COLUMN: Baseball west of the river

Mark Glassman says the Phillies' new home must have access to a major transit stop. Sure, it starts out conventional enough. After the visiting team's third out, the fans all stand up slowly and belt out "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." But afterward, the entire stadium erupts into a county fair -- complete with straw hats and overalls. How is it that so many fans of a metropolitan baseball team know the words to a song which epitomizes the countryside? Simple. They're from out of town. The O's fan base extends way beyond Baltimore. It spans all of Maryland, including rural areas. That's why the fans know the words (and dances) to "Cotton Eyed Joe," but -- more importantly -- that's why there are enough people to pack the stadium. As the Phillies prepare to jettison ugly, outdated Veterans Stadium in 2001, they are faced with the decision of where to build their new park. It's going to take a lot more than real grass and more comfortable seats to boost attendance at this field-to-be. The key issues are location, location, location. Let's face it. Baseball is still recovering from the 1994 strike. Game attendance is not what it used to be. While there has been moderate improvement this season, most teams still struggle to sell seats. Yet the O's -- a team with a winning percentage that hovers around .500 -- have sold out more games than any other team. Conversely, I can count the number of regular Phils' phans at the Vet on my phist. Oriole Park's secret: convenience. The Maryland regional rail system stops right at the front gate of the stadium, ushering in thousands of fans from throughout the state to watch Cal Ripkin Jr. extend his streak of consecutive games played. The MARC train falls just short of delivering you into Brady Anderson's lap. Now, while it may be possible to use SEPTA to get from Ardmore to the Vet, few suburban residents will opt for a trip that requires two subway transfers and exact change for a family of four. If the Phanatic doesn't want to shake its rump at empty bleachers in 2001, the Phillies must relocate to a spot nearby a major train station with access to the regional railways. Sad as it may be, there just aren't enough fans in Center City to support the team. Of the three stadium proposals presented to the Phillies, only one fit the train criteria: a riverfront park just south of Walnut Street, two blocks away from 30th Street Station. University officials blasted that plan at a city hearing last month, predicting nightmare bottlenecks during rush hour that could clog emergency routes for ambulances en route to nearby hospitals. But baseball games typically start around 7:35 p.m. during the week. And few fans show up more than an hour before the first pitch. Fan traffic should come well after the Health System rush. And, ideally, many of the fans should be using the nearby trains anyway. To date, there is nothing in between the river and the Penn campus. A new baseball park in University City will spark a commercial revival in that wasteland, stocking those blocks with suburban consumers. But even the most high-tech baseball stadium with all of the modern-day bells and whistles will go to waste, unless there is easy access for suburbanites shuttling in to catch a game. Build the park two blocks from 30th Street Station, and the Phillies will sell enough seats for at least a wave at every game in the 2001 season. Build it in Center City, and say pharewell to phuture phans.