Nationals Park Is Top Notch; the Team Eventually Needs to Follow Suit

Charlie Slowes, the radio voice of the Washington Nationals, has seen all but one of the team's 486 games since the club moved here from Montreal in 2005.

The one contest that stands out for Slowes -- and many fans -- was the first game at RFK Stadium: April 14, 2005, 33 seasons after the Senators left Washington for Texas.

"I watched adults come into the stadium with their children and begin to cry," Slowes said. "That's how much baseball returning to Washington meant to so many people."

Slowes was standing in the center field plaza of the new 41,888-seat Nationals Park on Friday, gazing at the perfectly cut outfield grass and clay diamond, the blue seats glistening in the early evening, the Capitol dome visible from the upper deck, the players preparing for their first practice on their new field and workers putting the finishing touches on Washington's newest landmark.

"This place just blows my mind," Slowes said.

How apt a description for the new ballpark that "officially" opens tonight when the Nats and Atlanta Braves begin their regular season, with President Bush resurrecting the tradition of the Presidential Opener in Washington (several days after MLB's official opener in Tokyo) by throwing out the first pitch to Manager Manny Acta and third baseman Ryan Zimmerman.

But tears, like we saw three years ago? I don't think so, unless you count the critics still upset that the city agreed to foot the $611 million bill for the stadium.

Ted and Mark Lerner, the team's primary owners, as well as team president Stan Kasten and GM Jim Bowden, know the days of nostalgic tears are over.

Declining attendance at RFK in 2006 and 2007 proved that. And while a new stadium gives any team a one-year attendance boost, the club's decision-makers understand fielding a competitive team is essential.

"We needed the stadium, but understand the entertainment on the field has to be good," Kasten told me Friday. "We've made real tangible progress in this area."

By progress, Kasten means the Lerners' investment of millions in player development since buying the team from MLB nearly two years ago for $450 million. In addition to ownership's commitment to young players, fans also hope in the coming years the team's major league payroll increases to compete with some of the top revenue-producing clubs.

"The best part about spring training was our young arms," Bowden said, "and what our young kids did when they got a chance to hit."