The Weekend in Pictures: Opening Night at Nationals Park
FANS SWARMED. Fireworks crackled. Even the president showed up, taking the field to toss out the first pitch.
After years of debate, bucketfuls of controversy and millions of dollars in public funding, the first bona fide, official, in-season Major League Baseball game at Nationals Park got underway Sunday.
The Post's Daniel LeDuc, filing a report before the game began, said that there were no major backups keeping fans from the park, either on the roads or on Metro.
The view from Metro:
About 6 p.m. the fans leaving the Navy Yard Metro station said trains had been running quickly, but were often very crowded. "We were on a cattle train coming in here," said Dave Shineman, 63 of Annapolis. "It was absolutely full. I mean, it wouldn't have mattered if you were holding on."On the roads:
Despite fears about heavy traffic, thoroughfares such as South Capitol Street and M Streets SE were not heavily backed up at 6 p.m. Larry Buck, 61 of NW, Washington took a cab from Dupont Circle and said the trip took perhaps fifteen minutes. "I mean, there was no traffic," Buck said. "It was beautiful."And inside the stadium, mouths were agape.
"It's the best park I've ever since in my life," Tim Jensen told The Post. "I like how much space there is."
The Post's newest batch of bloggers, a group of regular Washingtonians christened the Grounds Crew, beamed in dispatches throughout the day Sunday (read them all here).
One overarching theme: How godawful the concession lines are. From Grounds Crew member Rachel Gibson:
Go early, go early, go early. The ballpark wasn't even at capacity and concession lines went for days, especially at Ben's Chili Bowl. My buddies and I checked out all the nooks and crannies in the ballpark before we ate. Big mistake. ... [B]y the time we got through the food lines, we had missed some of the ceremonies and speeches and it took some time to get settled into the actual ballgame. If I were to do it again, I'd go in, get a bite to eat, THEN go look around.Get more details on the game, the fans and the transit picture in Monday's editions of The Washington Post. And for background on the stadium, including what to eat inside and outside the park, check out special reports on washingtonpost.com and from our own crew at Express.
Rico Seabrooks, a program vendor, sells his wares to the Opening Day crowds. Photo by Johnathan Newton/The Washington Post
All this hoopla — and there was even a baseball game! During actual gameplay, Nick Johnson scored the Nats' second run on a double by Austin Kearns in the first inning. Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post
» "No Major Back Ups as Fans Fill Nationals Park" [WaPo]
» Grounds Crew [WaPo]
Photos above by The Washington Post's John McDonnell, Preston Keres and Jonathan Newton
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