Dollar Dog Nights are No More at the Phillies Games

A 27-year tradition in Philly, is coming to an end, and it may be one of the worst things to happen in Philly sports history.

The Philadelphia Phillies Got Rid of Dollar Dog Nights

For nearly three decades, Philadelphia Phillies fans have hosted a handful of Dollar Dog Nights. If you're near here: at those games the promotion in the stadium allowed fans to buy a hot dog for just $1.

The events were insanely popular with fans because who doesn't love a bargain?

Well, the team announced that the promotion has changed for 2024. It is now a buy one, get one promotion for the select games.

Fans will be able to purchase up to four full-price hot dogs and receive four more for free. If you do the math, a hot dog costs about $5 at the stadium. So this makes the hot dogs about $2.50 or so.

The events in 2024 are scheduled for April 2's game against the Cincinnati Reds and the April 16 game against the Colorado Rockies.

Dollar Dog Nights Were Chaotic in Philly

If you've lived in Philly or the metro area for any period of time, you can probably file this under: this is why Philly can't have nice things.

For weeks we had been wondering: will the Phillies have the annual dollar dog nights because it wasn't included in the initial promotional calendar?

Typically, dollar dog nights have been held early in the baseball season — which starts in a few weeks.

Last season I got to be there for a true gift in South Philly. I was at the early April game when the Phillies had a particularly rough performance against the Miami Marlins. And fans started THROWING the cheap dogs around. 

As I described the scene, it was really just selfless Phillies fans helping to feed each other by throwing free food around.

News outlets from across the country covered the events last April, of course.

It's not surprising that the New York Post didn't miss the chance to shade Philly. It said that "Phillies fans toss garbage at each other in the wild scene on $1 hot dog night."

Raucous Phillies Dog Nights in 2023 Lead to Cancelation in 2024

Did the wild events of the 2023 season lead to the cancelation of Dollar Dog Nights in 2024?

Kind of. The Phillies staff told the Inquirer today that they were evaluating the future of the themed nights anyway, though they were "very proud" of the promotion.

Last year's behavior by fans, however, did not help it sounds like.

““We’ve been discussing a change for the last couple years,” John Weber, the Phillies senior vice president of ticket operations and projects told the Inquirer.com "The unfortunate incidents last year of the throwing of the hot dogs plus the feedback from our fans postgame survey, the fans told us that it was time for a change.”

I guess Taylor Swift was right after all. This is why we can't have nice things, Philly.