As dreadfully as the Nationals have played as of late — and there’s no way to sugarcoat it, the offense has been nearly invisible — it seems that criticism of Washington’s attendance is as prevalent as their play on the field.
The point of reference in these parts is Oriole Park at Camden Yards, a groundbreaking edifice that essentially sold out its first nine seasons. OPACY signified a new direction in baseball stadium design: a conscious attempt to build an “old” ballpark, a baseball-only structure with a neighborhood feel, and they achieved their goal in spades. The Orioles’ resulting success at the box office convinced a lot of people in and out of the game — including Commissioner Bud Selig — that a new ballpark was the cure for any team’s ills.
Several new ballparks followed over the next several years, and while some experienced huge increases in attendance, none enjoyed the same long-term success as the Orioles. The Tigers drew 2,026,441 in 1999, their final season at old Tiger Stadium — when they won 69 games — and attracted 2,438,617 in 2000, the inaugural season at Comerica Park, when they won 79 games. The 78-84 Cincinnati Reds attracted 1,855,787 fans their final season at Cinergy Field in 2002, and 2,355,259 the first year at the Great American Baseball Park when they won nine fewer games. Similar numbers show up in Pittsburgh between 2000-2001 when the Pirates moved from Three Rivers Stadium to PNC Park.
Like the Nationals, all of those teams were sub-.500 ballclubs. The major difference, in the eyes of the critics, is that baseball was already an established sport in those markets, and was new to Washington; therefore they should have near-sellouts daily.
Except that it wasn’t new. Local baseball fans had for years gotten their baseball fix in Baltimore, and had already gone through the “new ballpark” thing pretty recently at the other end of 295. It really wasn’t a comparable situation.
Are there some overpriced seats at Nationals Park? Of course there are, and I’m quite certain a number of sections will be re-priced in the offseason. Has the parking situation cost the club ticket sales? All we heard last winter was that parking would be a nightmare, so that answer is also in the affirmative.
The idea that a new stadium should automatically meana string of sellouts is based entirely on the OPACY model, and that logic just doesn’t fly. The Nationals’ won-lost record this year alone isn’t much incentive to go to the ballpark, and they’ve still attracted a million fans through 35 home dates. Overall, they’re 15th out of 30 teams in attendance. They’re ahead of some teams with far batter W-L records, including Arizona, Texas, Oakland, Tampa Bay, Toronto and the White Sox. An attendance problem? Not here.
Some people will always feel the need to knock Washington as a baseball town. They’ll never get over the fact that baseball returned and proved them wrong. When that first divisional flag is run up the pole in a few seasons, they’ll complain it’s the wrong color.
Hear Phil Wood Saturdays at 10 a.m. on SportsTalk 980 AM and is a contributor to Nats Xtra on MASN. Contact him at [email protected].
