Last year the fan experience for the playoffs was worse at Nats Park than anything I've ever seen at Fed Ex Field. Heavy traffic around the ballpark, long lines of cars at the parking lots, massive lines to get into the ballpark, it took half an inning to use the rest rooms, it took at least an inning to hit the concessions stands. At least at a Redskins game they have tailgating to make up for the waits.
With four weeks to prepare, here are some suggestions to improve things this year.
Aggressively encourage fans to show up early with two waves of giveaways. Wave one would be to get 5-10k fans in the door as soon as it opens. A premium giveaway like a playoff branded hat. Wave two would be to get 30-35k fans in 30 minutes or more before first pitch, some sort of golden ticket prize with a chance to win autographed items.
Another way to get people in quicker will be to ease up on security. When is the last fight you've seen at Nats Park? Do we really have to take off our caps? Just do a two second bag check. The real soft target is outside the ballpark anyway, so getting people in fast is the safest thing for everyone.
There should be an entire gate dedicated for Nats Plus card holders. The left field gate could be reserved to get fans who attend the most games in the fastest.
In Pittsburgh they have bands, moon bounces, and beer sales in the street outside the ballpark for regular season games. The Nats should do this on Half Street for the playoffs. Since we can't tailgate in most lots the next best thing is a block party.
Inside the ballpark they need porta johns. This is the #1 most critical item on the list. Every empty spot should have a block of johns. Including some of the ones for guys that will handle six at a time. Nats Park can't handle crowds of 40k or more, they need extra facilities.
To help with the concession lines they need to have a bunch of roaming hot dog vendors. I shouldn't have to leave my seat to get a dog.
Getting home was a nightmare after game five last year. How about bringing back the Nats busses and let people park at RFK? Move 2,000 cars up the road.