by Brian P. Foley, The College Baseball Blog
One of the worst decisions of the last few years in MLB was the move of the Montreal Expos to Washington DC. The DC metro area has failed twice over the last 40 years in having a major league team and they have the Baltimore Orioles playing about 45 minutes away which provides a direct competitor to the Nationals.
Bud Selig sells the team to Ted Lerner to move them to Washington starting with the 2005 season where the team played at RFK stadium until the new facility opened up at the beginning of April. The new stadium has had ONE sell out this season which was the first game in the facility. They have not been able to get a sell out since opening night. Is this the best thing to be happening to a team which is only in their fourth season in the city? The ballpark should be packed night in and night out but they are struggling to have 50 percent capacity on most nights.
There are many reasons that the Nationals will fail in Washington DC with attendance being the major issue. Do you think the Nationals will succeed in Washington?
Thursday, May 8, 2008
WASHINGTON DOES NOT DESERVE THE NATIONALS
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4 comment(s):
First off, the Orioles aren't direct competition. Maybe they are for folks living in the exurbs of Maryland, but that's not a large market, especially when compared to Northern Virginia. That said, I'd like to see how the Nationals' attendance compares to other clubs with similar records. The team just isn't very good right now - if they were leading the division people would show up in droves. There are so many other things to do in DC that casual fans don't want to spend an evening watching their newest team get slaughtered. Besides, they've only been here four years - give them some time to get roots. I see Nationals gear all over town, so I know the team is making money in other ways.
As a season ticket holder, you leave out a few critical facts.
MLB absolutely gang raped this franchise as they had no owner for years and did not invest money into scouting or the minors.
MLB out lawed late season call ups and would not pony up signing bonus money to select high profile players in the draft.
This behavior gutted player development to the point where the Nats still have not recovered as on organization.
The Lerners as owners have been absolute cheap asses. They have owned the team for almost 2 years and still the payroll is below MLB average. GM Bowden needs fired and he is the laughing stock of baseball execs.
Attendance this season has been disappointing but not horrible. It has nothing to do with the Orioles lcoation or lack of baseball fans either.
The tickets are WAAAAY overpriced. People are at the game in the upper councourses but you just can not see them on TV because the seats shown behind home plate go for 325 a pop and the vacant OF seats in dead center and RF range from 40-75 bucks a ticket.
Other considering factors are the Caps/Wizards were just in the playoffs and had games on competing nights.
The new lobbying rules have put a damper on Congressional offices getting free tickets from firms. This is a much bigger number than you think in this town.
The new stadium is in sketchy part of the city and not much parking is provided yet. All the restaurants, bars, shopping, hotels and condos around the stadium are under construction still.
The major factor is that some people already have favorite baseball teams and until the Nats become successful to build a base of support, the team will not sell out.
I do share some of your concerns but to say it is a disaster already is a little premature.
If the Nats still really suck in 3-5 years, I think you could see attendance bottom out.
I was all ready to make my "the area around the stadium is not developed yet" argument, but Mac G pretty much hit every point.
I remember back when people actually went to the ballpark to watch baseball and not for the entertainment surrounding the park. I thought Washington was just "dying" to get MLB back. If so, how come now that they have it (and a brand new park), they aren't going? The reasons Mac G gives are valid, but quite lame considering the hue and cry for DC to get a Major League team back a few years ago by some people in that area.
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