FREE RIDE

Nationals, D.C. At Odds Over Parking Plan

Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post
Photo of construction work at the new Nationals stadium last month by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post

THE EFFORT TO BUILD a new stadium for the Washington Nationals has been a lot of things — fractious, confusing, convoluted — but it certainly hasn't been boring. The latest battle: Where fans will park. And communication between the team and the city government doesn't appear to be in the best of shape.

» SHOT: The Nats announce Tuesday that stadium-goers will be able to park for free at RFK Stadium, the Nats' old home, once the new ballpark opens in April. They'll hop a shuttle bus from there to the new facility, which sits near the Navy Yard Metro station and South Capitol Street.

» CHASER: D.C. officials, who control RFK, say they haven't signed off on the plan, The Post's David Nakamura reports:

"Right now, we haven't finalized any arrangement for satellite parking," said Greg O'Dell, chief executive of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission, which operates RFK and is overseeing construction of the new ballpark. "We're certainly in discussions and want to come to an arrangement that makes sense to both parties."
Both the Nats owners and the city have a hefty stake in making sure fans can get to the ballpark, Nakamura reports: The family of Bethesda developer Theodore Lerner paid $450 million for the team and the city is spending $611 million to build the stadium.

Not that sniping over the stadium project is anything new. There was a fight over stadium paperwork last year, a battle between Metro and developers over land on Half Street SE and, of course, the continuing parking debate.

Come to think of it, the infighting's more exciting than a baseball game. And you can watch it without paying exorbitant ticket prices.

» "D.C. Officials Say Nats' Plan on RFK Parking Not a Done Deal" [WaPo]

EARLIER:
» "Half St. Battle Could Snarl Progress Near Ballpark" [Free Ride/Express]
» "At New Ballpark, $400 a Game for Some Seats" [Free Ride/Express]
» "Down and Out Near South Capitol Street" [Free Ride/Express]
» "Around Town: Marion Barry to the Rescue?" [Free Ride/Express]
» "MLB Slams D.C. Officials" [Free Ride/Express]

ALSO IN FREE RIDE
COMMENTS (0)
  • Be the first to comment here now!
POST A COMMENT
All comments on Express' blogs will be screened for appropriateness, spam and topic relevance, so there is likely to be a delay before your comment is displayed. Thanks for your patience.
Remember personal info?
(you may use HTML tags for style)