Archive: Nationals
Herb Miller Settles With D.C. In Ballpark District Suit
Developer Herbert Miller has settled his $40 million lawsuit against the District government over the failed plan to build two 13-story condominium towers just outside Nationals Park. Under the settlement, the city will pay Miller's Western Development $2 million and the company will drop its legal grievances, according to Miller's...
By David A Nakamura | July 7, 2008; 04:05 PM ET | Comments (0)
"Location, Location, Location"
The steet vending issue is back. Street vendors, who already battled the city to get spots in front of Nationals Park, are now upset with the location that city officials have carved out for them -- six blocks away from the new stadium. "It just infuriates those that are receiving...
By Nikita R Stewart | July 1, 2008; 10:48 AM ET | Comments (0)
Environmentalists: Nats' Advertiser Strikes Out
Nationals Park has been the subject of a number of protests--mostly from activists angry that the District used city money to pay for the $611 million-plus project. This Friday, a coalition of environmentalists will rally at the ballpark at 11 a.m. to voice objections to one of the team's biggest...
By David A Nakamura | June 17, 2008; 03:39 PM ET | Email a Comment
Vendors Draw Straws for Choice Spots
At 5 p.m. today, the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs will hold a lottery for 28 street vending spots around Nationals Park. The ballpark has been a sore subject for longtime peddlers who said the city was blocking them from selling hats and hot dogs in front of the...
By Nikita R Stewart | May 29, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
A Day at the Park
Mayor Fenty and Chancellor Rhee showed up at Saturday's Nationals game to honor students who attended Saturday school. The students and their parents got tickets and a boxed lunch and watched the Nats beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-8. Fenty and Rhee opened the game by announcing "Play ball!" on top...
By David A Nakamura | May 5, 2008; 11:53 AM ET | Email a Comment
Still More Nats Parking
Everybody knew parking was supposed to be a mess around the new ballpark in Southeast, but it turns out there's more than was bargained for. The Nationals went about searching out nearly 5,000 spaces in the neighborhood, selling them to season ticket holders for as much as $35 a game...
By Daniel LeDuc | April 23, 2008; 06:59 AM ET | Comments (3)
Church to DC DOT: Give Us Back Our Parking!
This isn't really a story about Washington's Nats, but it does involve the continuing saga about the new stringent parking restrictions imposed by the District Department of Transportation around Nationals Park in Southeast D.C. Granted, the new rules are designed to make sure that fans don't completely take over all...
By Sylvia Moreno | April 22, 2008; 06:59 AM ET | Comments (2)
Countdown to the Showdown
The Washington Nationals play the Atlanta Braves at 7:35 tonight, and council members are bracing for the dance they have been doing with Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) all week. Since Monday, Fenty's office has been doling out tickets to the council hours before a game. For some reason, four...
By Nikita R Stewart | April 11, 2008; 11:05 AM ET | Email a Comment
Nats No Shows
So two games into the home schedule for the Washington Nationals and they draw only 20,487 in the 41,888-seat stadium. Was this a fluke due to the mildly chilly weather or a sign that maybe D.C. never really did want baseball back? And what about all that economic development that...
By David A Nakamura | April 8, 2008; 11:09 AM ET | Comments (11)
Nats' New Fan?
Nikita Stewart filed this in today's D.C. Political Notebook in the Extra section... Could the biggest critic of public financing of the Washington Nationals' baseball stadium be having a change of heart? No, we're not talking about Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), who was probably the second-leading critic when he...
By David A Nakamura | April 3, 2008; 01:13 PM ET | Email a Comment
New High School Baseball Series at Nats Park
During the long and bumpy road that was the debate over the Nationals' publicly financed baseball stadium, critics of the project often asked, "What's in it for the city?" The inaugural invite. (David Nakamura) Well, D.C. Wire just learned about at least one little piece of that puzzle. We got...
By David A Nakamura | April 3, 2008; 09:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
Taking It to the Streets
Street vendors want the right to operate outside of Nationals Park the way they did at RFK. (Nikki Kahn) What's baseball without the hot dog? Like a hot dog with no bun, according to Council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3). She said she will introduce legislation today that...
By Nikita R Stewart | April 1, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
Happy Talk
Things weren't always cozy between the city and the Nationals as the new publicly funded $611 million ballpark project was under construction in Southeast. They jousted over parking and how much there could be and over who would pay for what. But with a smooth opening day under their belt...
By Daniel LeDuc | April 1, 2008; 06:50 AM ET | Email a Comment
Big Ticket Souvenirs
Some people--and it's a good guess that among them will be a few who were at Nationals Park tonight-- won't be too happy when they go looking for their cars. The city was making good on its promise to ticket and tow cars that didn't have a residential parking sticker...
By Marcia Davis | March 30, 2008; 11:09 PM ET | Email a Comment
Zimmerman Brings It All Home
The Nationals put the final touches on Opening Day, with a game-winning homerun by third baseman Ryan Zimmerman in the bottom of the ninth inning, after coughing up a 2 to 1 lead. For those of you who don't know baseball lingo, that's what you call a "walk-off homerun," says...
By Marcia Davis | March 30, 2008; 10:43 PM ET | Email a Comment
Neighbors of Nationals Park Aren't All Cheering
We've heard the stories of excited fans, but there's another side of the Nationals Park story. Post reporter Hamil R. Harris spent time in the area surrounding the stadium both Saturday and Sunday nights and found some interesting contrasts. He writes: South Capitol Street was a crossroads of optimism and...
By Marcia Davis | March 30, 2008; 08:47 PM ET | Email a Comment
Ebenezer Isn't on Easy Street
While parking restrictions have helped some residents, there are neighborhood fixtures that suffer, even when they're more than a mile from the ballpark. At the Ebenezer United Methodist Church on Fourth Street SE, parking for those without a residential permit is now limited to two hours on Sundays as well...
By Marcia Davis | March 30, 2008; 08:40 PM ET | Email a Comment
First Pitch is a Strike
Let the record show, the first official game pitch in the stadium is a strike!...
By Marcia Davis | March 30, 2008; 08:21 PM ET | Email a Comment
The First Pitch
Here comes President Bush to throw out the first pitch. He's wearing the red Nationals jacket. The crowd is cheering, and he actually gets the ball over home plate. The president's appearance caused long waits in security lines, but by the time that ceremonial pitch was thrown, that didn't seem...
By Marcia Davis | March 30, 2008; 08:11 PM ET | Comments (1)
Fans, Fans, Fans....
They keep pouring into the stadium and they've mostly got good things to say about what they're seeing. We're less than an hour away from the first pitch and the game-goers are keeping themselves busy, exploring the new facility. The Post's David Nakamura reports that some people are actually taking...
By Marcia Davis | March 30, 2008; 07:41 PM ET | Email a Comment
No Glass Slipper for Davidson
Kansas takes it, 59-57....
By Marcia Davis | March 30, 2008; 07:30 PM ET | Email a Comment
First No Voting Rights, Now This...
Let's hope tonight the parking is a little better than last night. Washington Post Reporter Mary Beth Sheridan was out at the exhibition game last night and witnessed a dispute between an aide for Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) and the police. An aide to the congresswoman was outside one...
By Marcia Davis | March 30, 2008; 07:05 PM ET | Email a Comment
Baseball? What Baseball Game....
All right, so we know the Nats and the Braves are supposed to be playing soon, but don't tell that to the folks at the Red Porch restaurant, in the new stadium. Folks there are glued to the television set for a little March Madness. It's Davidson and Kansas battling...
By Marcia Davis | March 30, 2008; 06:57 PM ET | Email a Comment
Two Guys Get Their Own Practice In...
Longtime co-workers, friends and season ticket holders Steve Wilson and Joe Martin began to plan their route to the new stadium this winter. The two Annapolis mailmen -- they prefer the title "communication specialists" -- decided early on that driving was out of the question because parking close to the...
By Marcia Davis | March 30, 2008; 06:46 PM ET | Email a Comment
Play Ball!
Well, here we go folks. The official first baseball game at Nationals Park starts in less than two hours, (8:15 p.m.), but as you saw in today's Washington Post (please tell me you saw it in today's WP), last night's exhibition game seemed to go off with little major problems....
By Marcia Davis | March 30, 2008; 06:28 PM ET | Email a Comment
We're Live Sunday Night
DC Wire will be live Sunday for the opening of Nationals Park. And if you live in the neighborhood surrounding the stadium, we're especially interested in hearing from you, your joy and your pain. See you Sunday!...
By Marcia Davis | March 28, 2008; 05:04 PM ET | Email a Comment
Ready to Be Just a Fan
If you think that District officials are breathing easier because Nationals Park will open on time tomorrow, think about Ronnie Strompf. He has been Clark Construction's chief superintendent at the ballpark for the past 22 months, the point man in charge of making sure everything was finished on time. For...
By Daniel LeDuc | March 28, 2008; 03:37 PM ET | Email a Comment
Thanks, Mayor Will--er, Fenty...!
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty is famous for walking door-to-door across the city to win election. But apparently he missed Brendan Owens, the vice president for LEED technical development for the U.S. Green Building Council. Today, at a news conference to kick off this weekend's opening of Nationals Park, Owens was...
By David A Nakamura | March 28, 2008; 11:32 AM ET | Comments (3)
Have You Read...
As we count down to the opening of Nationals Park, here are two good reads from Washington Post reporters: Daniel LeDuc on a Washington tradition: The mad dash to Opening Day. And Robert E. Pierre on Positive Nature, an agency that provides a second home for needy children, but, along...
By Marcia Davis | March 26, 2008; 03:00 PM ET | Email a Comment
Away Game
When the Nationals open their season Sunday at their new stadium, Ken Wyban will be far away from the action in Willoughby, Ohio. But he will probably be thinking about the team and what he gave up--and what he got--so that the Nationals could have their new home. (Photo by...
By David A Nakamura | March 26, 2008; 11:57 AM ET | Email a Comment
Pols Take the Field
The opening of Nationals Park this weekend gives politicians and city officials a chance to take the field, too. Saturday's exhibition game will feature City Council Chairman Vincent Gray (D) handing over the Nats' line up card to the umpire and D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission Chairman Matthew Cutts gets...
By Daniel LeDuc | March 26, 2008; 11:56 AM ET | Comments (1)
How Much for Nationals Park?
In our story today about the ballpark district around Nationals Park, we included this graphic about the growing total cost of the project. The cost will go higher, with three of the eminent domain cases still tied up in court mediation. Saturday's exhibition was a warmup, a chance for about...
By David A Nakamura | March 24, 2008; 07:53 AM ET | Comments (8)
Nationals Traffic Jam?
City officials are nervous about this weekend's opening of Nationals Park. Will the 41,000 fans expected for Saturday's exhibition game against the Orioles overwhelm the neighborhood around the new ballpark on South Capitol Street SE? A police helicopter will be flying above Saturday's game, sending a video feed of the...
By Marcia Davis | March 21, 2008; 05:57 PM ET | Comments (1)
