Nats Fans See a Whole Lot of Red

From the Carpet to the Jerseys, Welcoming Touches Greet Gamegoers at RFK

Something was in the air at RFK Stadium last night, and it wasn't just the humidity. Baseball fans came through the main gate on a red carpet. Greeters gave them caps and T-shirts. Players including Ramon Ortiz and Saul Rivera shook hands and signed autographs.

Even the new owners of the Washington Nationals were out before the first pitch was thrown, trying to recharge interest in a baseball team that, well, is in last place in the National League East. They were also trying to get fans worked up about a stadium that is not exactly first-rate.

The tactic seemed to be working. When Joni Stutman-Horn saw Theodore N. Lerner at the gate of RFK Stadium last night, she felt the incoming owner deserved a hug.

She liked the extras the team rolled out for fans attending the start of a weekend series against the Chicago Cubs. She and her husband, Sanford Horn, got a kick out of meeting Ortiz, a pitcher whose record this year is six wins and nine losses. And they liked what they were hearing about new types of food.

"We're so happy this team has an owner!" Stutman-Horn, 46, a Nationals diehard from Alexandria, told Lerner and his wife, Annette.

"Thank you for the support," Lerner replied.

Last year, the Nationals' first season in Washington, the atmosphere at RFK was electric, especially during a stretch when the team was actually in pennant contention. This year, fans haven't exactly been fired up by a pitching-starved team that could be on the verge of unloading one of its biggest stars, left fielder Alfonso Soriano.

Behind the scenes, it's not much better. Major League Baseball is accusing the D.C. government of missing deadlines that could threaten the April 2008 opening of a new ballpark. The stadium is supposed to be a showplace -- suitable for the contending team that the Lerner family has promised to build. It will be nothing like the spartan RFK, with its peeling paint and weatherworn exterior.

So, the incoming owners decided, it was time to get things revved up with a campaign called Paint the Town Red, in honor of the team's color. They rolled out 2,000 yards of red carpet to welcome the fans. They introduced crab cakes and other foods. They trained employees to be nicer to the crowds.

The Lerner family even cut prices, starting next week, on some tickets. The owners have made an appeal to families with new fun zones with batting games. And they stocked more than 100 new concession stands, with new offerings to go along with the traditional standbys.

That's where Marlin Strand of Gaithersburg found himself eating sausage with his son, Nathan -- at the new Terrace Food Court. He said he wondered whether it would get any better than this.

"The food is delicious; the crowd is energized," said Strand, who wore a bright red Nationals T-shirt. "We have some new owners, and I hope they can continue to make this place a community."

Back when the old Washington Senators played in the city, Strand said, his mother used to take him on a streetcar to watch the games. He still has his complete 1971 Washington Senators trading cards, that team's last year in the District.

The new food and attitudes do not come along with any major changes in the RFK infrastructure, said Cobey Kuff, special projects director for the Lerner Corp.

"If we were going to be here permanently, then maybe we would have done more," Kuff said. "We're in a temporary home and looking forward to getting a new house. This place, it needed some spit and polish."

The spruce-up places an emphasis on local culture, said Greg Costa, general manager of RFK for the stadium's food vendor, Aramark. A chicken restaurant and a bar were selected to be among the five local vendors in the outdoor food court.

"This was the place to be . . . when the Redskins were playing," said Steve Pizzi, bartender for the Cantina Marina in Southwest Washington, which operates the food court's bar. "It's good to be back."