So you think you want to go to Opening Night in Washington, DC's Nationals Park? The Grand Opening of the new stadium, live on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball, March 30, 2008, and you're afraid that the Nationals organization isn't going to release Single Game tickets until the last possible moment, so that they can sell as many Season Ticket plans as possible? Well...
Here's what it will cost you as of 1/11/08, if you want to get into the new Nationals Park to watch the Nationals open the MLB season against the Atlanta Braves...
...Ticket City.com(over there<<<<) hasn't updated the matchup to the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals at 8:05 pm on 3/30 yet, (still listing it as a visit by the New York Mets), but the ticket prices make it apparent we're talking about the same game. While every other game's tickets on the page start at $45 to $85 bucks and go as high as $1,000, the Opening Night tickets start at $181.00 for a seat in the 400 section of the outfield and peak, so far, at $1,625.00 for up to 4 seats in Row B of Section 119, which would place you just to the left of home plate in the second row off the field.
If you want to sit anywhere in the Field Level seats(100 Sections) you're basically talking anywhere from $312.00 to sit in Section 104 Row E, which places you in straight left, to as high as $940.00 to sit in Section 132 Row F which is in short right on the first base side. From $975.00 dollars a ticket and up to $1,625.00 to sit in the first few rows of the Sections along the third base/Visitor's Dugout side...
...And it doesn't get any better at Stubhub.com...
Upper Right Field Terrace, Section 228, and it is UP THERE, but should give you a beautiful view of the Capitol Dome and the Washington Monument beyond the outfield, will cost you $150.00 dollars a ticket, and in fact, there isn't a listing that doesn't include the word "Upper" until you get to $177.00 a ticket to sit in the Lower Right Field Terrace...
For $273.00 dollars you can sit above the right field bullpen. Section 140, in what is being called the Outfield Box, four Sections in straight right, will cost you $399 dollars to sit in the Second Row of the Section. Infield Box, Section 117, Row BB, behind the Vistor's Dugout has eight availabe seats for just $505.00 a ticket. $717.00 to sit in Row U of 117...
...and the top-priced tickets on Stubhub.com...
$1,389.00 a pop for tickets in the Diamond Club, Section 119 which is behind home plate and faces directly down the first base line, seats which include, "Free food, drink, padded seats (and) access to all club amenities." For just one-thousand-three-hundred-and-eighty-nine dollars? A bargain, right?
...Thankfully, it's only my brother Scout, Braves fan and Source for All Things Baseball, and I trying to procure seating for the Opening Night extravaganza, because if there were families involved I would have to pay somewhere around $600.00 for four people to sit in seats in the outfield so far away from home plate you might be able to see Baltimore.
Is it worth it to pay this much when you can watch Opening Night from Nationals Park in HD live on ESPN from the comfort of your own living room. For my brother and I to travel from the New York area to DC, get a hotel room for the night ($180.00) two tickets for the Upper Deck of the outfield($300.00), gas ($60-75 in my Subaru), food and requisite Nationals player name and number t-shirt ($100), and we're somewhere around $700.00 for a one-day trip to the DC's Nationals Park. Subtract the gas and hotel for a local DC fan, and it's still a $400.00 night at Nationals Park...
I ask, once again, am I going to get priced out of Opening Night? I'll be sure to mention here at federalbaseball when Single Game tickets go on sal...well, actually maybe I won't, it's every fan for himself for Opening Night in DC...
*Sorry, no ticket links, you're on your own...*