Goodbye R-F-K Stadium

Baseball finished their latest round of usage of the now aged R-F-K stadium today, just a scant few years after moving the former Montreal Expos into that stadium to become the new Washington Nationals franchise.

The last 3 years have seen fans put up with an old ball park with poor service at the concession stands, stairs that are a total pain to climb, ramps that wind up and down to take fans to the their seats in the upper decks, and inconveniences like railings that sit so close to the seats that fans in the front row areas have no room for their legs to park in.

But there have also been fun times too. A team that was surprisingly competitive in the first half of their first year in town (unfortunately around the All Star break of that season they seemed to wake up and realize they weren't Cinderella, or perhaps they were but the clock ran out on them). Wins that shocked their opponents, including a memorable win where rookie phenom Ryan Zimmerman jacked a walk-off home run against the New York Yankees. Some home run shots that might still be travelling by some power hitters on the team.

I won't miss the concession stands at all. Lines that were always too long and service that was always too slow. I won't miss the fact that when you stood at the lines for the stands you normally missed much of the action of the game because there were few TVs spread throughout R-F-K to keep you in touch with what was going on. Just as few were the speakers and radio broadcasts to hear the action on.

Next season will bring a state-of-the-art stadium with all of the bells and whistles -- assuming the ownership doesn't cheap out on their contributions to the stadium's 'upgradeds' -- and hopefully the seating there will be something I'll be happy with after the team gets done with their handling and processing of the season ticket transition from the old stadium to the new. I hope to be saying that I love the new stadium after the first game there, and again after the 10th or 16th, or 34th and others.

For now though, it's goodbye R-F-K.

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Thanks for the memories.

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Well, all I can say is that you were not very nice hosts to the Mets in their last visit!

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Meh, you whine about RFK, but you never "served time" in that dungeon of baseball stadiums, the Kingdome. Fortunately, us Mariners fans were treated to a live broadcast of its demolition...and I guarantee you that every single one of us was glad to see that monstrosity go.

Even though I had amazing good times, I'm quite pleased with the Kingdome's now nonexistence.

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and yet I still watch baseball played in the oldest grandest stadium on earth,'the house that Ruth built'

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Ah, but I did visit the Kingdome a few times, as well as getting to a game at the Astrodome, and games at Three Rivers, Dodger Stadium, Memorial Stadium, the Vet, etc.

The Kingdome wasn't bad really. Actually as I told my son, the Kingdome and the Astrodome were both basically domed versions of RFK which were all cookie-cutter type stadiums, built from the same mold. I saw a couple of games in the Kingdome from various areas of the stadium and thought it was a fine place to watch a game.

For that matter, RFK wasn't a bad place to watch a game with the exception of seats down the lines in what should be corners that became obstructed view seats for swaths of the outfield. The seats were much higher than the seats in other modern parks (in relation to the field level), but the view wasn't bad from just about anywhere.

What sucked was walking up stairs of un-even heights getting to your seats without handrails to hold as you marched up there. The lack of escalators and elevators wasn't too nice either. Broken seats no fun either. And finally seats that had been put in back when most 'mericans were considerably skinnier made things uncomfortable too.

All things that should be worlds better next year.

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The Kingdome wasn't bad really.

GAH! You only say that because you didn't "live" there. It was a MONSTROSITY! ONLY the Mariners could entice me in those gates (I never even made it in for a Seahawks game...and that was during the Largent era!). NOTHING is worse than standing outside on a beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest knowing you're going to watch players on an artificial turf under an artificial roof!

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I'm no fan of artificial turf, and really don't care for the way it changes the game defensively (with balls that roll for what seems to be miles in very quick fashion), but as a place to see a game it wasn't bad. Retractable roof beats the heck out of permanent dome though, especially considering the possibility of growing real grass and still being able to play in a some what climate controlled atmosphere when it is too rainy, or too cold, etc.

On the opposing side of your view though, if you've attended games at the ballpark in Arlington, or seen games in Houston, then you realize that there's a lot to be said for being able to walk into a nice air conditioned and cooled venue to sit and watch a game while the humidity is off the charts outside and the temperature is just plain scorching. Given the choice, I'd settle for the astroturf and the a/c over being forced to sit in the sauna like conditions that pervade Houston and the gulf coast region throughout most of the baseball season.

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