The Nationals new stadium should be the happiest time around Washington sports since Verizon Center opened 10 years ago. Instead, the sense of dread is growing faster than my waistline.
Wherever you live, you can’t get to the South Capitol Street stadium easily. There’s no parking for GS-Joes. Metro can’t handle the crowds coming or going. Street parking is $35 if you can find it. Maybe they’re running water taxis from the new National Harbor? Short of parachuting from planes heading to National (Uh, Reagan) airport, it’s going to be a mess getting there.
Remember the good old days when it was a problem leaving venues, not arriving?
Former mayor Tony Williams and his cronies should be invited to the opening of the new Nats stadium. After all, they’re responsible for this mess. A public booing would be appropriate during pregame introductions if anybody’s in the stands yet. Leave it to the District government to once again botch something great. They saddled the stadium with insufficient parking that will restrict the team’s and city’s revenues for years. That means less free agent spending and economic impact.
Eventually, the area will gain more parking as part of the area’s rejuvenation, but that will take years. Meanwhile, everything says park at RFK Stadium, take a shuttle and then walk the last part.
The next Harrison Ford movie should be “Indiana Jones and the Search for Nats Parking.”
My over/under for people leaving the first game via metro is two hours before the platform clears. Let’s see, that means with an idiotic 8 p.m. start for ESPN that could have been much earlier, folks will leave around 11 p.m., clear downtown by 1 a.m. and home by 2 for a restful four hours sleep at most before commuting to work. Monday should see a nice “Nats flu” absentee rate around town.
There’s my big problem with this parking fiasco — it will take forever to get there and return home like Redskins games. You either leave work early or arrive late the next morning. Fans shouldn’t need vacation time to watch weekday games, which are all nights this season to avoid gridlocking rush hour even more than normal.
When weekday attendance is 12,000 in April, don’t blame the economy. It’s the parking, stupid.
The new venue is going to be fantastic. I’ve skipped media tours to gain my first impression on opening day when the sense of awe should be awesome. Driving past it regularly, the stadium’s design fits well with the city’s monuments. It will have great food and upper deck ticket prices are very reasonable. Common folk can’t afford the good seats, but that’s life. The bleachers are my favorite place anyway.
Let’s just hope fans aren’t exasperated by inexcusable government planning that doesn’t even leave the nearby metro platform ready. Are crews working three shifts? There’s no excuse for making a bad first impression before fans even enter the gates.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
