Now we have 4 horrible pro teams in DC!

Official: MLB to Move Expos to Washington

WASHINGTON - Major League Baseball will announce Wednesday that Washington will be the new home of the Montreal Expos (news), bringing the national pastime back to the nation's capital for the first time in 33 years, The Associated Press has learned.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm.../20040929/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bbn_expos_washington

ergh. So where are they putting the stadium?

Go Caps!

 

Downtown on the Anacostia.

Oh, and that's five horrible pro teams if you count the Mystics.

 

I don't understand why they put the team inside the District. DC's population is only about 500,000, whereas Fairfax county alone has over 1 million people. Arlington county also has a ton of people. Why not put the team closer to the real population base? Personally, I will be much less inclined to go to games inside DC versus in Northern Virginia. In fact, I don't see myself going to games at all.

 

It would have been nice to have the stadium over near dulles, but the traffic would have been ugly until they ran the metro out there.

They put it in downtown because DC had a more attractive plan for stadium funding and due to pressure from legislators.

 

Brim, I agree with you completely -- WDC won out primarily due to pressure and politics.

If the stadium would have been near Dulles then of course extending the metro would have become a high priority.

This decision is so typical of this area!

 

I was listening to Mark Warner talk about this on WTOP yesterday. He basically explained that DC was willing to "throw in" a bunch of stuff (i.e. paying the expense for restaurants, to reconstruct RFK, etc) to get the team to DC. Virginia essentially didn't offer up as many freebies, so that's why DC was chosen...or that's at least one person's opinion.

 

"4 Horrible Sports Teams"
????

Dare you say that the Redskins are horrible???

...

Billy...get a rope...we's got us a lynching to do!!!

 

Putting the team in DC makes much more sense. DC only has a bit more than 500,000 in population, but the majority of the people going to the games will be MD and VA residents. Many of those will be people that work downtown and can go to the game right after work. DC is a central location in the region vs the Loudoun County site which is convenient to Fairfax and Loudoun and really not many other locales. Personally I would love to have the ballpark closer to where we live so it's easier to get to games, but I only go to one or two games a year and have to commute along the Toll Rd. every day of the week and would have to deal with the extra traffic on game nights. It's bad enough now as the backup around the airport and 28 continues to grow each month. I can just imagine what it would be like with people exiting there for a baseball game. Think of the problems along 66 for the Nissan Pavillion times three.

 

How about a nice 15,000 seat stadium/sports complex at the 28/267 site? Flame on.... Could be the AAA farm team for the Expos and be used for other regional youth teams tournaments, etc. Just a thought.

 

Nyah, I work at the CIT, we don't need the extra traffic around there.

 

Yeah, well, nyah. Extra traffic you'll never remember years from now as opposed to the family outing at the ol' ballfield, rubbing shoulders with the baseball hall of famers of tomorrow. Don't be so quick with the myopic self-centeredness. Life is short. "...a sky so blue it hurts your eyes just to look at it." If you have kids, they'll never forget it, no matter how long they live.

 

True ... however, traveling in to DC via the Metro may not be as good as heading in to the Bronx via the Pennsy and the 6th Ave line, but it's close [}]

Neil Z.
Resident since 1999