning. Despite being projected as a top quarterback in the draft, Shedeur Sanders fell to the fifth round.
“A lot of people are approaching it like a preseason game, he’s approaching like a game, and that’s how he’s always approached everything, to prepare and approach it like this is it,” Deion Sanders said. “He’s thankful and appreciative of the opportunity. He don’t get covered in, you know, all the rhetoric in the media.
“Some of the stuff is just ignorant. Some of it is really adolescent, he far surpasses that, and I can’t wait to see him play.”
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Adam Rittenberg
LSU starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier aggravated the patellar tendinitis he has been dealing with in his knee but will not miss any significant time, coach Brian Kelly said Friday.
Kelly dropped in ahead of a news conference Friday with offensive coordinator Joe Sloan to tell reporters that Nussmeier did not suffer a severe knee injury or even a new one. According to Kelly, Nussmeier has chronic tendinitis in his knee and “probably just planted the wrong way” during Wednesday’s practice.
Nussmeier ranked fifth nationally in passing yards (4,052) last season, his first as LSU’s starter, and projects as an NFL first-round draft pick in 2026.
“It’s not torn, there’s no fraying, there’s none of that,” Kelly said. “This is preexisting. … There’s nothing to really see on film with it, but it pissed it off. He aggravated it a little bit, but he’s good to go.”
Kelly said Nussmeier’s injury ranks 1.5 out of 10 in terms of severity. Asked whether it’s the right or left knee, Kelly said he didn’t know, adding, “It’s not a serious injury. Guys are dealing with tendinitis virtually every day in life.”
LSU opens the season Aug. 30 at Clemson.
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