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Nats Play to Empty Seats at RFK
The Nationals' sluggish attendance has been noted among District officials because the city receives tax money from tickets and concessions that will help pay for the new $611 million stadium.
"You have to build a base and market the team, and that takes time," said D.C. Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2).
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Still, Evans remained optimistic. "We'll be in the top half of attendance in the league the rest of the existence of this team," he predicted.
Heading into yesterday's games, the Nationals were 16th of 30 teams in average home attendance.
The players' performance on the field has not helped. Yesterday's loss dropped the Nationals to 7-14, a sharp contrast to their fast start last season, when they led their division at the All-Star break in July.
Stuart Bassin, 48, a Justice Department attorney, owns four season tickets, which he shares with 16 other fans. Bassin, who was not at yesterday's game, said three members of the syndicate dropped out before the season began.
"There were annoyances like riding the Metro, which sometimes couldn't handle the crush of people," Bassin said. "RFK is a substandard facility, and several members said the experience was not something they wanted to do again."
Aramark, a Philadelphia company that provides concessions, has continued to draw complaints for poor service and long lines. The D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission, which oversees Aramark, said the company has added more food carts, but the carts take up more room in the narrow corridors at 45-year-old RFK, causing crowding.
Long lines were not a problem yesterday. Four rows from the field behind home plate, Kadeem Palmer, 15, of Newport News, was decked out in a red Nationals cap and blue team T-shirt. He had gotten tickets from a friend and came to the game with his mother. Around them were empty seats.
"I'm not so surprised," Palmer said. "The team was new last year, but this year people are used to them, I guess."
Staff writer Thomas Heath contributed to this report.
