How would you rank the Nationals/DC fanbase?

[hotshot]

People forget that in those days teams drawing a million was rare. I remember sitting in Connie Mack stadium as a kid with just a few thousand brave souls.

Good point on the attendance!

I remember going to a Yankees-Senators "twinight" doubleheader (one admission for two games, starting around 4 pm) and parking my car a stone's throw from the ticket windows and turnstiles at then DC Stadium. Hardly any cars in that VAST parking lot.

Then, taking my dugout box seat, having paid my $1.50 Gen Admission ticket. The actual cost of that box seat was maybe $3.50 but, hey, that $2 difference bought a lot back then and I was a brand new GS-7, making $6,200 a year.   

That had to be in 1966?; the NYY were as bad as the Senators. Both won around 70 games that year. Think the Senators finished just ahead of the last place Yanks.

[mitlen]

I think he drew in the casual fans.  I wonder if maybe the area around the ballpark is keeping fans from attending?  There's so much to do outside the park now that maybe folks go to the area to eat/drink and watch the game on TV at one of the bars/restaurants?  We walked into Tuesday's game in the 2nd inning and the places on 1st street just north of the stadium looked pretty full.

For me personally I'm down from attending 5-6 games to 1-2 a year.  The primary reason is cost.  An average game for the four of us runs about $130 or so for tickets and parking, and that's without any food/drink at the park.  I can't bring myself to spend $10-15 on a beer at the park.

Listening to Ferrell last night on 106.7 and he had a long segment on the decline of people going to baseball games.    Cost of course was one of the factors.    I'm trying to maintain my 10 to 15 games a year but cost is cutting in on me as well.    Even on the cheap, it costs me more than $70 (2 Vienna Lagers) and 6 hours.     But man, I love bein' at the Park.

[Baseball is Life]

Not sure this on point but a great article about when it’s safe to leave the game early.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/take-this-cheat-sheet-to-the-ballpark-to-decide-when-to-leave/?ex_cid=538email

[Slateman]

Listening to Ferrell last night on 106.7 and he had a long segment on the decline of people going to baseball games.    Cost of course was one of the factors.    I'm trying to maintain my 10 to 15 games a year but cost is cutting in on me as well.    Even on the cheap, it costs me more than $70 (2 Vienna Lagers) and 6 hours.     But man, I love bein' at the Park.

You could not drink beer

[varoadking]

You could not drink beer

 

[mitlen]

You could not drink beer

Blasphemy

[Mathguy]

Slate - you are a troll, aren't you ?

You could not drink beer

[Mathguy]

Mitlen - you only go to 10-15 games a year ?  It seems 2IPAs & I see you & Spider behind home plate every game

Listening to Ferrell last night on 106.7 and he had a long segment on the decline of people going to baseball games.    Cost of course was one of the factors.    I'm trying to maintain my 10 to 15 games a year but cost is cutting in on me as well.    Even on the cheap, it costs me more than $70 (2 Vienna Lagers) and 6 hours.     But man, I love bein' at the Park.

[mitlen]

Mitlen - you only go to 10-15 games a year ?  It seems 2IPAs & I see you & Spider behind home plate every game

Shhhhh   ....   

[Mathguy]

Sorry - but it's one of the things 2IPAs & I look forward to

Shhhhh   ....   

[mitlen]

Sorry - but it's one of the things 2IPAs & I look forward to

When spider started doin' the sharky thing, I tried to keep it mum.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

He knows a winner and it ain't the Tiggers

[trangert418]

Can he close?

[Five Banners]

Listening to Ferrell last night on 106.7 and he had a long segment on the decline of people going to baseball games.    Cost of course was one of the factors.    I'm trying to maintain my 10 to 15 games a year but cost is cutting in on me as well.    Even on the cheap, it costs me more than $70 (2 Vienna Lagers) and 6 hours.     But man, I love bein' at the Park.

There's also the flip side of the "build it downtown" push. Those who are nearby or have easy access to mass transit may well find other things to do at a better timing and cost control point. Mitigating factors like the Metro shutdown south of National Airport also play into it.

Those who want to get from point a to point b via car have the elevated parking cost and ingress/egress logistical challenges (both to and from parking and from parking to the ballpark) that such parks often possess and which impact timing. Particularly at Nats Park with the increased surrounding density, the ease or lack of it for the drivers plays into it.

A recent case in point was when my brother's in-laws were coming to town and were going to take his three young children to a day game (and bought a parking permit for Garage C). I was going to the game and offered to drive, which ended up with us sitting in backups a couple of blocks from the stadium and missing the start of the game despite leaving decently early. Street after street was backed up or blocked off, not helped by the fact that they had apparently turned Half St SE from M St. SE to the ballpark into a charter bus parking lot. His father-in-law practically wrote off going to more games there.

A longtime fan like me is just going to find an alternate approach (though I'm not exactly feeling great urgency to do so at present), but the more causal fan has a lower tipping point to reach, and I think many factors are in place for the tipping to be more dramatic going forward. It's a moot point now, but as the DOT arrival and Navy Yard infill was likely to lead to build up of that area eventually anyway (a decade after the ballpark opened), the insistence on that particular locale over the RFK Stadium area always struck me as less than ideal long term. That's especially the case for day-of-game ticket buyers both for driving and for Metro.

[mitlen]

There's also the flip side of the "build it downtown" push. Those who are nearby or have easy access to mass transit may well find other things to do at a better timing and cost control point. Mitigating factors like the Metro shutdown south of National Airport also play into it.

Those who want to get from point a to point b via car have the elevated parking cost and ingress/egress logistical challenges (both to and from parking and from parking to the ballpark) that such parks often possess and which impact timing. Particularly at Nats Park with the increased surrounding density, the ease or lack of it for the drivers plays into it.

A recent case in point was when my brother's in-laws were coming to town and were going to take his three young children to a day game (and bought a parking permit for Garage C). I was going to the game and offered to drive, which ended up with us sitting in backups a couple of blocks from the stadium and missing the start of the game despite leaving decently early. Street after street was backed up or blocked off, not helped by the fact that they had apparently turned Half St SE from M St. SE to the ballpark into a charter bus parking lot. His father-in-law practically wrote off going to more games there.

A longtime fan like me is just going to find an alternate approach (though I'm not exactly feeling great urgency to do so at present), but the more causal fan has a lower tipping point to reach, and I think many factors are in place for the tipping to be more dramatic going forward. It's a moot point now, but as the DOT arrival and Navy Yard infill was likely to lead to build up of that area eventually anyway (a decade after the ballpark opened), the insistence on that particular locale over the RFK Stadium area always struck me as less than ideal long term. That's especially the case for day-of-game ticket buyers both for driving and for Metro.

It's an hour minimum each way for me.    Drive to Wiehle, park, catch the train, transfer, etc.    Even when the subway opens into Loudoun, it'll take an hour each way and that's without any delays   ...  single tracking, etc.     There is no "easy way" for outlying fans to get to the Park.

[sixthree175]

I park literally in a shady lot where they accept only cash 1/2 mile from the Park.  On my way out, I make a series of right turns to get onto the freeway and eventually I-395S. 

[mitlen]

I park literally in a shady lot where they accept only cash 1/2 mile from the Park.  On my way out, I make a series of right turns to get onto the freeway and eventually I-395S. 

I drove into the city on and off for 40 years.    I pass.   

[GburgNatsFan]

It's an hour minimum each way for me.    Drive to Wiehle, park, catch the train, transfer, etc.    Even when the subway opens into Loudoun, it'll take an hour each way and that's without any delays   ...  single tracking, etc.     There is no "easy way" for outlying fans to get to the Park.

Agreed. And *to* the Park is much better than home when trains aren't running nearly as frequently. If you need to make a transfer, you're hosed. 50 minutes in, 90 minutes home.

[varoadking]

Agreed. And *to* the Park is much better than home when trains aren't running nearly as frequently. If you need to make a transfer, you're hosed. 50 minutes in, 90 minutes home.

Cry me a river... 

[bluestreak]

Would RFK have been any better?

[Five Banners]

Would RFK have been any better?

Items in the positive column: Metro situation — blue and now silver lines are main lines for sizable portion of fanbase per previous studies, main station better equipped for crowds, parking — remember the shuttles from their parking lot in early days at Nats Park, more of a straight shot for many drivers on and off highways, especially with I-695 completion.

[Baseball is Life]

I live near Tysons and I drive to the park in the middle of rush hour sometimes. It takes me about 45 minutes to get there and park and about 30 minutes to get home.

It's like anything else...the more you do it, the more efficient you become at it. I know what roads to take, what lanes to be in, where to park, what gate to enter, etc.

I end up going to about 25 games a year though this year it might be less due to lots of work travel. So far I've made it to 14 games. I live inside the Beltway and I don't mind city driving so I don't think driving to the games is particularly difficult. In fact, I live fairly close to a Metro station but I prefer to drive my group to games because it's faster and more comfortable.

Re costs, I think life is about tradeoffs. I don't mind spending money on tickets and food but I usually bring in water and snacks and rarely drink at the park because I'm usually driving. If money got tight I would simply stay home and watch the team on TV and I don't begrudge anyone on a budget for doing the same.

[Baseball is Life]

Items in the positive column: Metro situation — blue and now silver lines are main lines for sizable portion of fanbase per previous studies, main station better equipped for crowds, parking — remember the shuttles from their parking lot in early days at Nats Park, more of a straight shot for many drivers on and off highways, especially with I-695 completion.

Driving to RFK from NOVA, however, is more of a PIA than to the Navy Yard area.

[hotshot]

Items in the positive column: Metro situation — blue and now silver lines are main lines for sizable portion of fanbase per previous studies, main station better equipped for crowds, parking — remember the shuttles from their parking lot in early days at Nats Park, more of a straight shot for many drivers on and off highways, especially with I-695 completion.

Coming from Annapolis, I sure wish those shuttles to and from the DC Stadium parking lots still ran. Why'd they get rid of them?

[Baseball is Life]

[/b]
Coming from Annapolis, I sure wish those shuttles to and from the DC Stadium parking lots still ran. Why'd they get rid of them?

Cost, I assume, and the fact they figured they were not needed as people figured out their way around the new park whether driving or taking Metro. There's really lots of parking there if you don't mind walking a few blocks.