Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Another Capital Example

Sun photo by Kenneth K. Lam

Nationals' new ballpark is a D.C. showpiece
Link (Baltimore Sun)
"It's close to downtown and open to the sky, and features sweeping views of the city beyond. There's an asymmetrical field with enough nooks and crannies to keep the game interesting - plus a state-of-the-art scoreboard, luxury skyboxes and all the creature comforts fans could want.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards in 1992?

Yes, but also Nationals Park on the Anacostia riverfront in 2008.

Sixteen years after Baltimore broke the mold with its "newfangled, old-fashioned" ballpark, Washington has joined the list of cities that can boast they have a new, baseball-only stadium in a prime urban setting."

[...]

"The ballpark was designed to fit into the Pierre-Charles L'Enfant plan that has guided development in the district since 1791.

The site is bounded by South Capitol, N, First and Potomac streets Southeast. The designers took two geometrical shapes, a triangle and a circle, and combined them to create the basic plan for the park."

[...]

"Every seat is designed to be part of a distinct "neighborhood," so fans will be close to the action and have a variety of viewing experiences, both of the game and the city. Fans also can stay connected to the game if they leave their seats because the concourse offers open views of the playing field."

[...]

"Nationals Park is the first professional stadium in America designed as a "green" ballpark, and the architects plan to seek certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Eco- friendly features include a green roof, water-conserving plumbing fixtures, high-efficiency field lighting and an intricate ground and storm water filtration system designed to protect the river from peanut shells, among other debris. That's a promising new direction in ballpark design."
Related:
A Capital Example

Also:
Check out the Nationals Park OxBlue webcam.

While you're at it, check out the progress of Harrison Square on the OxBlue cam here in the Fort!

2 comments:

Green Collar Guy said...

So great to see a green ballpark. When mass amounts of people get together for an event it creates alot of waste and uses alot of energy and hopefully the stadium took that into consideration. There are a ton of green consultants at greencollareconomy.com

John B. Kalb said...

Check out the article in SI this week, "Point After", by S.L. Price a sports writer and resident of DC: Some quotes "Last week I walked through Anacostia High, a five-minute drive from Nationals Park, where the walls are peeling and garbage litters the halls. The nation's capital has 37% adult illiteracy and a high school graduation rate of 59%; only 9% of D.C. public school students go on to graduate from college within five years." Ed Lazere, director of the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute is quoted, "To invest $600 million there and say it's the best way to spark economic development seems ludicrous. I'm excited the city has a baseball team. But it makes me bitter that it's costing so much (money) that could've been used for more important things." And Lazere insisted that the District's 2005 decision to embark on a 10-year, $1 billion program to repair school infrastructure "only came about because of the guilt over the baseball stadium"
I only hope that Fort Wayne has the same feelings when our unnecessary new stadium is done!!!