RFK STADIUM

RFK Stadium was opened in 1961 to house both the Washington Redskins and Washington Senators. Although the Senators moved to Texas after the 1971 season, the stadium continued to host the Redskins until 1996 and the MLS team, DC United from 1996. Even then, RFK is simply a barebones stadium with none of the amenities that dot the newer parks. This is not a bad thing though, and to be fair, the Nationals were only brought into existence a few months ago, leaving scant time to upgrade the facility. And with plans afoot for a new park, it is unlikely that RFK will be improved.

RFK has only two levels of seating, which means the upper deck seats are not that far away. The lower deck seats are in the 100, 200 and 300 levels, upper deck is 400 and 500. I won’t detail the seating options here, it is best to buy a cheap seat and move around. The Nationals are not that popular and you can usually find seats close to the field. Note that the 300 and 500 levels are generally covered and provide protection against the rain.

 Note the curving top. 400 seats are red, 500 are yellow.

The stadium is similar to the multi-purpose cookie-cutters such as Busch Stadium. There is a slight difference, however, as the top of the stadium has a bit of a wave above third base. You might be able to see this in the picture above.

You can walk around the entire concourse, and on the 300 level you can see the action on the field as in the picture below. Note that the higher row seats in the 300 level block the sky and fly balls cannot be followed. Not sure if these seats are sold, but if they are, you are best to avoid them. Also, the lower 2 rows in the 300 level are just above a walkway which is constantly filled with vendors and fans and makes it difficult to concentrate on the game.

View from the 300 level concourse

 Shared with DC United

The out-of-town scoreboard is posted above the fences, one screen for each league with 3 scores at a time. Other features are a Washington Sports Wall of Fame, a list of names that have highlighted Washington sports over the years that lies beyond the right field fence.

Food here is basic, with Chicken Fingers the most interesting item.  There are no restaurants around the ballpark, so you might want to try to sneak something in, or have an early dinner.

The team store is in a trailer outside the stadium, and ticket windows are also in trailers near Gate A and Gate F. Note that advanced tickets cannot be purchased from these ticket windows before the game, to do that you must visit the Will Call windows at the front of the stadium.

Getting to the stadium is easy, although you might have to drive through the city if coming from Virginia. Parking is $10, take lot 8 if you want to get onto the highway quickly (95 south), lots 6 and 7 are better for getting back to the city.

For those of you taking the subway, the Orange and Blue Lines stop at Stadium/Armory, and it is about a 10-minute walk to the stadium from there. Get your return farecard in advance, as the trains can be busy after the game.

Sections different for baseball/soccer

Clearly, RFK is not one of baseball's great stadiums, but given the conditions of the Nats’ sudden arrival, it can be forgiven. Frankly, it is nice to have a simple ballpark where the game is the focus, and RFK is definitely a nice place to watch a game., certainly an improvement on the franchise’s previous stadium in Montreal.

RFK is no longer is use as a baseball stadium as the Nationals have now moved into Nationals Park. It's still used as a soccer stadium though, so if you want to see it, check out DC United's schedule and head on down.