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The Washington Nationals are introducing a new tier of premium seating at Nationals Park on Opening Day this season, according to a letter obtained by Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s D.C. Sports Bog.
The new field-level section, which the Nats expect to be ready for Opening Day, was first mentioned on Reddit.
According to the letter Steinberg obtained, sent by the Nationals to fans that have season tickets located behind the newly constructed section, the new section will displace the tarp, moving it from the right-field line to the left -field line next to the visitors dugout.
The letter reads as follows, yet again per Steinberg.
“As we embark on the 2017 campaign, we would like to inform you about an effort to upgrade our Park and maintain our status as one of the premier venues in Major League Baseball,” the letter begins. “On Opening Day, a new field level club will launch, situated beyond the dugout on the first baseline. This club will be sunken below field level in the approximate location where the tarp was stored during prior seasons. Our Season Plan Holders are extremely important to us, which is why we have taken great care to ensure that the new club will not impact the sightlines from existing seats. The tarp will be relocated to the third base side.”
A potential motive for the construction of the new section (other than the obvious financial boost seats that close to the field will create) would be that the Nats can add another place for fans looking to go all-out for the 2018 All Star Game to sit.
One fan on R/Nationals speculated that the seating will be sponsored by MGM National Harbor (which would make sense, given that MGM has been affiliated with the Nats in previous promotions), but nothing is confirmed.
As of now, the seats are under construction. There are no official photos, but looking through the Nationals Park location on Instagram can show you what you need to see:
As you can see, the work is being done next to the Nats’ home dugout on the first base line. Now, for the real question: just how absurdly priced will these tickets be?