Afternoon Baseball at the RFK...
Since I've been fortunate enough to spend a week in Washington, I thought it only prudent that I catch a Nationals game. After all, they are the Cinderella story of this year: the little team that MLB tried to get rid of, moving from place to place without a fan base, overachieving seemingly at will. Plus, it gave me an opportunity to visit another stadium, a plan that always seems to meet with my approval.
The Nationals, if you aren't familiar, used to be the Expos, and have managed to put together a rather competitive ballclub of solid players (no real stars, but they are owned by MLB). They're currently working out plans to build a new stadium, which seems to be a priority given the state of RFK...
I'll make this post about the Stadium, in Page 2-style. We'll rank RFK on twenty different categories, including seat comfort, hot dogs, concessions, signature food, beer, bathrooms, scoreboard, PA system, fun stuff, souvenirs, tickets, exterior, interior, access, ushers, trading up, fan knowledge, 7th inning stretch, scorecard, and "wild card," which catches all the intangibles.
RFK Stadium, or Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, named after the late Senator from California, was built in 1961. It can hold 45,016 people for baseball games, and more for Redskins games (and I assume less for DC United? Slight joke here.) Traditionally, it has been where the US President would throw out the first pitch for the start of the MLB season, and this year Bush followed in that tradition.
Ok, ok, enough of the hype, let's go to the tale of the tape.
1. Seat Comfort.
They were metal and didn't offer a lick of comfort, nor did they have any cupholders. However, this is to be expected; after all, the seats were made in 1961. From where I sat (about halfway down the first base line underneath the second deck) you could see perfectly. If, however, I had sat six rows higher, I would have had a problem, and this kind of has to lower the score a bit. There are definitely bad sight lines for costly tickets at RFK, something that has a bit of a negative.
Overall: 4 (out of 5)
2. Hot Dogs.
They looked good; the guy in front had one, as did the guys to the side. They definitely couldn't have been any worse than the ones for sale outside the stadium by the street vendors, which is the type I chose to buy. Overall, they looked like something I might want to eat, which is rare for the dogs.
Rank: 4.5
3. Concessions.
I just raved about the hot dogs, but I can't say the same for the concessions. The food reminded me sort of what I think food for a AAAA team would be like: better than AAA, but not as good as what MLB should be. First, all the food was made and distributed by Aramark, as I was reminded numerous times throughout the game. I didn't see anything distinctive, and a lot of the concession stands weren't even open when the gates opened. There was a lot of scurrying to get stuff ready, which normally doesn't happen in MLB stadiums. And the food looked average and expensive, though I did see that they sold Dippin' Dots.
Rank: 2.5
4. Signature Food Item.
I don't really know what this would be. Maybe it would be the Chicken Fingers and Fries, a bargain at only $8.50. Most likely it would be the bags of stadium kettle popcorn I saw people buying, which must have been better than the buckets of popcorn because it was all that was being bought. I almost bought a bag myself until I realized that it was just regular popcorn and not caramel. Disappointing.
Rank: 2
5. Beer.
Being 21, I'm now able to buy it, but I normally don't. I will say that the prices seemed in line with other ballparks on bottles, but not with tap. There were import taps, which were sold at higher prices and didn't seem to offer more than 12 ounces of drinking pleasure. I would say that if you choose to buy beer at a Nats game, you're probably getting ripped off more than even other ballparks would allow. They'd never stand for this in Busch.
Rank: 2.5
6. Bathrooms.
When I asked my dad if the bathrooms at RFK were nice, he responded with...
"They were so-so. The first time they were out of paper towels."
Rank: 3 (every stadium has so-so bathrooms).
7. Scoreboard.
I liked the scoreboard, mainly because it did all the things a good scoreboard is supposed to. It mathematically updated batting averages and ERAs during the game, it accurately measured pitch speeds by the radar gun, it was visible and in color, and it updated other games while in progress. Surprisingly enough, lots of stadiums don't get all of these right.
Rank: 5
8. Quality of PA System.
It was fine. The guy had to announce around 500 pitching and hitting changes by Frank Robinson and Jerry Narron, so he had quite a workout. He didn't mess any of it up, but he didn't have any personality doing it either.
Rank: 3.5
9. Fun Stuff to do other than the game.
There wasn't much, really. I looked around half-heartedly for the team gift shop and speed pitches, but didn't find either. I think that most of the other entertainment revolves around getting one's self on TV, which can be done considering that there are camera crews constantly circling the place. I will say that if you collect autographs, RFK is a nice pad; the ushers let you do whatever you want (more on that later) and both Reds and Nationals signed today. In fact, Jamey Carroll signed for about 30 minutes down the third base line, and I was very impressed.
Rank: 3.5
10. Price/Selection of Baseball Souvenirs.
Not good, although you don't really end up buying your Nationals souvenirs at the game anyway because the street vendors are more than willing to cut you a deal. The vendors have everything that you could buy at the game, for the most part. I went looking for the game-used bats that they said were in the gift shop by post 61, but there was no gift shop there. Oops.
Rank: 3.5
11. Ticket Price/Availability.
These tickets cost tooooooo much. I think the nosebleeds were all $15 each. So I decided to convince my dad to forgo the service fees and take our chances on the street, because the best seats available on the internet were in section 522. For $30 each, we got seats in row 310, which meant we paid... $0 over face value and no service fees. The scalpers are actually cheaper than Ticketmaster, providing your game doesn't sell out.
Now for the good part: if you buy $30 seats, they're actually pretty close to the best you can get. We sat maybe 30 rows up- and section 310 would be section 110 in a lot of ballparks. This is one stadium where you should look at the charts before you go, and you'll probably get a deal.
Rank: 3.5
12. Exterior.
It's both dismal and haphazard. The sign promoting the stadium on the outside is kind of impressive though. I should have walked all the way around the stadium, but I really didn't feel like it. I think I would have found more of the same: dismal concrete and a vintage multi-purpose feel. I'm actually fairly sure that this is the only multi-purpose park left in the country, and it shows. Form didn't follow function on this one.
Rank: 1
13. Interior.
Yikes. It's actually worse. It sort of reminds me of Riverfront Stadium, except for the fact that it isn't designed logically and concession booths just protrude out randomly. There's nothing interesting of note, except for the right field wall which gives out the members of the Washington Sports Hall of Fame.
Rank: 1.5
14. Access.
Apparently access can be kind of a problem, because parking passes sold for some money on the internet. But I had absolutely no problem taking the Metro to the Stadium, which was both cheap and easy (about $4). Plus, I had the added bonus of possibly buying a $5 Domino's pizza off the street after the game. A good thought, indeed.
Rank: 5
15. Ushers.
I didn't get my tickets checked, nor did I see an usher for my section. That has to be an absolute first. Kids could get autographs for pretty much the entirety of the game. If the ushers were mean and ugly, they didn't show it.
Rank: 5
16. Trading-Up Factor.
You could sit wherever you wanted, though I was perfectly happy with my seats. I think you could buy the cheapest seat in the park and move to the bottom with relative ease. Again, this won't be the case with a new park, but it's really nice for a year.
Rank: 5
17. Knowledge of Local Fans.
Yeah, they seemed knowledgable enough to boo Cristian Guzman, which is probably commendable. The fans that sat next to me were absolute dopes, but you can't hold that against them. There were a lot of late-comers and early-goers, and with the Reds bullpen around, leaving early almost backfired. You would think more people would want to stay with the Nats still in it.
I will say that I think there are a lot of older people who remember the first Nats team, and they are passionate about baseball.
Rank: 3.5
18. Seventh-inning Stretch.
Boring and uninspired. Some of the fans didn't recognize it, and there was no mention of it. But there was Toby Keith music. Wait, that doesn't help the ranking at all.
Rank: 2
19. Pre-game and Post-game Scene.
I think RFK is in the middle of a lower-class subdivision, so there's generally a mass exodus afterwards, and thus no scene to speak of. I also wouldn't hang around the stadium at night. If you want to go somewhere for a scene, skirt your buddies on the Metro to a local suburb that is more affluent. But on a side note, you really shouldn't need a scene for baseball anyway.
Rank: 1.5
20. Wildcard.
This all-encompassing rank from scale of 1 to 10 is given for any bonuses. I think that the fans were generally excited to be there, and that the stadium was generally fan-friendly. And that's it.
Rank: 4
Total: 67 (a D+)
Tear this baby down! (For baseball, that is. I have no expectations for the NFL.)
The Nationals, if you aren't familiar, used to be the Expos, and have managed to put together a rather competitive ballclub of solid players (no real stars, but they are owned by MLB). They're currently working out plans to build a new stadium, which seems to be a priority given the state of RFK...
I'll make this post about the Stadium, in Page 2-style. We'll rank RFK on twenty different categories, including seat comfort, hot dogs, concessions, signature food, beer, bathrooms, scoreboard, PA system, fun stuff, souvenirs, tickets, exterior, interior, access, ushers, trading up, fan knowledge, 7th inning stretch, scorecard, and "wild card," which catches all the intangibles.
RFK Stadium, or Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, named after the late Senator from California, was built in 1961. It can hold 45,016 people for baseball games, and more for Redskins games (and I assume less for DC United? Slight joke here.) Traditionally, it has been where the US President would throw out the first pitch for the start of the MLB season, and this year Bush followed in that tradition.
Ok, ok, enough of the hype, let's go to the tale of the tape.
1. Seat Comfort.
They were metal and didn't offer a lick of comfort, nor did they have any cupholders. However, this is to be expected; after all, the seats were made in 1961. From where I sat (about halfway down the first base line underneath the second deck) you could see perfectly. If, however, I had sat six rows higher, I would have had a problem, and this kind of has to lower the score a bit. There are definitely bad sight lines for costly tickets at RFK, something that has a bit of a negative.
Overall: 4 (out of 5)
2. Hot Dogs.
They looked good; the guy in front had one, as did the guys to the side. They definitely couldn't have been any worse than the ones for sale outside the stadium by the street vendors, which is the type I chose to buy. Overall, they looked like something I might want to eat, which is rare for the dogs.
Rank: 4.5
3. Concessions.
I just raved about the hot dogs, but I can't say the same for the concessions. The food reminded me sort of what I think food for a AAAA team would be like: better than AAA, but not as good as what MLB should be. First, all the food was made and distributed by Aramark, as I was reminded numerous times throughout the game. I didn't see anything distinctive, and a lot of the concession stands weren't even open when the gates opened. There was a lot of scurrying to get stuff ready, which normally doesn't happen in MLB stadiums. And the food looked average and expensive, though I did see that they sold Dippin' Dots.
Rank: 2.5
4. Signature Food Item.
I don't really know what this would be. Maybe it would be the Chicken Fingers and Fries, a bargain at only $8.50. Most likely it would be the bags of stadium kettle popcorn I saw people buying, which must have been better than the buckets of popcorn because it was all that was being bought. I almost bought a bag myself until I realized that it was just regular popcorn and not caramel. Disappointing.
Rank: 2
5. Beer.
Being 21, I'm now able to buy it, but I normally don't. I will say that the prices seemed in line with other ballparks on bottles, but not with tap. There were import taps, which were sold at higher prices and didn't seem to offer more than 12 ounces of drinking pleasure. I would say that if you choose to buy beer at a Nats game, you're probably getting ripped off more than even other ballparks would allow. They'd never stand for this in Busch.
Rank: 2.5
6. Bathrooms.
When I asked my dad if the bathrooms at RFK were nice, he responded with...
"They were so-so. The first time they were out of paper towels."
Rank: 3 (every stadium has so-so bathrooms).
7. Scoreboard.
I liked the scoreboard, mainly because it did all the things a good scoreboard is supposed to. It mathematically updated batting averages and ERAs during the game, it accurately measured pitch speeds by the radar gun, it was visible and in color, and it updated other games while in progress. Surprisingly enough, lots of stadiums don't get all of these right.
Rank: 5
8. Quality of PA System.
It was fine. The guy had to announce around 500 pitching and hitting changes by Frank Robinson and Jerry Narron, so he had quite a workout. He didn't mess any of it up, but he didn't have any personality doing it either.
Rank: 3.5
9. Fun Stuff to do other than the game.
There wasn't much, really. I looked around half-heartedly for the team gift shop and speed pitches, but didn't find either. I think that most of the other entertainment revolves around getting one's self on TV, which can be done considering that there are camera crews constantly circling the place. I will say that if you collect autographs, RFK is a nice pad; the ushers let you do whatever you want (more on that later) and both Reds and Nationals signed today. In fact, Jamey Carroll signed for about 30 minutes down the third base line, and I was very impressed.
Rank: 3.5
10. Price/Selection of Baseball Souvenirs.
Not good, although you don't really end up buying your Nationals souvenirs at the game anyway because the street vendors are more than willing to cut you a deal. The vendors have everything that you could buy at the game, for the most part. I went looking for the game-used bats that they said were in the gift shop by post 61, but there was no gift shop there. Oops.
Rank: 3.5
11. Ticket Price/Availability.
These tickets cost tooooooo much. I think the nosebleeds were all $15 each. So I decided to convince my dad to forgo the service fees and take our chances on the street, because the best seats available on the internet were in section 522. For $30 each, we got seats in row 310, which meant we paid... $0 over face value and no service fees. The scalpers are actually cheaper than Ticketmaster, providing your game doesn't sell out.
Now for the good part: if you buy $30 seats, they're actually pretty close to the best you can get. We sat maybe 30 rows up- and section 310 would be section 110 in a lot of ballparks. This is one stadium where you should look at the charts before you go, and you'll probably get a deal.
Rank: 3.5
12. Exterior.
It's both dismal and haphazard. The sign promoting the stadium on the outside is kind of impressive though. I should have walked all the way around the stadium, but I really didn't feel like it. I think I would have found more of the same: dismal concrete and a vintage multi-purpose feel. I'm actually fairly sure that this is the only multi-purpose park left in the country, and it shows. Form didn't follow function on this one.
Rank: 1
13. Interior.
Yikes. It's actually worse. It sort of reminds me of Riverfront Stadium, except for the fact that it isn't designed logically and concession booths just protrude out randomly. There's nothing interesting of note, except for the right field wall which gives out the members of the Washington Sports Hall of Fame.
Rank: 1.5
14. Access.
Apparently access can be kind of a problem, because parking passes sold for some money on the internet. But I had absolutely no problem taking the Metro to the Stadium, which was both cheap and easy (about $4). Plus, I had the added bonus of possibly buying a $5 Domino's pizza off the street after the game. A good thought, indeed.
Rank: 5
15. Ushers.
I didn't get my tickets checked, nor did I see an usher for my section. That has to be an absolute first. Kids could get autographs for pretty much the entirety of the game. If the ushers were mean and ugly, they didn't show it.
Rank: 5
16. Trading-Up Factor.
You could sit wherever you wanted, though I was perfectly happy with my seats. I think you could buy the cheapest seat in the park and move to the bottom with relative ease. Again, this won't be the case with a new park, but it's really nice for a year.
Rank: 5
17. Knowledge of Local Fans.
Yeah, they seemed knowledgable enough to boo Cristian Guzman, which is probably commendable. The fans that sat next to me were absolute dopes, but you can't hold that against them. There were a lot of late-comers and early-goers, and with the Reds bullpen around, leaving early almost backfired. You would think more people would want to stay with the Nats still in it.
I will say that I think there are a lot of older people who remember the first Nats team, and they are passionate about baseball.
Rank: 3.5
18. Seventh-inning Stretch.
Boring and uninspired. Some of the fans didn't recognize it, and there was no mention of it. But there was Toby Keith music. Wait, that doesn't help the ranking at all.
Rank: 2
19. Pre-game and Post-game Scene.
I think RFK is in the middle of a lower-class subdivision, so there's generally a mass exodus afterwards, and thus no scene to speak of. I also wouldn't hang around the stadium at night. If you want to go somewhere for a scene, skirt your buddies on the Metro to a local suburb that is more affluent. But on a side note, you really shouldn't need a scene for baseball anyway.
Rank: 1.5
20. Wildcard.
This all-encompassing rank from scale of 1 to 10 is given for any bonuses. I think that the fans were generally excited to be there, and that the stadium was generally fan-friendly. And that's it.
Rank: 4
Total: 67 (a D+)
Tear this baby down! (For baseball, that is. I have no expectations for the NFL.)
posted by mike at 3:23 PM
1 Comments:
Well, they were both terrible, and the interior was worse. So based solely on that, it would have been 1 to .5 for the exterior. But I gave the interior a point for Washington Sports Hall of Fame. So that's why the scores are the way they are.
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