New Nationals stadium in Washington

by Youneverknow on Nov 14, 2007 11:31 AM EST Comment 15 comments

A look at the new Nationals ballpark

The new Washington Nationals ballpark is shaping up fast. They have even laid in the grass.

Its design is a welcome departure from the retro park craze started by Camden Yards. I was hoping St. Louis might try something new, more in the tradition of the Gateway Arch than in the Soulard district. (Although speaking as someone who thought Busch II was an awful stadium, at least Busch III is be a good place in which to watch a game.) If you look at the architectural statements being made all over Europe in the new soccer stadiums, they are very impressive and forward-looking compared to the nostalgia-fest going on here with baseball stadiums.

Architecture aside, Nationals Park will have some amazing views of D.C. And it appears many seats will be pretty reasonably priced.

Here is a pretty cool Web site devoted to the new Nationals Park, run by a woman who lives in the area and decided to document the construction and the changes to her neighborhood. If you explore the different tabs you will get a good look at the stadium, inside and out. The latest interior shots were taken just yesterday.

http://www.jdland.com/dc/stadium.cfm?tab=no2

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Not bad

but that parking garage blocking the view is just terrible. Those need to be torn down and rebuilt somewhere else.

The cherry blossoms (if they can keep them alive) are going to be great.

"Well, you wait for a strike. Then you knock the shit out of it. - Musial to Flood on how to hit a curveball

by Hardcore Legend on Nov 14, 2007 11:36 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

DCist

RFK was a pit in the middle of nowhere, so any improvement is good. However, dc politics are always eventful and the parking garages have been a nightmare. DC used to have a ban on parking garages. The last mayor Anthony Williams argued that they prevented mixed economic development; condos, shops, restaurants, etc. Now the new major Adrian Fenty has overturned the ruling. The Stadium was a pissing contest between the old mayor and the city council. The new mayor did not want to get involved so he signed off on the councils above ground proposal as opposed to the former subterranian garage proposal. The issue is probably now resolved as the new owners, the Lerners, were getting nervous the garages would not be finished for the openning. So, as opposed to the development plan of revitalizing the Anacostia river area, the new development plan is moving in a very RFK like direction.

The Cherry blossoms are a nice touch...for the two weeks they are in bloom at the start of the season. Perhaps they can string xmas lights on them the rest of the year. :)

All my friends became Cardinal fans and grew up happy and liberal. I became a Cub fan and grew up embittered and conservative." -- George Will

by wannabeGedman on Nov 14, 2007 1:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Nice.

Thanks for posting this link. It is not too "forward looking", but has good clean lines. Should be a nice place to play, certainly better than RFK. But I was never there, just basing my opinion on what I saw on TV.

by cardsgirl95 on Nov 14, 2007 12:05 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I've been to

RFK, and it's a dump. It's a lousy place to play baseball, much less any other sport.
There was a program on the Discovery Channel a few weeks back on the construction of the new stadium, and some of the things they're having to do to get this thing ready for Opening Day are interesting, to say the least.

by cardsrul on Nov 14, 2007 1:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

That is what I based

my comment on - it doesn't look like a baseball stadium at all. Even on TV where you are only getting selected views from a few camera angles, RFK just looks like someone decided at the last minute, "Hey, the Nats are hosting a game tonight. Where are we gonna play? I guess RFK will do in a pinch." and carted some bases and other equipment over there in the afternoon and set things up.

by cardsgirl95 on Nov 14, 2007 2:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Going to be a nice place to watch a game

if they can figure out how to get people TO the game. My brother lived in DC for a few years and said this spot was chosen because it was a run down neighborhood and the city needed the stadium to begin some urban renewal. Unfortunately, nobody considered how people would actually get to the game, because apparently this spot is probably the worst traffic spot in the DC area. The train will help, similar to how it's used in St. Louis, but I have a feeling people are going to be turned off if they want to drive to the stadium because they'll be sitting in traffic for an hour just to get to the game by the start of the third inning.

"The Cardinals have won a World Series in THEIR new stadium!" --my Uncle Jim to a heckling Cubs fan

by fourstick on Nov 14, 2007 12:06 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Having lived in a DC suburb

people who want to drive downtown are idiots. Amtrack runs trains to almost every 'minor town' in the outlaying area. From the Amtrack, you can get on the Metro fairly easily.

It would make no sense, unless you hate people, to drive into downtown DC.

"Well, you wait for a strike. Then you knock the shit out of it. - Musial to Flood on how to hit a curveball

by Hardcore Legend on Nov 14, 2007 12:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

D.C. traffic

could quite possibly be the worst in the world. it once took me four hours to make it from down town to I 95. thats what, two miles, and yes after that i did hate people.

by Dave Barry on Nov 14, 2007 12:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It's not too much farther

Its about a block and a half. The RFK stop is only nominally at the stadium, it comes out on the "stadium grounds" which is a pretty long block away.

The problem with the Metro is that station was not constructed to handle the amount of traffic that the stadium will produce. WMTA is working on expanding but from what i've read the renovations are behind schedule and the station will be under construction when the season begins. This means that not only will it be expanded but it will be restricted by the ongoing construction.

Jimmy steps in to lead off the bottom half of the inning... with nobody on base... It could happen... just not tonight.

by Hollywood15 on Nov 14, 2007 3:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Point being...

Why the heck did they need that terribly ugly parking garage!

"The Cardinals have won a World Series in THEIR new stadium!" --my Uncle Jim to a heckling Cubs fan

by fourstick on Nov 14, 2007 1:10 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Last time I went to DC

I left my car at the Vienna, VA Metro station and rode into town. Hell will freeze over before I ever drive into DC again.

by cardsrul on Nov 14, 2007 1:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

me & some friends visited in 99

when the Cards played the Expos for 3 games at RFK right before the season started. i drove every where around DC & had a blast. of course i'm nuts but i loved driving around. sure it was bad but i love a challenge. my one friend was a intern for the Post & he thought i was nuts because he didnt bring his car with him & took the trains every where.

i got a problem with mass transit. i'd rather drive my self than ride a bus or train.

I'm going to go try to find a puppy and kick it. - Brad Thompson And That's A Winner!

by gdm426 on Nov 15, 2007 12:45 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Metro

Not entirely positive, but I think it's still a little hike to get from the metro stop to the stadium. At least with RFK, it was a very short walk from the stop.

by brafi on Nov 14, 2007 2:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Ehh..

Looks nice but I think in 15 years it will look horrible. I personally like the retro look, as I don't think it will ever be out of style in baseball considering how traditional it is.

Something like this that shows it's era tends to get real ugly in realation to styles. This park reminds me of the ugly buildings on my campus that look horribly out of style due to them building it with the whole 70s style.

Welcome back Tony, adios Kip.

by warpig2003 on Nov 14, 2007 8:12 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

The reason they didn't go retro...

is because there are very few red brick buildings in D.C. around that area. I think that they thought about this and wanted to blend in with the limestone architecture that facades most government buildings. So it may not look great in 20 years but i think it will still fit in.

Jimmy steps in to lead off the bottom half of the inning... with nobody on base... It could happen... just not tonight.

by Hollywood15 on Nov 15, 2007 10:13 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs