nationals park guide
Nationals Park is one of the newer stadiums in all of baseball, and plays home to the pathetic Washington Nationals. Everybody knows that this is a welcome change from old RFK stadium, which was pretty rough. Although D.C. is an infamously expensive city, you can go watch the Nats for a pretty reasonable price. Let’s start with free parking at Nationals Park.
parking
In 2009 the Nationals ran a free shuttle called the Nats Express, which I raved about. In 2010 that service has been discontinued for an unknown reason. This puts a dent in my case for driving to the ballpark, although you can still find cheap parking; even in official lots. If you live in the area, the metro may be your best option. The Nats have added a cool tool that lets you see all the different options in an interactive planner - see it here.
The only affordable parking officially operated by the Nationals is lot HH. It will set you back $5, but you will be a good 10 minute walk to the stadium. Lot HH is now known as Pacific Parking. If you park in the team lots around the ballpark, the price shoots up to around $40 – which is outrageous. You may want to buy your parking pass online beforehand. You can do this through the Nationals website, and I like when teams offer this because you get a little piece of mind in knowing that you are going to a particular lot, and there will be room for your car. You can sometimes find deals on these parking passes via StubHub or eBay for less than face value. It’s worth a look before you pay full price.
If you are not from the area, the metro subway system is another affordable way to get to Nationals Park. If you are convenient to a Metro Station you can get dropped off at the Navy Yard stop on the Green line which is about a half a block from Nationals Park. The metro will be crowded, but you may prefer this to fighting traffic in your car – depending on where you are coming from. Here is a trip planner if you aren’t familiar with taking the metro to a Nationals game.
I would say this, with the new Nationals Park, the team is as prepared as they can be for commuter traffic. You may get a sense that driving to a Nationals game can be a nightmare, but I think many fans have been pleasantly surprised how hassle free driving to the ballpark has been so far.
Tickets
The Nats have unfortunately jumped on the tiered pricing bandwagon. That means there are value games, regular games, and premium games; most ticket prices go up the better the competition.
Ticket prices in general at Nationals Park are very reasonable. I am comparing that to other big cities like New York and Boston which are famously expensive places to see a game. I guess the quality of the team is also a factor.
A great value ticket at Nationals Park is upper RF Terrace 222. I love these for a few reasons. You are down the first baseline, with an excellent view of the entire field. Secondly, these tickets are much closer to the field than the upper deck tickets down the left field line, but they have the same price ($10). Third, these tickets are ten bucks for value games all the way up to premium games. In my opinion you can’t go wrong in this section.
The cheapest seats are outer left field upper deck seats; these cost $5 each. The seats aren’t terrible, but I think you will be much happier shelling out an extra 5 spot for something like the seats I mentioned above.
Planning ahead is also a good idea for getting cheap tickets to Nationals Park. As I mentioned earlier, most ticket sections go up for premium games. If you aren’t too concerned with who the opponent is, you just want to see a game, you should look for a value game. You can splurge for better tickets and pay a cheaper price.
Sunday is also a good day to get out to a Nats game. You can get RF Terrace seats along with a hot dog, chips, and drink for only $14. A great way to entertain and feed the family for not a lot of money.
I mentioned earlier that at the time of this writing, the Nationals are terrible. That can translate to good ticket value on eBay. In fact, between eBay and Stubhub, you may never pay above face value for Nationals tickets. Here is my advice for ticket buying on eBay; wait until the last minute. I know that sounds crazy, and you would think that closer to the event the prices would shoot up; but that is not the case. I have bought and sold plenty of tickets on eBay and I have found that when I sell them early I get top dollar because there is less competition. As the event gets closer, everybody in America who is selling tickets begins to list them at auction. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that when the market is flooded with supply the price is driven down. I don't know if there are any published numbers to back me up, but I have seen it time and time again. So if buying on eBay, buy late. Here are a couple of auctions ending soon with a current bid under $50.
parking
In 2009 the Nationals ran a free shuttle called the Nats Express, which I raved about. In 2010 that service has been discontinued for an unknown reason. This puts a dent in my case for driving to the ballpark, although you can still find cheap parking; even in official lots. If you live in the area, the metro may be your best option. The Nats have added a cool tool that lets you see all the different options in an interactive planner - see it here.
The only affordable parking officially operated by the Nationals is lot HH. It will set you back $5, but you will be a good 10 minute walk to the stadium. Lot HH is now known as Pacific Parking. If you park in the team lots around the ballpark, the price shoots up to around $40 – which is outrageous. You may want to buy your parking pass online beforehand. You can do this through the Nationals website, and I like when teams offer this because you get a little piece of mind in knowing that you are going to a particular lot, and there will be room for your car. You can sometimes find deals on these parking passes via StubHub or eBay for less than face value. It’s worth a look before you pay full price.
If you are not from the area, the metro subway system is another affordable way to get to Nationals Park. If you are convenient to a Metro Station you can get dropped off at the Navy Yard stop on the Green line which is about a half a block from Nationals Park. The metro will be crowded, but you may prefer this to fighting traffic in your car – depending on where you are coming from. Here is a trip planner if you aren’t familiar with taking the metro to a Nationals game.
I would say this, with the new Nationals Park, the team is as prepared as they can be for commuter traffic. You may get a sense that driving to a Nationals game can be a nightmare, but I think many fans have been pleasantly surprised how hassle free driving to the ballpark has been so far.
Tickets
The Nats have unfortunately jumped on the tiered pricing bandwagon. That means there are value games, regular games, and premium games; most ticket prices go up the better the competition.
Ticket prices in general at Nationals Park are very reasonable. I am comparing that to other big cities like New York and Boston which are famously expensive places to see a game. I guess the quality of the team is also a factor.
A great value ticket at Nationals Park is upper RF Terrace 222. I love these for a few reasons. You are down the first baseline, with an excellent view of the entire field. Secondly, these tickets are much closer to the field than the upper deck tickets down the left field line, but they have the same price ($10). Third, these tickets are ten bucks for value games all the way up to premium games. In my opinion you can’t go wrong in this section.
The cheapest seats are outer left field upper deck seats; these cost $5 each. The seats aren’t terrible, but I think you will be much happier shelling out an extra 5 spot for something like the seats I mentioned above.
Planning ahead is also a good idea for getting cheap tickets to Nationals Park. As I mentioned earlier, most ticket sections go up for premium games. If you aren’t too concerned with who the opponent is, you just want to see a game, you should look for a value game. You can splurge for better tickets and pay a cheaper price.
Sunday is also a good day to get out to a Nats game. You can get RF Terrace seats along with a hot dog, chips, and drink for only $14. A great way to entertain and feed the family for not a lot of money.
I mentioned earlier that at the time of this writing, the Nationals are terrible. That can translate to good ticket value on eBay. In fact, between eBay and Stubhub, you may never pay above face value for Nationals tickets. Here is my advice for ticket buying on eBay; wait until the last minute. I know that sounds crazy, and you would think that closer to the event the prices would shoot up; but that is not the case. I have bought and sold plenty of tickets on eBay and I have found that when I sell them early I get top dollar because there is less competition. As the event gets closer, everybody in America who is selling tickets begins to list them at auction. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that when the market is flooded with supply the price is driven down. I don't know if there are any published numbers to back me up, but I have seen it time and time again. So if buying on eBay, buy late. Here are a couple of auctions ending soon with a current bid under $50.
food
A great way to save money at Nationals Park is by taking your own snacks and food with you. You can take them in a soft sided cooler no bigger that 16x16x8. You can also take sealed plastic bottles of water with you into Nationals Park. The size limit on this is one liter or less.
Another option that I consistently recommend is Restaurant.com Here you can buy $25 gift certificates to local restaurants for $10. You can also do a google search for "Restaurant.com coupon codes" and almost always get an extra 60 - 80% off that. I often buy these $25 certificates for $2. That is the best way to eat a decent meal before or after the game and save a chunk of change. When you follow the link, just type in the zip code of Nationals Park (20003) to see what restaurants are nearby.
Nationals Park also boast great concession variety. The prices are typically outrageous, but they have some local favorites like Ben’s chili for you to enjoy. There is also a cool stand that highlights some Major League favorites from other stadiums. This is near section 117 and offers great selections.
Nationals Park is also a certified Green stadium, which really makes me feel better about seeing a game there. I can hardly watch the Reds from the upper deck in Cincinnati due to the pollution.
A great way to save money at Nationals Park is by taking your own snacks and food with you. You can take them in a soft sided cooler no bigger that 16x16x8. You can also take sealed plastic bottles of water with you into Nationals Park. The size limit on this is one liter or less.
Another option that I consistently recommend is Restaurant.com Here you can buy $25 gift certificates to local restaurants for $10. You can also do a google search for "Restaurant.com coupon codes" and almost always get an extra 60 - 80% off that. I often buy these $25 certificates for $2. That is the best way to eat a decent meal before or after the game and save a chunk of change. When you follow the link, just type in the zip code of Nationals Park (20003) to see what restaurants are nearby.
Nationals Park also boast great concession variety. The prices are typically outrageous, but they have some local favorites like Ben’s chili for you to enjoy. There is also a cool stand that highlights some Major League favorites from other stadiums. This is near section 117 and offers great selections.
Nationals Park is also a certified Green stadium, which really makes me feel better about seeing a game there. I can hardly watch the Reds from the upper deck in Cincinnati due to the pollution.
