July 19, 2014
Nationals Park (Capacity: 41,546)
Washington, DC
Washington Nationals vs Milwaukee Brewers
Final Score: 8 – 3
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Though hard to believe now, America’s pastime was missing in the Nation’s Capitol for over 30 years. For much of the 1900s, Washington had a franchise dually known as the Nationals and Senators. While their struggles on the field were well documented (see Damn Yankees) with just one World Series title and few pennants, it still didn’t seem right that the team moved to Texas in 1972. Not until the Montreal Expos moved to the District in 2005 did baseball return. After some initial struggles, the franchise is on the right track with a division title under their belt and stars Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper locked up for awhile. It has been 13 years since my last visit to DC on a school field trip and while I did not get to see any sights on this journey, Washington is quite the tourist destination. As the capitol of the United States, the city is home to all three branches of government, housed in historic sites like the White House and the US Capitol. The National Mall located downtown is the highlight of the city with monuments galore and seemingly endless free Smithsonian Museums. After a few years in antiquated RFK Stadium, the team moved into Nationals Park in 2008, where little improvements have made the stadium better by the year. This ballpark does not receive much fanfare, but everything is pretty solid in the design and experience, plus the once downtrodden neighborhood is rapidly improving.
Prestige Ranking: 4 out of 5
Location
Located in the neighborhood of Southeast Washington, Nationals Park is the spark that has turned this dangerous eyesore into a welcoming and exciting space. The rapid construction in this area near the Anacostia River is remarkable and trendy high-rise condos are springing up by the month. While the surroundings in no way will be confused with the beauties in Baltimore or Denver, the area is getting better. The plaza on Tingey Street has become the go-to place with the brewpub Bluejacket leading the way. The Navy Yard is in the neighborhood as well and though there is a museum, it’s difficult to see without military ID. Nearby attractions are minimal, but the National Mall is a 5-10 minute ride away. DC is quite the place to visit.
Location Ranking: 7.5 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
DC traffic is notoriously brutal and there certainly was traffic upon our Saturday Night arrival (we were driven by a local friend joining us for the game). Roads throughout the city can be confusing too with odd interchanges, ramps and directions. Coming from Virginia, it is easier to drive and reach I-695 via I-395. From Maryland, it takes more work on the area’s highways. Unless you want to pay over $40 for the garages near the entrance, area parking lots are limited, but not always packed to capacity as about 65% of fans use the Metro. This is the main transportation option to the ballpark and the Navy Yard station is a block away. Trains run on the green line and it is only two stops from the L’Enfant Metro station, which allows transfers to four out of the six lines. It is a very efficient and effective mass transit system that is straight forward to use.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 4.5 out of 8
Exterior
It is a shame that many won’t see much of the design as the primary centerfield gate is a ground-level walkway. For ballpark fans, it is worth walking around the stadium as the silver and beige exterior is made up of steel, pre-cast concrete and glass. The material is used to try and evoke similarities to the monuments DC is known for and the design attempts to provide a government office feel. It works and I like the effort and thought behind it. Back towards the little-used home plate entrance, the sleek curved entrance features a red “Nationals” written near the top and each gate includes the same “Nationals Park” signage overhead.
Exterior Ranking: 6.5 out of 10
Concourse
The wide outfield plaza features splashes of red and is highlighted by the circular Red Porch, a restaurant and bar open to ticket-holders, with seating both inside and out in centerfield. To the left and up to the Mezzanine Level is the Scoreboard Walk. This area includes string lighting and canopies to try and give a backyard hangout feel (though that is canceled out by all of the cold metallic siding and signage). Along with including some of better concession stands in the stadium, tables and standing areas allow those to watch the game on the field or on the large video screen. Where the infield seating is located, the Main Concourse is very wide and decorated with red flooring. Field views are blocked though for a good chunk of real estate behind home plate. The Scoreboard Walk gives way to a Mezzanine Concourse, while the 300 and 400 level seats share the Gallery Level, which is airy and includes field views, along with countertops. This is also the best level to check out the surrounding views with the Anacostia River on the first base side and downtown at the other end, complimented by the Washington Monument and US Capitol.
Concourse Ranking: 4.5 out of 5
Food
DC may not be known as a signature food city, but there are plenty of local favorites and Nationals Park highlights them well. It starts with the iconic Ben’s Chili Bowl, featuring their “half-smoke” (a special sausage smothered in chili sauce). Then there is Shawafel and their falafel sandwiches / shawarma. Brought in from New York, the Scoreboard Walk contains the popular and excellent Shake Shack (burgers) and Blue Smoke (barbeque). Amongst other offerings, fans can also find crab cakes, sushi, burritos, a salad bar and a Jamaican-themed stand with Jerk Ribs and Chicken. There are some awesome food and offerings here. Beer is no exception to the excellence as District Drafts offers beers from DC Brau, 3 Stars, Mad Fox and Atlas.
Food Ranking: 8 out of 8
Interior
This is a very tall stadium, thanks to the double stacking of suites/clubs in the middle decks. The monetary focus means that the common fans sitting in the 300s and 400s are pretty high up (in fact, the press box at the top is the highest in MLB). Despite the detrimental height, the three-level main seating bowl design is overall good with decent sightlines and a nice curve to the seating. All seats are blue and they are angled appropriately across the board. Out in right field, two decks of overlapping sections lowers down to one deck heading over to center and left. This portion of the seating is low so some fans sitting in the infield could see the Monument and Capitol in the distance (though the amount of seats with a view are not many). Also, a little opening on the first-base side was designed to allow a peak at the river. The popular Red Porch features traditional seating (in red) near the center wall and then gives way further back to restaurant and bar seating. Behind home plate, I hate the noticeable moat that distinguishes the plush Presidents and Diamond Seats, making it stick out like a sore thumb. That combines with an infield look that is more fancy-schmancy than the rest of the park.
Interior Ranking: 9 out of 14
Scoreboard
A massive video screen is above the right field seating and the template during the game is everything you need from a scoreboard. Images are of perfect quality and the video is used beautifully as each time I wanted to see a replay, it was there for me. Two large ads are on either side of the screen, while the “Nationals” word mark is in the top right. Interestingly, an analog clock was supposed to hang off the right side, but they never could get it working. Instead, the curly W logo sits in the middle of a circle of stars. For fans sitting in the outfield, a pair of LED displays on the infield façade help to provide the necessary game information. A tall section of the outfield wall contains a video board mostly for out-of-town score information.
Scoreboard Ranking: 3 out of 4
Displays
The sidewalk leading into the home plate entrance features a nice little introduction to important years in Washington baseball history. It is also in this vicinity that moderately-sized wall montages in the approaching concourse display baseball in DC over the last century. I’m glad to see their history recognized, but these displays aren’t in the best spot given that they are at the little-used home plate entrance. On the contrary, are the three large bronze statues that most fans will see upon their entrance in the outfield plaza. Josh Gibson, Frank Howard and Walter Johnson are featured in a well-deserved recognition to DC baseball. The organization does well to honor more players with nameplates on the wall behind home plate and while it will take time for the new Nationals to be displayed, I like how they recognize the old Senators/Nationals, along with the Negro League Grays and historic Expos in Andre Dawson and Gary Carter. A huge 2012 NL East Champions logo sits above the scoreboard, while nearby flags fly with the years that the old Washington teams won the pennant.
Displays Ranking: 5 out of 6
Cost
Ticket pricing is broken into three gaming tiers based on opponent and game date; Prime, Regular and Value. More than half of the games are deemed “Regular”. Excluding the clubs that cost at least a few Benjamins, tickets average between $45 and $80 in the lower infield seats, while the upper 300s and 400s do not exceed $26 on the regular tier ($30 for prime). A Nats game ticket is in the top tier of league costs, but not at the upper echelon of the scale. Parking on the other hand…holy crap. It’s another reason not to attempt driving as one can expect to pay $35 – $45 for a nearby lot. Only the small orange zone lots drop slightly in price and the lone lot for less than $20 is more than a half mile away. Concessions are the high prices that you would expect in DC as a hot dog is $6, regular soda $5 and a craft beer goes for a ridiculous $9. Food-wise, stick with outfield concessions, where the value is much better for your dollar. On the plus side, game programs were free!
Cost Ranking: 5 out of 8
Fan Support
Establishing a new fan base when one of the sport’s most popular teams sits 45 minutes away is a difficult thing. Keeping that context in mind, the Nats have done well obtaining a following and fan support within the DC metro area. Winning teams have brought attendance to near the top ten and I saw a decent crowd on a perfect mid-summer Saturday Night. Allegiances are often deeply rooted already for MLB and again, I’m fairly impressed at the number of Nats fans already in the area. With that being said, local TV ratings this season only rank 21st in MLB.
Fan Support Ranking: 5.5 out of 8
Attendance
Inside the ballpark, the stadium has a more docile atmosphere compared to other East Coast teams. Fans don’t often generate noise on their own and when they do cheer, the decibel levels are ok, but not mind-blowing. At our event, each score by the Nats was greeted by decent cheering and often I saw handfuls in the lower bowl get on their feet to applaud. After a home run and a team victory, a faint sub horn can be heard in the distance. There is one tradition at Nationals Park that is not to be missed. In the middle of the 4th inning is the Presidents Race. Now I know that Milwaukee has the history and longevity in their Sausage Race, but I like DC’s version better for the high comedic value and the pure enjoyment of watching charactitures of Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Taft and Washington do wacky things. Teddy took the race I saw after causing a pile-up.
Atmosphere Ranking: 8.5 out of 14
Other Stuff
During the old Senators/Nationals days, the team played in Griffith Stadium for 50 years and the ballpark was named after longtime owner Clark Griffith…..The most common nickname for the team is the “Nats”…..Cherry Blossom trees, a staple in DC, can be found in the outfield plaza and home plate entrance as these usually bloom for a week or two around Opening Day…..A commendable part of Nationals Park is that it is the first US pro stadium to receive the LEED Silver Certification. This green initiative can be seen in several spots, including the landscaped roof on top of an outfield concession building…..The tradition that the sitting President of the U.S. throws the first pitch at Opening Day has resumed as both George Bush and Barack Obama have had that honor…..Ushers at Nationals Park are quite strict and tickets are often needed to return to a seat (even in the cheaper sections), especially early in the game. This is quite annoying…..Ryan Zimmerman opened this ballpark in style as he hit a walk-off home run to win the Nationals’ first ever game here against Texas on March 30, 2008.
Game
The game felt over shortly after it started, thanks to a 40-minute first inning where the entire Nats lineup got a chance at the plate as they put up five runs. The spanking led to the shortest outing in Matt Garza’s career and Washington made the lead stand up with single runs in the middle innings. Opposing starter Tanner Roark pitched very well as he went 7 innings and only gave up 1 earned run and 6 hits. An 8-3 victory over Milwaukee helped push the Nats back into a first-place tie in the division. Both Wilson Ramos and Ryan Zimmerman drove in 3 runs for Washington, while Jayson Werth had a pair of doubles.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
