O/T Pics from 1st game at the Nationals new park

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Posted By: <b>john/z28jd</b><p> I took the 3 1/2 trip yesterday to the first major league game at the Nationals new ballpark to see the Orioles vs Nationals,and basically to check out the new stadium before it debuts on tv tonight. Got there 3 hours early so I could walk around the whole place and since it was for season tickets holders only(thank you ebay) I figured yesterdays game would be alot cheaper and better to check out the place. I figured I'd share some pics including the cherry blossom trees they made a big deal over,and a nice shot of the Capitol building from the stairs in left field.<br /><br /><img src="http://a36.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/106/l_7eb4ae73c3910864c524d8fa50b05c93.jpg"><br /><br />outside the park as you enter centerfield entrance<br /><br /><img src="http://a574.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/58/l_f831cd9f43852adbe3edfc7ea4d4a075.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://a178.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/107/l_b7a79ffae4af34a5c5bfdefbf5510a79.jpg"><br /><br />something for Pirates fans! They had pictures like these all around the stadium,maybe 50 total.Nice touch<br /><br /><img src="http://a477.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/104/l_1eb0aef6a90f97f6d2dfa811697d929c.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://a930.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/8/l_795faa63cd8958241d01ab14e9c6f971.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://a204.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/51/l_e866af04a1654585248c1a373bfac68b.jpg"><br /><br />this picture is hunormous,look at the people directly below it for size comparison.I actually put a quarter in the picture next to the sign like Leon does for cards but you cant see it<br /><br /><img src="http://a793.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/83/l_60df1576709dd7d5b6f21ac1c4e0e9d8.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://a532.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/61/l_4c76dc844f6fcd6d27bcbf6efddfa8bb.jpg"><br /><br />view from my seat<br /><br /><img src="http://a254.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/43/l_30e05727995fc8cfd750b4f18b7ca995.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://a689.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/75/l_c32fcbec1530aece416b1e3a53286018.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://a502.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/80/l_8beed32e3b1cacd868ab59055153be9d.jpg"><br /><br />right before first pitch<br /><br /><img src="http://a43.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/7/l_8cc19318d2b2ea854822a8aa62faaa5a.jpg"><br /><br />birds eye view of the world famous Washington DC cherry blossoms in full unbloom<br /><br /><img src="http://a966.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/122/l_938d81c409d5c3180570f264a38f9325.jpg"><br /><br /><br /> My overall impression of the stadium is its nice but if you're planning on going go early because there is minimal parking,you can actually park at RFK for free and get shuttled over which is what I did. Lots to do around the stadium,especially for kids. Ton of food choices and they built it with extra wide aisles around the concourse so theres never any huge crowds to walk thru except at the entrance and as soon as the game ends. The one main problem for me was that if you put a Phillies fan in there blindfolded and then took it off he would think he was at Citzens Bank Park for awhile until he realized no one was cursing. The stadiums inside are extremely similar to the point it seems like the Nats designers just went to Philly and stole their blueprints and just made a few changes so they wouldnt get sued. Everyone I talked to who has been to both of the stadiums agreed. The outsides of the stadium are totally different and the Nats stadium really isnt completed. Hope you enjoyed the pics,and feel free to ask any questions,especially if youre thinking of going there.

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Posted By: <b>Ray</b><p>I drive past the stadium pretty much every day/night since I work about 1/2 mile away. I had to work last night and headed home around 5:30pm. Traffic was pretty miserable...as if it was a regular M-F day...except instead of cars taking up the road it was fans. Not a huge deal to me because it was kind of neat to get the feel of it and it was a good reminder that baseball is back for the season. But I'd hate to see the traffic on game nights during the work week. I've gotten the oppurtunity to watch it being built from scratch since I drive past it to/from work all the time. It's a tiny, cozy park...at least it looks like it from the outside...just like Citizen's Bank. <br /><br />I bought tickets to the April 7th game (2nd regular season home game - 3rd overall). Looking forward to it. I'll post my pics after the game, too.

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Posted By: <b>Anthony S.</b><p>John,<br /><br /> Did you get a sense how the ball carries there? My Roto auction is next weekend.

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Posted By: <b>Cashews</b><p>How much are Nationals tickets? That looks like a pretty good seat and I'm just wondering what the difference is between Nationals games and Yankees games. That is like a 75 dollar ticket at Yankee Stadium.

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Posted By: <b>john/z28jd</b><p> They said that there is a wind tunnel created by parking garages in left field and that anything in the air will get caught in it. There was 2 balls hit to the warning track all game,one was a line drive to left,probably low enough the wind didnt affect it,and one to center which looked like a homer off the bat but died. From just one game its obviously hard to tell for sure but my brother and I both said it looks like a pitchers park. If they had a gap hitter with speed the park would be good for triples because of some awkward angles in the outfield for the most part the Nats are a slow team, between Dukes,LoDuca,Dmitri,Belliard and Guzman they look more like linebackers than baseball players anyway. Kearns might do decent there,Zimmerman should be very good and improve slightly on last year,and Milledge will be good if he ever learns how to hit a curveball. That guy is toast with 2 strikes vs a guy with a decent curve. I wouldnt take Nick Johnson just based on his health issues.They have no pitching worth looking at except Cordero for the bullpen<br /><br /><br /> Ticket prices are decent,that was a $33 ticket,2nd level first row. I would steer clear of the RF bullpen seats because they look to far set back to see anything in the air,even in the first row. Alot of stuff there is sold out already,small capacity,lots of season ticket holders and just a general interest for the first season,so if you plan on getting something,get it soon I would say

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Posted By: <b>Cashews</b><p>I've read in some magazines that the Nationals are in the top 10 in revenue every year because of the huge interest in baseball there again. Do you know if thats true? There are some people who think now that the Nats have their new stadium they're going to start using that extra surplus money to slowly build a great team and thats what keeps a lot of fans coming back even if the team is terrible, the promise of the future. I'd like to see that happen. If the Nats were a strong team the NL East would become just as exciting and contested as the AL East.

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Posted By: <b>dennis</b><p>thanks for posting the great pics,nice to have a team in D.C. again!!!!(even if it is in the wrong league)

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Posted By: <b>john/z28jd</b><p> I dont know if thats true or not. I would think they made good money the first year they were in Washington from fan interest being so high and merchandise sales being high but by last year the thrill of them being back sort of wore off and people werent happy about seeing a bad team in a bad stadium. They drew 2.7 mil their first year in Washington in 2005 but dropped to 2.1 the next year then under 2 mil by 2007 and they also had a ton of cheap seats there in the upper deck that sold pretty good so even with a decent attendance they still werent bringing in alot. This year they will probably draw close to 3 million which will bring in a lot of cash but they have that problem of not making money off parking and still having a weak team so that will probably keep them from maximizing their potential.<br /><br /> They desperately need starting pitching,Odalis Perez is their opening day starter and it doesnt get much better after him,Matt Chico,Jason Bergmann, Tim Redding(yes hes still alive),Joel Hanrahan and Shawn Hill arent exactly household names, Hill's the best probably and he's hurt right now. I think their 73 wins last year were an overachievement. Plus before last years draft they had the worst farm system in baseball according to baseball america,it got a little better with a strong draft but not much. I wouldnt get hopes up until they can start moving some players at their peak like Dmitri Young after last season for something younger that could help in the future. They're starting Ronnie Belliard and Christian Guzman this year who wont be around when/if they are successful but they let a younger better player go to the bench unhappy in Felipe Lopez who could be a part of the future. Now hes just a disgruntled bench player with no trade value.<br /><br />

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Posted By: <b>Dustan Hedlin</b><p>The stadium looks nice from the pictures. I'll be on the east coast from Aug. 22nd - Sept. 1 and will be going to 1 game in DC. Some old college friends and I made a pact that we'd get to all 30 major league stadiums, and we're catching the last 5 this year. We were rained out at Shea when we went out east 2 years ago, so we're going there, along with a Yanks-Red Sox game at Yankee Stadium since it's the last year for that stadium. Should be a great trip, and I'm looking forward to the new park in DC.