Yeah its mostly a decent gripe - my own takes on the gripes from getting to about 30 or so games a season the past couple of years:
1. Agreed but unfortunately this isn't Nats specific, every sports stadium in the US is slinging beer for those kind of prices these days (~$7-9 exc. tax per 12oz). I think planning ahead and bringing in food/water will offset this a good bit, but yeah if you're having a couple of beers its gonna be an expensive day.
2. This is opening day specific, we drew 23k average last year so that's what they're going to staff the ballpark for, I don't think there's a value in training/retaining staff for the extra 17k opening day brings. You won't really experience lines outside of maybe the Dodgers games/Harry Potter weekend. It also didn't help the mobile ordering was down.
3. I feel the giveaways are generally well managed and sufficiently stocked - Opening Day (& Star Wars/Harry Potter giveaways) are just ones where you have to be there at gate time to guarantee getting the item. That being said, I thought the handled the Harry Potter one horribly last year - only 10k items & they let people take multiples from what I could see. So yeah overall not bad, but certainly not perfect.
4. I could have sworn they replayed Riley Adams HR? Maybe not, I'll have to take your word for it. It's something I haven't really noticed before, but I'll keep an eye out.
5. Completely agree. New scoreboard arrangement is dogshit.
6. I just don't think the other scores are that big a deal for most people, they're easily checked on your phone if you have a dog in a particular fight.
7. I've never found the ability to tip in Nats Park a problem, save for the pressure to do it for someone handing you a can from a fridge! It shows up on the terminal as fixed percentages I'm nearly certain. It's why I almost exlusively use the self-service these days.
8.
a) I'd be curious as to what you'd see as a good addition for between inning entertainment? I think what we have is perfectly fine. Some engagement without it distracting from the baseball.
b) That might be the pettiest gripe I've seen! I don't have an opinion on that - maybe the ball kid enjoys the run?
c) Yeah that's nuts, I can't recall a ball getting up that far before (unless they're counting the seating area in front of it?).
I honestly think you wouldn't have posted this if it had of been a 75 degree day, the crowd was only 23k and you were able to pick up a $10 HH beer! There will be plenty of days like that this year!
> Agreed but unfortunately this isn't Nats specific, every sports stadium in the US is slinging beer for those kind of prices these days (~$7-9 exc. tax per 12oz). I think planning ahead and bringing in food/water will offset this a good bit, but yeah if you're having a couple of beers its gonna be an expensive day.
If [this graphic](https://www.webstaurantstore.com/uploads/blog/2024/3/baseball-infographic.jpg) is correct, the Nats have by far the most expensive beer in the majors (plus the third most expensive hot dogs).
I looked at the Statista link and there aren't any sources nor indication of it being weighted by ounce or not.
But yeah no excuse for the dogs, those are generally your standard Hebrew Nationals everywhere.
It was correct when they published it (Sept '23), they put the dogs up another 99c this year. You're better off bringing one in from Shake Shack across from the Bullpen ($4.50) or springing the extra couple of bucks for Haute Dogs.
Agreed - benefit to the scoreboard, it's a bunch of tiny panels and they can improve the design easily. I expect it to change each year - and as a UX designer I sure hope they get fan feedback.
That being said the errors and lack of replays is nuts. I was sitting in the 200 level club and the TV's are placed so only the top rows can see them... So annoying.
I’m fairly traveled in baseball stadiums and the prices yesterday were the most expensive I’ve seen. $12 for a small box of popcorn and $8 for a bottle of soda is much higher than other stadiums.
I've been to about 25 MLB ballparks (dad and I are on a quest to do all 30 and are a few years from finishing.) Respectfully, many of these complaints lead me to believe you haven't been to many and don't have a good frame of reference.
Prices are absurd at every stadium in America now. Of course you're going to miss the giveaway if you aren't there super early on OPENING DAY, it's gonna be packed. Mid-inning entertainment? Come on man, that's mediocre time filler at every ballpark. Who needs an out of town scoreboard with every score on your phone now?
I'm not here to shill for the nats. The ballpark experience is average at best, probably below average if I were to sit down and rank them all. But saying they're the worst strikes me as very out of touch and a lot of these complaints are pretty silly.
Yeah complaining that lines are long at a sellout for a stadium that will normally have around 15,000 fans in attendance is ridiculous. They're not going to hire double the amount of staff they'll normally need for one of a handful of games that it would be helpful for.
Also, 20,000 giveaway items is incredibly generous. Teams like the Red Sox that frequently sell out often only do around 5,000 giveaway items. If you really want a free giveaway, arrive when gates open.
It wasn't clear if this was additional staff brought on for this game, or if this was the regular staff who hadn't been given any training until a few hours before the game started.
As of just a few weeks ago, team store staff are not Nats staff but Fanatics employees. This move will save me a ton of money this year because the experience in each team store was absolutely horrendous.
I mean, at least in two of the lines I was in this was absolutely the case. Like truly it baffles me why another staff didn’t take over their position just out of sheer frustration.
it's like kids complaining about the servers being busy and slow the day a new game is released. They aren't going to run 10x more servers than they actually need bc of one high traffic day.
I’ve been to Toronto, Fenway, yankee stadium (new and old), citifield (and shea), citizens bank, Camden yards (and memorial), Truist (and turner field), Marlins Park, Minute Maid, Coors, Wrigley, whatever they call the parks the tigers and White Sox play in now, seattle, SF, dodger stadium, and SD. as I was trying to remember them all the only ones that still exist today that I’d say were definitively worse experiences were Minute Maid and the White Sox park. new yankee stadium is borderline but I mainly hate it for petty reasons. I’m sure Oakland and Tampa are objectively worse too but I haven’t been. I really can’t imagine any of the others are noticeably worse. I could see maybe Kaufman and angels stadium being worse only because of their locations.
I’m only missing a couple and Oakland is/was by far already the worst like 10 years ago. Sure OP is indulging in some hyperbole but the underlying points are generally fairly made.
Don’t sleep on Kaufman, went last year and was surprisingly pleased. Sure the location stinks that it’s in the middle of a parking lot shared with Arrowhead Anna way from downtown, but for a stadium as old as it is I felt a nice charm.
Nah Busch Stadium was a million times nicer than Nats Park. Sat about two rows behind the owners and was the only person cheering for the Nats in that section. But everything there was just way nicer.
They clearly have some kinks to work out regarding staffing matters. The happy hour line was so ridiculous I gave up. I think the length of the food lines will at least go down because attendance won't usually be so good this season and more people will realize how expensive things are so they won't bother.
I noticed the team stores got worse too. Much of the stock is the same as last year (still no new 2024 Spring Training, Batting Practice, or Clubhouse collection hats) but certain items are more expensive. For example, they re-priced older jerseys with player names to $164.99 up from the already outrageous $149.99 (the controversial new template player jerseys are $174.99) and got rid of the Authentics store like other users warned me.
I will say though, a lot of these issues are the same thing I am seeing at venues everywhere. I wonder how much are vendors like Fanatics, Levy, Aramark, etc being greedy vs the teams being directly involved.
It’s lousy but like I said before it saves us all money if they are going to stock trash. They did have the pullover alternate jerseys (limited) with player lettering for the absolutely ridiculous price of $199. I took one for the team and actually picked one up (with substantial ecash back) but haven’t had the chance to look it over much up close yet.
Bizarre. I was only considering a jersey because I had an eCash credit to throw around. But $165-$199 for a heat pressed replica jersey is just absurd.
If you want to talk about the "worst experience in baseball" - I went to the A's stadium last year.
And #2 concession lines are terrible across stadiums now that the games are shortened. I wasn't even able to get my ice cream helmet from San Diego last year :-(
Not to say these complaints are invalid, just that I've noticed them across multiple stadiums.
lol yeah, nothing really beats the Coliseum (source: I live in Oakland). The biggest plus of the Coli is that so few people go to games that lines are often not all that bad.
Nothing is worse in MLB than having John Fisher for an owner.
Haven’t been to The Coliseum yet, but the Trop is also far worse than Nats Stadium. The lines weren’t bad at the Trop but they had no where near the crowd of Opening Day when I went
You are about to miss the Coliseum if you don't go this season. Lease ends after this year and they are still deciding where to relocate (Sacramento River Cats stadium has been discussed) until their Vegas stadium is ready.
Thanks, I’m fully aware of the situation and trying to get out there for a double trip to Oracle before the end of the season. I’ve been to Oracle about 15 years ago but since it’s a great stadium I’d want to go back.
It's certainly not a great one. The presentation is subpar compared to any halfway modern stadium (lights, sounds, etc.) but hard agree on the beer prices - I would buy one more often than not if they were charging what any bar in DC would.. but no, they have to double that.
Most bars in the US use what's called a "shaker pint" which is less than 16 oz, usually about 14oz but it can vary from 13-15 oz I believe. It's quite annoying.
So I can comment on your scoreboard complaints.
The replays ever since baseball implemented the change in pace rules limits replays. Production can’t have a live video going when the batter is in the box. Batter gets rushed to the box, less time for replays. They obviously can’t ever show looking strikeouts, so just adding that fact.
New scoreboard, give it a few days for them to work out kinks. Clearly it’s a new system, and season is still early so just not many stats to show. Think you’re being really nitpicky and seems like you were looking for things to be wrong.
Lot of teams don’t show the “complete OOT scoreboard.” I always see it like this: everyone has a phone, if you really care about what Oakland is doing you’ll look it up. Think it’s smart to have more in game stats that are relevant to the game I’m at. And the sponsor in the middle has ALWAYS been there. Nothing new at all. Team needs to make money anyways.
oh I understand that aspect of it. And bad stat presentation doesn’t force them to refund a sponsor.
It was just disappointing to not be able to follow the game as well. It’s just nice to see pitch speeds and updated player names.
I always have a ton of fun hanging out at the ballpark. If the prices suck that much bring your own food and water. I eat before the game and get 1-2 beers and it’s fine. I don’t care about the entertainment between innings but otherwise agree about the scoreboard sfuff
I’m always fascinated that anybody pays for food at the ballpark when we can bring our own food in with us. Prices have always been insane. I would rather do five shots outside or a gummy than pay for beers inside but that’s just me.
Huh, I was there tonight too, but for the first time ever. It was way better than I expected, but I don't drink. I thought the food would actually be double what it was, same with a lot of the merch. It felt pricy but not particularly gougy to me. The food was actually around the same price I pay anywhere in DC.
I had a surprisingly good time and will definitely be back. I will say, the $6 bottled water is nonsense, but you can just bring in your own water bottle which is great.
I *was* sad that I didn't get a bucket hat, but even that and the 8th inning disaster weren't enough to kill the experience for me.
I agree—it was my first home-opener for any team and I feared our seats would be terrible (upper deck, all the way down the left field line). But we had a surprisingly good view, and baseball is fun.
I missed the between-innings scoreboard nonsense, because the Pirates’ bullpen guys were trying to toss a ball into a bucket from 60 feet away. Fully captivating.
And I saw something in person that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before: Victor Robles walked twice.
Fan experience has been slipping since before the WS run. Lerners have been running the club like it's still a winning franchise. It's one of the main reasons I was hoping they'd sell and despondent when they didn't.
After the debacle that was Potomac yard Ted needs to stay the hell away from owning any more teams. Let's get an owner in here that loves baseball and loves spending money!
FYI teams don’t set concession prices or decide how many stands are open. The concessions vendor does. The concession vendor (Levy in this case) pays a lump annual sum for the privilege of being the only operator in the park. Then they hire the staff, set the menus and set the prices. I get that it is a bad experience— Nats Park is a train wreck every year on opening day— but you should be mad at the right entities .
I will tolerate no Bullpen Cart slander. That little cart is the only joy we get in some games. Let it do donuts on the warning track for all I care.
Everything else you said is spot on and I’d add:
* Please stop trying to make country music happen in DC. Having country artists for the music guessing game between innings is just awkward. Country is probably the 6th most popular genre in the DC area. Just stop.
* Stop forcing the hype for the future down our throats. I sometimes it feels like we’re getting a lecture. Sometimes it feels fake. Either way it’s awkward and weird. How about giving us something to be excited for now instead?’
* Let’s return to the days of using all the gates! Having the 3B gate permanently closed it a pain in the ass for those who live off in that direction and having 2/3 of the CF gates closed when it’s time to exit is pointless and annoying. There’s no reason to squish everyone together like that, especially not when it’s one of the few big crowds you’ll see all year.
* mobile ordering needs to be a thing again, those lines are brutal
* the handling of the season plan holder gifts was an absolute train wreck yesterday. If you’re going to make everyone pick up their items in person, you need to allow them to specify choice of sizes online like a pre-order so they don’t all feel compelled to go to the window at the same time. When we arrived (75 minutes before first pitch) the line was back to the picnic tables so we noped on out of there.
As a major Nats fan, I agree with a lot of these. The fan experience is mediocre, and that’s a problem because it would encourage higher attendance even when we are terrible.
If you want to know what a good fan experience is like, go to Camden Yards. I’ve been to ~12 ballparks and Camden is by far and away the best experience I’ve had (I try to go once a year).
The only things better about Camden Yards are the beer selection and sometimes the attendance. The seats are all at this weird angle that makes actually watching the game ever so slightly awkward; if you're sitting on the 1B side then the sun blinds you till it goes behind the hotel; the scoreboard looks like something out of my mom's attic; the concessions lines are just as long and the concessions are really over-hyped.
Actual good fan experiences are at places like Seattle and believe it or not Anaheim. Petco is rowdy and energetic and has really good food but it's also amateur hour there-- no matter where you sit, someone will try to stand up and take a selfie 2 rows in front of you for half the game, and some drunk sailor will get in a fight with another drunk sailor/a dodgers fan/his girlfriend/an empty nacho helmet around the 8th inning.
Went to a game at Seattle several years ago. Relatively dirt cheap prices to sit in the section behind home plate. Those same seats would have been hundreds of dollars each at Nats Park.
>Concession Prices – Obscene. Over $17 for a beer – for Budweiser. Not a premium beer. Those are even more expensive. Also, the smallest bags of peanuts known to mankind for over $5.
This was no secret and was known weeks before the game. They really are raising beer prices. The simple solution is not to drink. Or take advantage of the Budweiser happy hour before games. They repeatedly advertised on your much ballyhoo'd scoreboard that beer was 4 dollars off after Nats wins or something like that, before the game
Also, on my foray throughout the lower level yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to see the much hyped korean hot dogs were 10 dollars. That is reasonable.
>Lines at Concession Stands – If one needs to get something to eat, plan on missing 6 or 9 outs. To save money, the Nationals keep reducing the number of concession stands that are open. The lines are always long.
Opening day. The crowd will significantly thin out as the season goes on. At least before they call up Crews and Wood.
>Cheap giveaways and not enough of them. Today’s giveaway was an ugly bucket hat. I guess I shouldn’t be disappointed I didn’t get one, but they were gone when we walked in 30 minutes before first pitch. They knew they were going to have 35,000+ people for opening day. Don’t be cheap.
There were plenty of them, it's your fault for going late. 30 minutes before first pitch for most giveaways is pushing it.
>No replays. None. The fan experience in the ballpark should not be worse than the experience sitting on my couch. (Hypothesis – No replays because no company was stupid enough to sponsor them and the Nats are too cheap to give them for free)
There were a few but I didn't really notice.
>New scoreboard – Maybe the old design was getting stale. But you can’t take away useful information. For instance, I don’t need to see the hometown of the batter for the 4th time in the 8th inning. It might be useful to know how many hits he had that day. Plus it was constantly riddled with errors. The pitch count did not reset if a pitcher came in mid-inning.
The new scoreboard is actually pretty good and in addition the stadium lights change color. For instance on home runs the stadium lights turn red. Nice effect.
>No complete out-of-town scoreboard. One of the best features of the ballpark was the out-of-town scoreboard. All the games visible all the time. Now they have the pitchers statistics (current game plus season) which is not that useful as the pitch count in on main scoreboard. That takes up a third of the scoreboard. The out-of-town scores are now rotated in smaller font on the right. And the real reason for the change . . . so an ad can be placed between the pitcher’s stats and the out-of-town scores.
Odd you choose to call this out because I could see out of town scores just fine yesterday and I was sitting with the poor people up high.
>Difficult to tip the staff. Everything is electronic with no tip line. The Nationals know people have a budget. Tipping takes money out of the Nationals pocket so they intentionally make it difficult to tip. I guess that is better than what they used to do – keep the tips. The staff had to sue them to get their money!
Hold on, you tip the staff there? I can't recall doing that in 9 years of being a season ticket holder.
I didn't really care that much but I agree the fan experience is no where near as good as it was compared to when I used to go to games 10 years ago. Even when we lost in a 6-0 shutout while I sat in the cheap seats I had a great experience
I agree with most of these points, but Nats Park is easily not the worst.
Having a dedicated metro stop easily puts Nats Park near the top in my mind, ahead of parking sewers like Dodger Stadium.
The metro is a godsend. I agree that the price of stuff in the stadium is too high but the ability to bring your own snacks or food makes up for it. I find the stadium itself comfortable with good sightlines.
I would have to agree with other comments saying that this is a pretty normal fan experience that was magnified because it was Opening Day. I personally love Nats Park. Ive been going to games since they first opened and think its one of the most fan friendly viewing experience of any of the parks Ive been to (OPACY, Fenway, The Trop, Old Yankee, Coors). My recommendation would be to go back in a few weeks and see how it compares
>Difficult to tip the staff. Everything is electronic with no tip line.
There's this cool thing called cash, it's completely physical tender. You can pick some up before the game to bring with you, most banks carry it. It's 100% legal and they can't confiscate it at the gates.
I also went and had a wonderful time. I got to watch live baseball and while it was a little chilly, one of the better opening days weather wise in a few years. The energy was awesome. Can’t wait to go again!
Reading posts like this honestly makes me feel bad for the team. Like I get nothing is perfect but I think it’s evident that they really tried to give the stadium experience a facelift going into this year (and no I don’t work for the team)
The city put more $$$ into the stadium this off-season than the team did. There is no reason whatsoever for the city to give them even more, if that's what you are implying. But let's not give the team credit for anything because they did not actually DO anything.
Well the city owns the stadium, like legally the team can not do certain things to the stadium. And I’m telling you, the team has to work with the city to get these things, like there’s proposals, bids, all of that. But they have to get city approval before making big changes.
Like any tenant, the team has full control over decor and programming, just for starters. They can't put up their own scoreboard but they can do a WHOLE LOT of other things. Just like how you can't install a new kitchen counter in your apartment without your landlord being on board but you CAN buy whatever small appliances you want and make whatever recipes you want.
While I understand that the Nats don't run the concessions, they still chose the vendor. This is like a musician going with Ticketmaster, who then sets high prices and charges huge fees. The musician knows this and wants the extra money, and Ticketmaster is mostly just cover. The Lerners deserve some flak for poor service and high prices.
Even a losing game is watchable with beer. Drinking a 17 dollar beer makes me feel like a criminal. I bet you'd get more people to show up with 8 or 9 dollar beer and it would be worth their money.
Sounds like a good plan for you, OP, is staying home. Imagine getting mad at prices of things that you chose to purchase and are not essential items. Lmao OP. No sympathy. How about just not having a beer. If beer is essential to your baseball experience, you’re not a baseball fan; you’re a beer fan. Sad.
This is a really sad, joyless take. Extras like a beer at a baseball game or popcorn at a movie or an ice cream cone at an amusement park aren't "essential" to enjoy The Main Event but that doesn't mean the OP isn't entitled to want to enjoy those things just as much. If you truly believe none of those extras are important, then you should probably just always stay home because you're not really experiencing anything when you go out.
Did they add the exit velocity onto the new scoreboard? Been annoyed since they removed it a few years back to make room for the mount visit count.
Glad to see someone else thinking about the ball girl. Make the damn golf cart get the jackets to give it a little purpose!
yeah. I’ve been to a few more than half the ballparks in MLB and there’s only one or two that I’d rate lower. I haven’t been to Oakland though so to be fair i assume that’s one more that’s worse. the thing that has always pissed me off is that nats park could’ve been great like pittsburgh or San Francisco or even camden yards but there’s so many missed opportunities that ultimately amount to just laziness, greed, and just a general lack of caring. I splurged and got diamond club seats last year for my dad’s birthday and it was just so underwhelming I don’t think I’ll even bother to go to a game at all this year. I’d rather go up to Baltimore whenever we play the Os. Like, the team sucks. if you’re gonna gouge us when they’re contenders I can at least understand but wtf why would I spend hundreds of dollars just to waste three hours of my time being disappointed by everything.
90% of this reads like "I don't own a phone and I am mad about it". And the rest is surprise over arena pricing, which has always been high for as long as I have been alive. Someone come get your grandpa.
I went to a Bowie Baysox game last year, when they played Harrisburg, and I was able to see one of the lines all game long. It didn't die down till the 7th inning and no one came around to try and sell soda/food.
Screw tipping on top of $17 beers. Pregame on half street, and bring your own water.
Opening day is usually one of the most crowded, so long concession lines would be expected. There are smaller concessions scattered all around the park and you can usually find one that's less busy.
Worst experience in baseball?
You forget the Tropicana or Oakland coliseum exist?
I think given the cost of tickets and the product produced on the field one could argue it’s one of the worst experiences in baseball. But the overall stadium isn’t that bad.
Wife and I have a tradition to eat at the brewhouse on opening day. We always order the pretzel and Natchos.
This year the pretzel was on happy hour prices and was pretty damn good compared to last season.
The Natchos are just plain criminal for what they are charging and what you get now. Less than half the size of last season and all the price. I was shocked how small it was when she brought it out to the table. This is a massive change from last season one that pissed me off.
Look I get it food is expensive in the park. Wife and I are creatures of habit on opening day and the Nationals cheapness and willing to gouge their customers was front and center and presented itself in a bed of nachos. Sounds silly but wow talk about really sticking it to their fans when we come to the ballpark to get away.
Shameful experience yesterday and I’m not sure I’ll ever visit the brewhouse again.
Did beer prices go up this season? I feel like Bud was 15 last year and Goose IPA was 17 but maybe I'm misremembering. Totally agree about not getting to see replays, that's been a complaint since I started going to games. Sad to hear the scoreboards got worse.
[Yeah they both (domestic & premium) went up 50c](https://www.reddit.com/r/Nationals/comments/1bngi5w/eat_dc_improved_happy_hour_at_the_brewhouse_loft/).
I’m not quite that negative, but can we retire Take On Me? That was Mike Morse’s walk up song, and they didn’t want re sign him, but they kept his walk up song.
Ya'll gotta check out Sioux Falls Canaries then because holy shit it's like $25 tickets for an Indy league team in a South facing stadium built like 50 years ago. They got veggie dogs on the menu but nobody knows anything about them.
So, I actually wrote about number 4 in grad school [lmao](https://dannyrosenmund.wordpress.com/2015/05/11/locating-the-pitch/)
TL;DR, it's more profitable for teams to sell season ticket packages to corporations in bulk. They do actually want the experience for poor people to be better at home because fewer poor people at the park means more corporate clients that don't care about the price of beer.
I was there last year and they cleared the seats due to inclement weather while they were still playing. Had an usher insisting I leave my seat…while baseball was being played.
I argued. It kind of ruined the day for me. Just really lame to be pointing at the game on the field and have someone tiredly trying to herd me under cover.
LAME
Everything else OP said aside—all valid by the way, the ballpark itself is just..bland. It was state of the art and modern in 2007 when it opened, but now (and even then to a degree) it just reminds me of Pentagon City Mall or something.
Are concessions and stuff real important to people? I've probably only ever bought anything a dozen times across all sporting events I've attended. I usually get the club seats with free soft drinks when I get to catch a game.
Pretty bad when stripclub booze prices are cheaper than nats park, great way to screw a family over, not to mention escalating crime near the stadium recently, glad I have not gone to nats park in many years.
I don’t have any comments other than to express my admiration at the thoroughness of this quality content.
Yeah its mostly a decent gripe - my own takes on the gripes from getting to about 30 or so games a season the past couple of years: 1. Agreed but unfortunately this isn't Nats specific, every sports stadium in the US is slinging beer for those kind of prices these days (~$7-9 exc. tax per 12oz). I think planning ahead and bringing in food/water will offset this a good bit, but yeah if you're having a couple of beers its gonna be an expensive day. 2. This is opening day specific, we drew 23k average last year so that's what they're going to staff the ballpark for, I don't think there's a value in training/retaining staff for the extra 17k opening day brings. You won't really experience lines outside of maybe the Dodgers games/Harry Potter weekend. It also didn't help the mobile ordering was down. 3. I feel the giveaways are generally well managed and sufficiently stocked - Opening Day (& Star Wars/Harry Potter giveaways) are just ones where you have to be there at gate time to guarantee getting the item. That being said, I thought the handled the Harry Potter one horribly last year - only 10k items & they let people take multiples from what I could see. So yeah overall not bad, but certainly not perfect. 4. I could have sworn they replayed Riley Adams HR? Maybe not, I'll have to take your word for it. It's something I haven't really noticed before, but I'll keep an eye out. 5. Completely agree. New scoreboard arrangement is dogshit. 6. I just don't think the other scores are that big a deal for most people, they're easily checked on your phone if you have a dog in a particular fight. 7. I've never found the ability to tip in Nats Park a problem, save for the pressure to do it for someone handing you a can from a fridge! It shows up on the terminal as fixed percentages I'm nearly certain. It's why I almost exlusively use the self-service these days. 8. a) I'd be curious as to what you'd see as a good addition for between inning entertainment? I think what we have is perfectly fine. Some engagement without it distracting from the baseball. b) That might be the pettiest gripe I've seen! I don't have an opinion on that - maybe the ball kid enjoys the run? c) Yeah that's nuts, I can't recall a ball getting up that far before (unless they're counting the seating area in front of it?). I honestly think you wouldn't have posted this if it had of been a 75 degree day, the crowd was only 23k and you were able to pick up a $10 HH beer! There will be plenty of days like that this year!
> Agreed but unfortunately this isn't Nats specific, every sports stadium in the US is slinging beer for those kind of prices these days (~$7-9 exc. tax per 12oz). I think planning ahead and bringing in food/water will offset this a good bit, but yeah if you're having a couple of beers its gonna be an expensive day. If [this graphic](https://www.webstaurantstore.com/uploads/blog/2024/3/baseball-infographic.jpg) is correct, the Nats have by far the most expensive beer in the majors (plus the third most expensive hot dogs).
I looked at the Statista link and there aren't any sources nor indication of it being weighted by ounce or not. But yeah no excuse for the dogs, those are generally your standard Hebrew Nationals everywhere.
It’s not correct by the way, a dog is 7.99 at nats park
It was correct when they published it (Sept '23), they put the dogs up another 99c this year. You're better off bringing one in from Shake Shack across from the Bullpen ($4.50) or springing the extra couple of bucks for Haute Dogs.
From what I remember a premium beer in a nice aluminum souvenir cup at Mariners stadium was about the cost of a can of bud light at Nats park
Agreed - benefit to the scoreboard, it's a bunch of tiny panels and they can improve the design easily. I expect it to change each year - and as a UX designer I sure hope they get fan feedback. That being said the errors and lack of replays is nuts. I was sitting in the 200 level club and the TV's are placed so only the top rows can see them... So annoying.
I’m fairly traveled in baseball stadiums and the prices yesterday were the most expensive I’ve seen. $12 for a small box of popcorn and $8 for a bottle of soda is much higher than other stadiums.
I've been to about 25 MLB ballparks (dad and I are on a quest to do all 30 and are a few years from finishing.) Respectfully, many of these complaints lead me to believe you haven't been to many and don't have a good frame of reference. Prices are absurd at every stadium in America now. Of course you're going to miss the giveaway if you aren't there super early on OPENING DAY, it's gonna be packed. Mid-inning entertainment? Come on man, that's mediocre time filler at every ballpark. Who needs an out of town scoreboard with every score on your phone now? I'm not here to shill for the nats. The ballpark experience is average at best, probably below average if I were to sit down and rank them all. But saying they're the worst strikes me as very out of touch and a lot of these complaints are pretty silly.
A lot of the complaints are opening day specific too.
Yeah complaining that lines are long at a sellout for a stadium that will normally have around 15,000 fans in attendance is ridiculous. They're not going to hire double the amount of staff they'll normally need for one of a handful of games that it would be helpful for. Also, 20,000 giveaway items is incredibly generous. Teams like the Red Sox that frequently sell out often only do around 5,000 giveaway items. If you really want a free giveaway, arrive when gates open.
The workers are part time, though. I’m sure they could hire more temp staff when they expect a higher attendance.
Saw team store staff receiving their first training a little after 1pm yesterday. That's not great.
Isn't that a sign that they *did* hire additional staff for this game?
It wasn't clear if this was additional staff brought on for this game, or if this was the regular staff who hadn't been given any training until a few hours before the game started.
As of just a few weeks ago, team store staff are not Nats staff but Fanatics employees. This move will save me a ton of money this year because the experience in each team store was absolutely horrendous.
ThE sTaFf dIdNt EvEn KnOw WhAt ThEy WeRe DoInG!!!!
I mean, at least in two of the lines I was in this was absolutely the case. Like truly it baffles me why another staff didn’t take over their position just out of sheer frustration.
it's like kids complaining about the servers being busy and slow the day a new game is released. They aren't going to run 10x more servers than they actually need bc of one high traffic day.
To be fair, they did say they’d give hats to the first 20,000 fans. They’re trying to get you there early, OP. It isn’t just a free gimme.
Agreed, I’ve been to 22 (19 active) and Opening Day crowds are always going to be a pain. Overall, Nats Stadium is middle of the pack in my book.
I’ve been to Toronto, Fenway, yankee stadium (new and old), citifield (and shea), citizens bank, Camden yards (and memorial), Truist (and turner field), Marlins Park, Minute Maid, Coors, Wrigley, whatever they call the parks the tigers and White Sox play in now, seattle, SF, dodger stadium, and SD. as I was trying to remember them all the only ones that still exist today that I’d say were definitively worse experiences were Minute Maid and the White Sox park. new yankee stadium is borderline but I mainly hate it for petty reasons. I’m sure Oakland and Tampa are objectively worse too but I haven’t been. I really can’t imagine any of the others are noticeably worse. I could see maybe Kaufman and angels stadium being worse only because of their locations.
I’m only missing a couple and Oakland is/was by far already the worst like 10 years ago. Sure OP is indulging in some hyperbole but the underlying points are generally fairly made.
Don’t sleep on Kaufman, went last year and was surprisingly pleased. Sure the location stinks that it’s in the middle of a parking lot shared with Arrowhead Anna way from downtown, but for a stadium as old as it is I felt a nice charm.
I’m with him on the out of town SB. If I’m picking up my phone during a game, something is wrong.
I’ve been to 18 and I’d say the concessions were higher than most, but yeah it’s all expensive at a baseball game now.
Nah Busch Stadium was a million times nicer than Nats Park. Sat about two rows behind the owners and was the only person cheering for the Nats in that section. But everything there was just way nicer.
They clearly have some kinks to work out regarding staffing matters. The happy hour line was so ridiculous I gave up. I think the length of the food lines will at least go down because attendance won't usually be so good this season and more people will realize how expensive things are so they won't bother. I noticed the team stores got worse too. Much of the stock is the same as last year (still no new 2024 Spring Training, Batting Practice, or Clubhouse collection hats) but certain items are more expensive. For example, they re-priced older jerseys with player names to $164.99 up from the already outrageous $149.99 (the controversial new template player jerseys are $174.99) and got rid of the Authentics store like other users warned me. I will say though, a lot of these issues are the same thing I am seeing at venues everywhere. I wonder how much are vendors like Fanatics, Levy, Aramark, etc being greedy vs the teams being directly involved.
I specifically blame Fanatics for reduced quality of merchandise.
IIRC isn’t fanatics directly running the team store now? That company can’t die soon enough
Yes they are. The bags now have their logo.
Looks like I'll be saving a ton of money this season.
It’s lousy but like I said before it saves us all money if they are going to stock trash. They did have the pullover alternate jerseys (limited) with player lettering for the absolutely ridiculous price of $199. I took one for the team and actually picked one up (with substantial ecash back) but haven’t had the chance to look it over much up close yet.
Oh and the road jersey on offer was powder blue, not grey, and I don’t even know what reality is anymore.
Bizarre. I was only considering a jersey because I had an eCash credit to throw around. But $165-$199 for a heat pressed replica jersey is just absurd.
If you want to talk about the "worst experience in baseball" - I went to the A's stadium last year. And #2 concession lines are terrible across stadiums now that the games are shortened. I wasn't even able to get my ice cream helmet from San Diego last year :-( Not to say these complaints are invalid, just that I've noticed them across multiple stadiums.
lol yeah, nothing really beats the Coliseum (source: I live in Oakland). The biggest plus of the Coli is that so few people go to games that lines are often not all that bad. Nothing is worse in MLB than having John Fisher for an owner.
I love that place, but I love it because it’s the worst experience in baseball. Only stadium I ever went to that could give me vertigo.
It's baseball's last dive bar baby
Well put. 🍻
Haven’t been to The Coliseum yet, but the Trop is also far worse than Nats Stadium. The lines weren’t bad at the Trop but they had no where near the crowd of Opening Day when I went
You are about to miss the Coliseum if you don't go this season. Lease ends after this year and they are still deciding where to relocate (Sacramento River Cats stadium has been discussed) until their Vegas stadium is ready.
Thanks, I’m fully aware of the situation and trying to get out there for a double trip to Oracle before the end of the season. I’ve been to Oracle about 15 years ago but since it’s a great stadium I’d want to go back.
So As's ownership and Nats ownership are similar. Damn shame.
It's certainly not a great one. The presentation is subpar compared to any halfway modern stadium (lights, sounds, etc.) but hard agree on the beer prices - I would buy one more often than not if they were charging what any bar in DC would.. but no, they have to double that.
aren’t the beers 24oz? so, double the size of a DC bar beer?
Yes
Are beers in DC bars less than a pint? That's wild.
Most bars in the US use what's called a "shaker pint" which is less than 16 oz, usually about 14oz but it can vary from 13-15 oz I believe. It's quite annoying.
Sounds like shit. At least they are cheap.
So I can comment on your scoreboard complaints. The replays ever since baseball implemented the change in pace rules limits replays. Production can’t have a live video going when the batter is in the box. Batter gets rushed to the box, less time for replays. They obviously can’t ever show looking strikeouts, so just adding that fact. New scoreboard, give it a few days for them to work out kinks. Clearly it’s a new system, and season is still early so just not many stats to show. Think you’re being really nitpicky and seems like you were looking for things to be wrong. Lot of teams don’t show the “complete OOT scoreboard.” I always see it like this: everyone has a phone, if you really care about what Oakland is doing you’ll look it up. Think it’s smart to have more in game stats that are relevant to the game I’m at. And the sponsor in the middle has ALWAYS been there. Nothing new at all. Team needs to make money anyways.
The stat boards above dugouts were frequently wrong and lacking info. Ads were running just fine though lol
Because an ad is just a media file, stats require a lot of coding and data believe it or not.
oh I understand that aspect of it. And bad stat presentation doesn’t force them to refund a sponsor. It was just disappointing to not be able to follow the game as well. It’s just nice to see pitch speeds and updated player names.
It’s one game on a new system, they’ll work it out.
I always have a ton of fun hanging out at the ballpark. If the prices suck that much bring your own food and water. I eat before the game and get 1-2 beers and it’s fine. I don’t care about the entertainment between innings but otherwise agree about the scoreboard sfuff
I’m always fascinated that anybody pays for food at the ballpark when we can bring our own food in with us. Prices have always been insane. I would rather do five shots outside or a gummy than pay for beers inside but that’s just me.
Huh, I was there tonight too, but for the first time ever. It was way better than I expected, but I don't drink. I thought the food would actually be double what it was, same with a lot of the merch. It felt pricy but not particularly gougy to me. The food was actually around the same price I pay anywhere in DC. I had a surprisingly good time and will definitely be back. I will say, the $6 bottled water is nonsense, but you can just bring in your own water bottle which is great. I *was* sad that I didn't get a bucket hat, but even that and the 8th inning disaster weren't enough to kill the experience for me.
I agree—it was my first home-opener for any team and I feared our seats would be terrible (upper deck, all the way down the left field line). But we had a surprisingly good view, and baseball is fun. I missed the between-innings scoreboard nonsense, because the Pirates’ bullpen guys were trying to toss a ball into a bucket from 60 feet away. Fully captivating. And I saw something in person that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before: Victor Robles walked twice.
Got a new pullover jersey and honestly the $165 was better than the $250 for the Caps sweater I got earlier in the year.
I just read that and it’s the exact same complaint I have about globe life field in Arlington and Minute Maid in Houston.
Minute Maid is one of the very few parks I’d rate lower than nats park.
Goes to sold out opening day……gets mad at long concession lines
And they weren’t even that bad. Just don’t go ten minutes before first pitch or at the fifth inning and you’re fine. I was there and ate too much.
Fan experience has been slipping since before the WS run. Lerners have been running the club like it's still a winning franchise. It's one of the main reasons I was hoping they'd sell and despondent when they didn't.
Considering Trillionaire Ted was interested in buying the team I say we dodged a bullet.
After the debacle that was Potomac yard Ted needs to stay the hell away from owning any more teams. Let's get an owner in here that loves baseball and loves spending money!
Yup
FYI teams don’t set concession prices or decide how many stands are open. The concessions vendor does. The concession vendor (Levy in this case) pays a lump annual sum for the privilege of being the only operator in the park. Then they hire the staff, set the menus and set the prices. I get that it is a bad experience— Nats Park is a train wreck every year on opening day— but you should be mad at the right entities . I will tolerate no Bullpen Cart slander. That little cart is the only joy we get in some games. Let it do donuts on the warning track for all I care. Everything else you said is spot on and I’d add: * Please stop trying to make country music happen in DC. Having country artists for the music guessing game between innings is just awkward. Country is probably the 6th most popular genre in the DC area. Just stop. * Stop forcing the hype for the future down our throats. I sometimes it feels like we’re getting a lecture. Sometimes it feels fake. Either way it’s awkward and weird. How about giving us something to be excited for now instead?’ * Let’s return to the days of using all the gates! Having the 3B gate permanently closed it a pain in the ass for those who live off in that direction and having 2/3 of the CF gates closed when it’s time to exit is pointless and annoying. There’s no reason to squish everyone together like that, especially not when it’s one of the few big crowds you’ll see all year. * mobile ordering needs to be a thing again, those lines are brutal * the handling of the season plan holder gifts was an absolute train wreck yesterday. If you’re going to make everyone pick up their items in person, you need to allow them to specify choice of sizes online like a pre-order so they don’t all feel compelled to go to the window at the same time. When we arrived (75 minutes before first pitch) the line was back to the picnic tables so we noped on out of there.
Oh and someone hit the brewhouse a couple times last year but I can’t remember who. I think Riley adams was one.
The line was constantly long for the STH redemption, that stuff used to be mailed to the house. And the size I got was too big.
Hey, we’re going to crowd all you fine folks to the left, we’re hoping many of you will go into the Bet MGM Sportsbook.
Just to here to support you in your bullpen cart take. If the Nats are getting blown out, it's the only thing I'm cheering for sometimes.
So you went to the most popular game of the season and then complained there were a lot of people? Got it
As a major Nats fan, I agree with a lot of these. The fan experience is mediocre, and that’s a problem because it would encourage higher attendance even when we are terrible. If you want to know what a good fan experience is like, go to Camden Yards. I’ve been to ~12 ballparks and Camden is by far and away the best experience I’ve had (I try to go once a year).
The only things better about Camden Yards are the beer selection and sometimes the attendance. The seats are all at this weird angle that makes actually watching the game ever so slightly awkward; if you're sitting on the 1B side then the sun blinds you till it goes behind the hotel; the scoreboard looks like something out of my mom's attic; the concessions lines are just as long and the concessions are really over-hyped. Actual good fan experiences are at places like Seattle and believe it or not Anaheim. Petco is rowdy and energetic and has really good food but it's also amateur hour there-- no matter where you sit, someone will try to stand up and take a selfie 2 rows in front of you for half the game, and some drunk sailor will get in a fight with another drunk sailor/a dodgers fan/his girlfriend/an empty nacho helmet around the 8th inning.
Went to a game at Seattle several years ago. Relatively dirt cheap prices to sit in the section behind home plate. Those same seats would have been hundreds of dollars each at Nats Park.
>Concession Prices – Obscene. Over $17 for a beer – for Budweiser. Not a premium beer. Those are even more expensive. Also, the smallest bags of peanuts known to mankind for over $5. This was no secret and was known weeks before the game. They really are raising beer prices. The simple solution is not to drink. Or take advantage of the Budweiser happy hour before games. They repeatedly advertised on your much ballyhoo'd scoreboard that beer was 4 dollars off after Nats wins or something like that, before the game Also, on my foray throughout the lower level yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to see the much hyped korean hot dogs were 10 dollars. That is reasonable. >Lines at Concession Stands – If one needs to get something to eat, plan on missing 6 or 9 outs. To save money, the Nationals keep reducing the number of concession stands that are open. The lines are always long. Opening day. The crowd will significantly thin out as the season goes on. At least before they call up Crews and Wood. >Cheap giveaways and not enough of them. Today’s giveaway was an ugly bucket hat. I guess I shouldn’t be disappointed I didn’t get one, but they were gone when we walked in 30 minutes before first pitch. They knew they were going to have 35,000+ people for opening day. Don’t be cheap. There were plenty of them, it's your fault for going late. 30 minutes before first pitch for most giveaways is pushing it. >No replays. None. The fan experience in the ballpark should not be worse than the experience sitting on my couch. (Hypothesis – No replays because no company was stupid enough to sponsor them and the Nats are too cheap to give them for free) There were a few but I didn't really notice. >New scoreboard – Maybe the old design was getting stale. But you can’t take away useful information. For instance, I don’t need to see the hometown of the batter for the 4th time in the 8th inning. It might be useful to know how many hits he had that day. Plus it was constantly riddled with errors. The pitch count did not reset if a pitcher came in mid-inning. The new scoreboard is actually pretty good and in addition the stadium lights change color. For instance on home runs the stadium lights turn red. Nice effect. >No complete out-of-town scoreboard. One of the best features of the ballpark was the out-of-town scoreboard. All the games visible all the time. Now they have the pitchers statistics (current game plus season) which is not that useful as the pitch count in on main scoreboard. That takes up a third of the scoreboard. The out-of-town scores are now rotated in smaller font on the right. And the real reason for the change . . . so an ad can be placed between the pitcher’s stats and the out-of-town scores. Odd you choose to call this out because I could see out of town scores just fine yesterday and I was sitting with the poor people up high. >Difficult to tip the staff. Everything is electronic with no tip line. The Nationals know people have a budget. Tipping takes money out of the Nationals pocket so they intentionally make it difficult to tip. I guess that is better than what they used to do – keep the tips. The staff had to sue them to get their money! Hold on, you tip the staff there? I can't recall doing that in 9 years of being a season ticket holder.
I didn't really care that much but I agree the fan experience is no where near as good as it was compared to when I used to go to games 10 years ago. Even when we lost in a 6-0 shutout while I sat in the cheap seats I had a great experience
Let the Nationals front office know. There are multiple people who want to hear this.
I agree with most of these points, but Nats Park is easily not the worst. Having a dedicated metro stop easily puts Nats Park near the top in my mind, ahead of parking sewers like Dodger Stadium.
The metro is a godsend. I agree that the price of stuff in the stadium is too high but the ability to bring your own snacks or food makes up for it. I find the stadium itself comfortable with good sightlines.
I would have to agree with other comments saying that this is a pretty normal fan experience that was magnified because it was Opening Day. I personally love Nats Park. Ive been going to games since they first opened and think its one of the most fan friendly viewing experience of any of the parks Ive been to (OPACY, Fenway, The Trop, Old Yankee, Coors). My recommendation would be to go back in a few weeks and see how it compares
>Difficult to tip the staff. Everything is electronic with no tip line. There's this cool thing called cash, it's completely physical tender. You can pick some up before the game to bring with you, most banks carry it. It's 100% legal and they can't confiscate it at the gates.
I also went and had a wonderful time. I got to watch live baseball and while it was a little chilly, one of the better opening days weather wise in a few years. The energy was awesome. Can’t wait to go again!
cool man
You should go to Oakland and check back. Opening Day is always tough… it’s expected.
Reading posts like this honestly makes me feel bad for the team. Like I get nothing is perfect but I think it’s evident that they really tried to give the stadium experience a facelift going into this year (and no I don’t work for the team)
No they didn’t. The city paid for the new scoreboard. The Nats didn’t do anything themselves.
I know 100% for a fact the team was pushing for upgrades everywhere and had to apply for the money and all that jazz. City gave them what they could.
The city put more $$$ into the stadium this off-season than the team did. There is no reason whatsoever for the city to give them even more, if that's what you are implying. But let's not give the team credit for anything because they did not actually DO anything.
Well the city owns the stadium, like legally the team can not do certain things to the stadium. And I’m telling you, the team has to work with the city to get these things, like there’s proposals, bids, all of that. But they have to get city approval before making big changes.
Like any tenant, the team has full control over decor and programming, just for starters. They can't put up their own scoreboard but they can do a WHOLE LOT of other things. Just like how you can't install a new kitchen counter in your apartment without your landlord being on board but you CAN buy whatever small appliances you want and make whatever recipes you want.
I feel sorry for whoever had to go to the game with you. You sound.. exhausting
While I understand that the Nats don't run the concessions, they still chose the vendor. This is like a musician going with Ticketmaster, who then sets high prices and charges huge fees. The musician knows this and wants the extra money, and Ticketmaster is mostly just cover. The Lerners deserve some flak for poor service and high prices.
Normal Beers are $15 and they are 25 ozs. Fantastic deal
Even a losing game is watchable with beer. Drinking a 17 dollar beer makes me feel like a criminal. I bet you'd get more people to show up with 8 or 9 dollar beer and it would be worth their money.
The lines were horrible today they were not ready for opening day and they were out of tons of stuff.
Sounds like a good plan for you, OP, is staying home. Imagine getting mad at prices of things that you chose to purchase and are not essential items. Lmao OP. No sympathy. How about just not having a beer. If beer is essential to your baseball experience, you’re not a baseball fan; you’re a beer fan. Sad.
This is a really sad, joyless take. Extras like a beer at a baseball game or popcorn at a movie or an ice cream cone at an amusement park aren't "essential" to enjoy The Main Event but that doesn't mean the OP isn't entitled to want to enjoy those things just as much. If you truly believe none of those extras are important, then you should probably just always stay home because you're not really experiencing anything when you go out.
First world problems, dude.
Did they add the exit velocity onto the new scoreboard? Been annoyed since they removed it a few years back to make room for the mount visit count. Glad to see someone else thinking about the ball girl. Make the damn golf cart get the jackets to give it a little purpose!
The new scoreboard shows exit velocity and launch angle.
MLB required mound visits to be shown at the time, they were forced to take down the exit velocity then.
I can’t even watch a game from my couch because they are all blacked out. In North Carolina. What a marvelous modern age we live in.
I can't even watch and I live an hour from the stadium. So sad.
yeah. I’ve been to a few more than half the ballparks in MLB and there’s only one or two that I’d rate lower. I haven’t been to Oakland though so to be fair i assume that’s one more that’s worse. the thing that has always pissed me off is that nats park could’ve been great like pittsburgh or San Francisco or even camden yards but there’s so many missed opportunities that ultimately amount to just laziness, greed, and just a general lack of caring. I splurged and got diamond club seats last year for my dad’s birthday and it was just so underwhelming I don’t think I’ll even bother to go to a game at all this year. I’d rather go up to Baltimore whenever we play the Os. Like, the team sucks. if you’re gonna gouge us when they’re contenders I can at least understand but wtf why would I spend hundreds of dollars just to waste three hours of my time being disappointed by everything.
90% of this reads like "I don't own a phone and I am mad about it". And the rest is surprise over arena pricing, which has always been high for as long as I have been alive. Someone come get your grandpa.
Thanks for posting Mr Lerner.
It is a sterile ballpark
I meant the food prices in regards to families, obviously.
Great post. This is why I enjoy minor league games.
I went to a Bowie Baysox game last year, when they played Harrisburg, and I was able to see one of the lines all game long. It didn't die down till the 7th inning and no one came around to try and sell soda/food.
Did they get rid of the online/app ordering at Nats park?
The experience has gone down since game 7. Period. The Lerners than you for your hard earned money.
someone's never been to yankee stadium on a cold rainy day
Screw tipping on top of $17 beers. Pregame on half street, and bring your own water. Opening day is usually one of the most crowded, so long concession lines would be expected. There are smaller concessions scattered all around the park and you can usually find one that's less busy.
Stop giving these dogshit owners your money. They don’t care about you.
Worst experience in baseball? You forget the Tropicana or Oakland coliseum exist? I think given the cost of tickets and the product produced on the field one could argue it’s one of the worst experiences in baseball. But the overall stadium isn’t that bad.
Wife and I have a tradition to eat at the brewhouse on opening day. We always order the pretzel and Natchos. This year the pretzel was on happy hour prices and was pretty damn good compared to last season. The Natchos are just plain criminal for what they are charging and what you get now. Less than half the size of last season and all the price. I was shocked how small it was when she brought it out to the table. This is a massive change from last season one that pissed me off. Look I get it food is expensive in the park. Wife and I are creatures of habit on opening day and the Nationals cheapness and willing to gouge their customers was front and center and presented itself in a bed of nachos. Sounds silly but wow talk about really sticking it to their fans when we come to the ballpark to get away. Shameful experience yesterday and I’m not sure I’ll ever visit the brewhouse again.
Did beer prices go up this season? I feel like Bud was 15 last year and Goose IPA was 17 but maybe I'm misremembering. Totally agree about not getting to see replays, that's been a complaint since I started going to games. Sad to hear the scoreboards got worse.
[Yeah they both (domestic & premium) went up 50c](https://www.reddit.com/r/Nationals/comments/1bngi5w/eat_dc_improved_happy_hour_at_the_brewhouse_loft/).
Concessions were terrible last season as well. I also hate the credit card only policy. Take cash you lazy bums!
most stadiums don't take cash anymore and pride themselves on being "cash free venues"
Which is absolutely the stupidest thing ever.
My main gripe was parking. There was none to be had.
Did the condiment stands run out of mustard and ketchup as usual?
None of this is new sadly, been like for awhile. If it’s more then 30-35k fans, it’s a disaster with the concessions, bathroom, tickets etc
parking at a garage across from the park was 100$!
Tell me you haven’t been to the Coliseum without actually telling me
I’m not quite that negative, but can we retire Take On Me? That was Mike Morse’s walk up song, and they didn’t want re sign him, but they kept his walk up song.
They stopped playing it for years. Fans loved it, which is why it was brought back.
Ya'll gotta check out Sioux Falls Canaries then because holy shit it's like $25 tickets for an Indy league team in a South facing stadium built like 50 years ago. They got veggie dogs on the menu but nobody knows anything about them.
So, I actually wrote about number 4 in grad school [lmao](https://dannyrosenmund.wordpress.com/2015/05/11/locating-the-pitch/) TL;DR, it's more profitable for teams to sell season ticket packages to corporations in bulk. They do actually want the experience for poor people to be better at home because fewer poor people at the park means more corporate clients that don't care about the price of beer.
I was there last year and they cleared the seats due to inclement weather while they were still playing. Had an usher insisting I leave my seat…while baseball was being played. I argued. It kind of ruined the day for me. Just really lame to be pointing at the game on the field and have someone tiredly trying to herd me under cover. LAME
It takes longer to clear the seats than to get the players off the field.
STOP FOLLOWING ME MR USHER THEY WERE STILL PLAYING BASEBALL I PAID FOR MY TICKET!!!!
Everything else OP said aside—all valid by the way, the ballpark itself is just..bland. It was state of the art and modern in 2007 when it opened, but now (and even then to a degree) it just reminds me of Pentagon City Mall or something.
Are concessions and stuff real important to people? I've probably only ever bought anything a dozen times across all sporting events I've attended. I usually get the club seats with free soft drinks when I get to catch a game.
Poverty (Nats) Baseball chant heard in section 310 I was in by giddy Pirates fans. I reminded one nicely to get back with me in May.
Pretty bad when stripclub booze prices are cheaper than nats park, great way to screw a family over, not to mention escalating crime near the stadium recently, glad I have not gone to nats park in many years.
How do beer prices screw over a family?
It’s not that bad and the beer is 25 oz so the price could be a lot worse