Fans Carried Away by First Encounter With Ballpark

"Nothing major," said Lawrence Jarvis, 51, of Alexandria.

Adam Wilk and his son, Brian, 14, arrived at 11 a.m. and waited outside Parking Lot A, greeting the players as they pulled up and collecting autographs.

The two wandered through construction zones that had been masked by fences and signs promoting the coming "Half Street Ballpark District."

"I'm the one who never thought they'd get this up," said Wilk, 44, a lawyer from Fairfax City. "I'm stunned. I'm really stunned. I keep thinking we're in a different city."

"With better food," said Brian, who, his father said, "has to stay on the honor roll if he is to spend weekends collecting autographs."

The Wilk family shared season tickets with another family for the past three seasons. But this year, Wilk realized he could get his own tickets higher up for the same amount of money and still have a good view.

Although the ballpark is oriented to the Capitol Dome, the dome's outline wasn't visible to everyone in the upper decks, including Tony Corbo. The lobbyist didn't mind.

"I spend a lot of time up there anyway," he said. "I'm here to watch the game -- not remind myself of work."

Staff writers David A. Fahrenthold and Yolanda Woodlee contributed to this report.