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Recent
Visits |
Al Lang Field, Tampa Bay
Rays
St.
Pete's Al Lang Field has been in the news a lot
lately, but for the wrong reasons: the Tampa Bay
Rays will train there one last time in 2008 before
shifting spring operations to Charlotte County in
2009, and the old ballpark is slated to be torn
down to make way for a new waterfront home of the
Rays. Now, Al Lang Field isn't the same venue it
was in the 1940s and 1950s when it was a landmark
in spring training, but it's still a great place
to catch a spring-training game. We hope the Rays
catch the spirit of the original Al Lang in their
designs for a new ballpark, For the rest of us, a
trip to Al Lang Field will be a mandatory event in
Spring Training 2008.
Trustmark Park, Mississippi
Braves
There's
nothing wrong with Trustmark Park, the home of the
Mississippi Braves (Class AA; Southern League).
The wraparound concourse, luxury
boxes, big scoreboard and varied concessions are
all standard issue for a new minor-league ballpark
these days. So why aren't we more excited about
the two-year-old ballpark? Because there's nothing
unique about it: except for a few Southern menu
items at the concessions, there's nothing to link
the ballpark to its surroundings. At a Mississippi
Braves game, you could be watching a game anywhere
-- and going local is one of the great joys of the
minor leagues. Dustin Mattison reports.
Alliance Bank Stadium,
Syracuse Chiefs
The
biggest news at Alliance Bank Stadium, the home of
the Syracuse Chiefs (Class AAA; International
League): the current artificial turf will be
replaced by real grass. That's good news for
Syracuse baseball fans in terms of aesthetics, as
well as players who need to field on an old,
sometimes unpredictable surface. Otherwise,
Alliance Bank Stadium is a perfectly serviceable
ballpark: the Chiefs front office does things the
old-fashioned way (i.e., not much in terms of
between-innings shenanigans), but the ballpark is
a comfortable place to watch a game, and the food
is pretty good. Steve Kapsinow reports.
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The
Fine Print |
Obligatory legal information:
This site is copyright 1998-2007 Kevin Reichard/August
Publications. All rights
reserved. My wife is a lawyer, so she will come and chop off
your hand in a legal fashion if you rip off this site
in any form. All logos are the property of their respective
owners. |
Broadcasts |
Virtually every MiLB team now streams broadcasts over the
Internet, which makes it easy to follow your favorite team when
you're on the road. In addition, you can catch MLB game broadcasts at
MLB.com or via XM Radio.
More
on Internet radio and TV broadcasts here! |
|
RFK Stadium /
Washington Nationals
(click on the image
for a larger photo)
Year Opened |
1961 |
Capacity |
56,00 |
Architect |
George A. Dahl and Osborn Engineering |
Dimensions |
335L, 385LC, 410C, 385RC, 335R |
Playing Surface |
Grass |
Last Visit |
2005 |
Web Site |
mlb.com |
Online Broadcasts |
Yes |
Online Ticket Sales |
Yes |
Phone |
202/397-SEAT (7328) |
Ticket Prices (2006) |
Field Box, $45; Loge MVP, $45; Terrace MVP, $40; Loge
Box, $35; Terrace Box, $34; Terrace, $25; Lower View
MVP, $23; Loge OF, $20; Lower View Box, $16; Upper View
MVP, $16; Lower View OF, $11; Upper View Box, $11; Upper
View OF, $7 |
League |
National League |
Parking |
One of the big advantages to the Expos moving to RFK
Stadium: an infrastructure capable of handling tens of
thousands of fans daily was in place, thanks to the
enormous popularity of the Redskins in the 1980s and
1990s. It is an infrastructure that routes people around
the surrounding neighborhood, which is probably a good
idea. |
Address/Directions |
2400
E. Capitol Street, Washington, D.C. There are two
popular ways to get to the ballpark: driving and Metro.
Taking the Metro is the cheaper and easier method of
transport. D.C.’s subway system is among the best in the
world: it’s clean, safe and serves every important part
of town, including surrounding communities like
Alexandria and Arlington. The Blue-Orange Line stops at
the Stadium-Armory stop at 19th and East Capitol Street;
just walk two blocks from the station to the ballpark.
Driving is almost as easy, as there are 10,000 parking
spots onsite. The ballpark is located next to I-395 on
the east side of the District. |
Written by: |
Kevin
Reichard |
Rating |
|
There may be no second
acts in American life, but there are second
chances galore, and Washington’s RFK Stadium has a
second life as the home of the Washington
Nationals. Built in 1961 as the home of the second
Washington Senators and the NFL’s Washington
Redskins, RFK Stadium has been infused with new
life, as millions of fans passed through the
turnstiles in 2005 to cheer on the relocated
Montreal Expos.
In retrospect, RFK
Stadium was the only logical destination for the
Expos. It was designed for major-league baseball.
The infrastructure for handling large crowds --
freeway and mass-transit access, concessions, a
wealth of luxury boxes -- was in place, and the
District of Columbia was hungry for major-league
baseball. RFK today is a place where Republicans
and Democrats can coexist; America’s Pastime in
America’s Capital. A match made in heaven.
RFK was one of the
original cookie-cutter stadiums: circular
facilities designed to host both pro football and
baseball, with the fences and stands reconfigured
depending on the use. At RFK, the transition
between football and baseball took several hours
to complete, with a whole set of seats (now
located down the third-base line) rolling on a
curved train track to open the end of the football
field and add seats to the sidelines. (When RFK
was being readied for baseball before the 2005
season opener, crews from Turner Construction were
nervous about whether the track would work, as it
had not been used in years. It did.)
(click on the image
for a larger photo)
The traditional definition of a cookie-cutter
stadium involves a circular design, but nothing
about RFK Stadium is circular. Instead, the design
features a few different ovals that intersect. The
stadium isn’t a perfect circle, and neither is the
seating bowl for baseball. You can sit in the
outfield looking directly down the middle of the
plate and be a little disoriented because what’s
behind it isn’t a perfect semicircle. This leads
to a few other quirks as well; for instance,
there’s a lot of foul territory.
There aren’t many
cookie-cutter stadiums left: Cincinnati dumped
Riverfront Stadium, St. Louis is dumping the
second Busch Stadium, and when a new ballpark in
completed, the Nationals will be leaving RFK
Stadium as well.
What happens then is
anyone’s guess. RFK Stadium was given up for dead
several years ago when the Washington Redskins
flew to the suburbs, and only the lack of a game
plan for the area saved the stadium from the
wrecking ball.
(click on the image
for a larger photo)
Until then, RFK
Stadium will serve admirably as the home of the
Nationals. For a forty-year-old-plus cookie-cutter
stadium, RFK Stadium is in better shape that you’d
expect. Yes, it’s definitely frayed around the
edges and in need of a good cleaning, but it’s got
more charm than you’d expect in such an old and
disused facility. For a cookie-cutter stadium,
it’s OK.
First off, it’s old. RFK Stadium is the
second-oldest ballpark in the National League,
with only Wrigley Field opening before RFK. DC
Stadium (as it was originally named) opened on
April 9, 1962, while Dodger Stadium opened on
April 10, 1962. Much of its layout reflects that
age: the concourses are cramped, there are no
escalators moving between levels, and the outfield
sections rise a full level above the playing
field. Luckily, the ballpark was designed before
the rise of artificial turf.
The expansion Senators team playing at RFK was
never very good: the team never won a division and
approached .500 only under the tutelage of Ted
Williams. For many years Frank Howard was the
box-office draw at RFK, with his mammoth homers
regularly reaching the upper deck. The Senators
marked the seats where Howard’s shots finally came
out of orbit; alas, these seats were painted over
with Redskin gold and burgundy after the Senators
fled, a color scheme that still stands. One sad
thing about RFK Stadium is the lack of an homage
to baseball’s rich history (except for a marker
commemorating Clark Griffith outside the ballpark,
which formerly stood at Griffith Stadium): no
displays honoring the original or expansion
Senators, the Homestead Grays, other Negro League
teams, or great players like Walter Johnson (save
a perfunctory listing on the Washington Hall of
Fame) or Josh Gibson. You wouldn’t know Washington
had a colorful baseball past after visiting RFK
Stadium.
(click on the image
for a larger photo)
Part of the reason why
RFK is interesting is its architectural
flourishes. The roller-coaster roof is
recognizable from a distance (you always knew the
Redskins were in town when CBS would flash an
exterior shot), and the waves soften the edges of
the ballpark. The waves aren’t symmetrical
throughout the park and exist only behind home
plate.
Still, a lot in baseball changed between the last
days of the Senators and the beginning of the
Nationals. Fans aren’t expected to spend nine
innings planted in their seats with the occasional
bathroom and concession break, and RFK Stadium is
ill-suited to fans wanting to wander the ballpark
and watch the action from multiple vantage points.
The Nationals don’t prevent you from wandering;
it’s just that there aren’t many places to stand
and watch the game past the main-level concourses
down each line. Plus, the aisles and rows between
are narrow, and the angle of the seating differs:
it’s a steep climb between rows in the upper deck,
but the angle is so slight on the grandstand it’s
sometimes hard for shorter fans to see the action.
On the bright side, the seats are plenty wide, so
once you’re sitting you’ll be comfortable.
Major-league baseball did mandate some
improvements to RFK Stadium. A new videoboard in
right field provides replays, scores and other
game information. Concessions were upgraded after
the first month of play, with fans complaining of
long lines and little food selection (a problem
that still exists, although we expect to see it
change in coming seasons). The funky
closed-circuit TV displays dating back to the
Redskins days are still scattered through the
concourses, their picture quality as fuzzy as
ever. For anyone who spent a lot of time at
Washington Redskins games, the memories will come
back quickly.
Otherwise, there’s little in the way of
interesting décor at the ballpark, with the most
noteworthy flourish a huge clock in the outfield
sporting a Nationals logo. A Washington Hall of
Fame board in right field honors great athletes
and sports figures of the past.
The more interesting décor may be the faces in the
stands, as Washington’s political pundits – Bob
Novak, Fred Barnes, David Brooks – are queued up
for season tickets. (Alas, one of the problems
faced by the Nats is the large number of people
buying season tickets and not showing up for
games, as the punditry class and other abandoned
the team at the end of the season.) During our
most recent visit, Fox News anchor Brit Hume threw
out the first pitch: predictably, it sailed to the
right of center.
RFK Stadium is a temporary home for the Nationals,
as a new ballpark in Southeast D.C. is in the
works. Considering the franchise has spent much of
its history in “temporary” facilities -- Jarry
Park, Hiram Bithorn Stadium, even the final days
at Olympic Stadium -- the Nationals and their fans
could do a lot worst than biding time at RFK
Stadium.
Concessions
Concessions at RFK Stadium are weak. The
Nationals are attracting a fairly upscale
audience, but the food offerings are decidedly
downscale. Most concessions stands offer the same
limited menu: $4 hot dogs (avoid; ours was cold
and bland), nachos, popcorn, chicken tenders,
candy, and fries. Sausages and brats are sold at
Dominic’s of New York stands (despite the name,
Dominic’s is a Virginia firm).
One of the biggest complaints when the Nationals
began their season was the lack of concession
variety. If you look you can find some unique
offerings, such as the Burrito Brothers burritos
behind section 109, and the beer selections
include Heineken, Dos Equis, Red Hook, Guinness,
Harp, and Killians.
Behind section 116 there’s the Foggy Bottom
Brewpub, serving beers from the Olde Heurich
Brewing Company. Heurich is a traditional name in
Washington brewing: the Christian Heurich brewery
was a D.C. landmark for decades (it was torn down
to make way for John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts), and grandson Gary Heurich
carries on the family tradition. Alas, the Foggy
Bottom beers are contract-brewed in upstate New
York. A special pilsner is brewed for consumption
at RFK. Since the smoking regulations in D.C. are
on the liberal side, this is a popular gathering
spot for smokers. Mixed drinks are also on the
menu here.
For the Kids
There is little for children at RFK Stadium
past a play area outside the north side of the
ballpark.
We’re not sure kids
will be entertained by the Nationals’ mascot,
Screech. Screech is a bad, bad mascot, resembling
the pompous Sam the Eagle from the Muppets.
Ballpark History
The Montreal Expos formerly played at
Olympic Stadium
and
Jarry Park.
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