Baseball ballpark #35: RFK Stadium in Washington DC

Those that know me know about my 60-day trip to all 30 baseball stadiums in 2001. Prior to that trip, I had been to the old Tiger Stadium in Detroit, the old ballpark in Arlington, TX, and the old Comiskey Park in Chicago. Since that trip, of course I have been to Petco Park in San Diego, but that's it -- the new stadiums in St Louis, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and the relocated Washington Nationals were on my "to-visit" list.

So anyway, I visited ballpark #35 this past week -- RFK Stadium in Washington DC. I wont do a full review with photos (though I have them) like in my book about the trip, but I so want to ramble about the more noticeable aspects of the experience.

First off, if you are going to a game at RFK, take the Metro. I really don't know how big their parking lot is, or if they even have a dedicated one for the public. Everyone I saw took the Metro, the subway system in DC, which drops you off a block from the stadium.

Second, don't go alone. Holy hell, what a crappy area the stadium is in. As soon as you walk off the Metro, you will need to dodge panhandlers, "entrepreneurs" selling everything from "official" MLB clothing to peanuts, hot dogs, and water. That with a few religious nutcases passing out Jews for Jesus brochures and the scary housing on the other side of the street mean go to the ballgame in groups.

OK -- the stadium. Anyone who has seen a baseball game here would agree on one point -- this is not a ballpark. This is a typical 1970s concrete behemoth of a structure. It may look good from those blimp shots, but man what a hole from the ground level. Funny thing is that is has a lot in common with its predecessor, Montreal's Olympic Stadium. But in their defense, this was never supposed to be a long term home for the new ball club. Washington is actively building a new baseball ballpark for the Nationals, one that will look a lot like all the other new ballparks in recent years with seats "from $5 to $300". RFK smells like a men's restroom, has beer-stained cement hallways, and lazy vendors that scrape their beer carts along the railings enough to wear out the paint the entire perimeter of the stadium. The field looked decent for being a soccer field as well (soccer lines evidently removed just before the home stand).

The stadium was no frills. Long alternating ramps led to the top level; the food offering was limited to dogs and peanuts (though more food may have been offered near the expensive seats). In-between inning entertainment was really nothing too exciting, though the president races was a bit entertaining.

Im sure the experience would have been different if we had bought the expensive field level seats -- but that is as expected. We bought the upper level $16 dollar seats. Despite all the negative things I just said, I could easily see myself coming here all the time. It reminds me a lot of Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego -- a football stadium turned into a multi-purpose venue. Lots of concrete. And beer smell. But lots of memories. And you can't beat the $1.35 fare from Crystal City to the Stadium on the Metro (the long way ... on the blue line!).

Someday I hope to make it to the new ballparks in Cincinnati and St Louis (and Washington next year). Cincinnati isn't on the way to anything from here, though, so that one may be a while.