Nationals Park is right in the hart of the nation’s capital; just a few blocks from the capital building in fact. The ballpark is very unique in terms of size, as many of the new modernized venues are big stellar stadiums with lots to offer, but this one is different. One can tell right away, before even arriving at the main entrance, that it almost looks like the “castle for baseball” in this great nation.
Just like many other stadiums now, the concourse wraps around the whole field with multiple food options from hot dogs to salmon fish. However, Nats Park has an even bigger feeling, whether it’s the atmosphere or the physical size of the structure. Every ballpark has a theme, and for the Nats, it’s representation of USA pride. It took almost 40 years to get a team back to DC to play the national pastime, but it eventually came. Granite, the Nationals had to play in RFK Stadium for a bit, but it was worth it, as just as expected, the baseball team representing the capital gets to play in a huge nation proud stadium.
Despite the unique connection to America this ballpark has, it has no other unique feel to it like PNC, Petco, or Dodger Stadium do, just to take a few, who all have their own style. Take PNC, it represents the history of the game and the connection to the fans as well as any ballpark. Take Petco, it is one of the smallest modernized stadiums in the game, and has a special way of organizing their concession stands. Nats Park doesn’t have any of this exactly; at times it can just feel like a big open stadium. There are also parts of the venue that are a little odd, such as the concourse behind home plate being blocked off from the view of the game with an empty hallway, or the shape of the bleachers in the outfield being off-centered from the diamond.
All in all, Nationals Park is a great big hug for our nation and a well-represented passion for America’s game, but remembers when this game started building big ballparks; the field was still very visible from anywhere. The way of constructing baseball stadiums may be a different art now, but that doesn’t mean that the game shouldn’t still be well represented as the focal point during one’s visit to a game. DC needed to minimize the wideness of the concourse to make the fans feel more connected to the game on the field as well as shaping the foundation a little better in order to raise their grade from a C+ to a B+.nst
