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More on the beer garden proposed near National's Stadium in D.C.
Andrew J. Kline, representing Robert "Bo" Blair, said at a March 25 meeting of the Alcohol Beverage Control Board that his client wants to create a "festival site with amenities" near National's Stadium, but that "beer garden is not our term, I don't [...]
According to Chief of Staff Charles Allen, Ward 6 councilman and bike commuter Tommy Wells wants to see the Washington Area Bicycle Association triumph in its efforts to offer a free bike valet service on Inauguration Day. "He's always liked the idea of bike valet stations," says Allen, "he supported putting one in at Nationals [...]
The numbers are in: Nationals Park is the worst-attended new ballpark since the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome opened in Minneapolis in 1982.
Ballpark FAIL!
OK, yes, the final game was rained out, meaning the total paid draw of 2,320,400 is based on only 81 games rather than the scheduled 82. Still, no asterisk is necessary on this [...]
Yesterday, LL posited that Nationals Park is on the cusp of being the worst attended new ballpark in 25 years.
Make that beyond the cusp.
Last night, 20,657 paid to see the Nats beat the Marlins, meaning barely half the stadium's seats were sold. According to the AP game report, that's "a new low in the first [...]
As the Nats begin their final home series of the season tonight, LL felt it might be instructive to have a gander at the current attendance numbers for the inaugural year of Nationals Park.
Compared to the inaugural years of recent major league ballparks, they don't look good.
Right now, according to ESPN.com, the Nats have drawn [...]
If there's one thing we can recognize around here, it's gallows humor, and Chico Harlan snuck in a nice dig at the 100-losses-here-we-come Nats in today's Post. In an item about the final game at Yankee Stadium, Harlan reported that one of the invitees to the celebration was Aaron Boone, the hero of the 2003 [...]
As the Nationals' first season in its new and very expensive ballpark is about to come to a close, Marc Fisher tries to figure out why the team wasn't more of a success in attracting fans.The team is lowering ticket prices next year for some seats, but that may not be enough to create Skins-style [...]
Nationals TV viewership is getting worse and worse: Dan Steinberg blogs today on a Sports Business Journal story reporting that a Nats game that aired during Michael Phelps' medal run attracted only 1,600 households, "and a source said that the last half hour of the game was below measurable ratings standards."
That, combined with a horrid [...]
Before last night's win in Philadelphia, I heard Ryan Zimmerman on WTOP saying that the problem with the Nationals is the team doesn't "have a killer instinct."
Personally, I had pitching, hitting, fielding, baserunning, coaching, managing, general managing, concession prices, TV commentating and the empty seats behind home plate ranked higher than lack of a killer [...]
If Barry Svrlugla's reward for covering the Nats last season was to be the lead reporter on all things Michael Phelps, Chico Harlan deserves a front-row seat at the Second Coming. Since taking over from Svrluga earlier this season, Harlan has ably covered a team that is now re-threatening 121 losses.* Moreover, Harlan has reveled [...]
It's funny how after spending one night at Legg Mason, I feel like I've endured more than my share of crowd snobbery. Last time I was in attendance, Jimmy Connors was playing. So it's been a while. But some of the crowd behavior was shocking–even in the bleacher seats!
*A few seats down the row [...]
It's sad to see Paul Lo Duca and Felipe Lopez go but hard not to be excited about the Nats' new shortstop (I had trouble finding a photo; think this is him).
Exciting new changes around Nationals Park to come:
Feeding Dmitri Young Ho Hos till he confesses to stealing your lunch: Probably not illegal
Front-office hirings: Recent [...]
The on-going battle over vending operations around Nationals Park took a step toward a resolution this afternoon. A D.C. Superior Court judge ruled against three vendors seeking to halt the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs' current practice of assigning vendors to sites outside the stadium via a lottery.
Judge Brook Hedge denied the vendors' motion [...]
If Dan Snyder's expansion of Triple X Radio wasn't intended just to silence his critics, well, what's the point?
Snyder has now bought six radio stations in this market that will bring him the same audience he'd have gotten if he'd just paid for one of those, WTEM-Sportstalk 980.
But, Snyder now has Andy Pollin and Steve [...]
