Building a new home in South Philly

Voters in Philadelphia give their OK 59 years ago today for a $25 million bond issue to build a new home for the Phillies.

More money will be needed in 1967 to cover cost overruns and Veterans Stadium, in the foreground, does not open until 1971. The final cost is upward of $50 million.

“It was so different for us,” Phillies third baseman Don Money says of moving out of tired, worn-out Connie Mack Stadium and into the new stadium in South Philadelphia. “We had nice, big locker rooms there compared to the little ones we had at Connie Mack Stadium. We had captain’s chairs at the Vet, compared to those little stools at Connie Mack. … We were thinking, ‘We’re in the big time now.’ ”

“I thought it was the Taj Mahal when it opened,” shortstop Larry Bowa says years after collecting the first hit in the new stadium during a 4-1 victory over Montreal on April 10, 1971.

The Vet sits to the north in a South Philly stadium complex that includes JFK Stadium, background, and the Spectrum.

All three are long gone today, giving way to a new arena in 1996 for the Flyers and 76ers, as well as, of course, parking spaces for that arena and separate, new stadiums in 2003 and 2004 for the Eagles and Phillies.

“(Veterans Stadium) was state-of-the art – if there was such a thing at the time,” former Phillies second baseman Denny Doyle later says;. “It was interesting. The artists of those days seem to think circles and concrete were big.”

The Phillies line up for Opening Day 1971