Washington Nationals set the wrong kind of record

The Washington Nationals will wrap up their first season at their new ballpark in just a few days. I doubt many in Washington, DC will even notice that the season is coming to a close. This is not a surprise, given that the Redskins are winning and the Nationals are in last place in the NL East. Everyone who followed the team knew it was a rebuilding year, but I didn't expect the Nationals to drop off the radar completely halfway through the season. The Washington City Paper reports that the National's new ballpark will have the worst attendance for its first season since the Metrodome opened in 1982.

The owners overestimated the draw of the new ballpark. Yes, it has worked in the past. They saw what happened with Camden Yards' wildly successful opening and hoped to duplicate it here. At the time, the Orioles were the only game in town, literally. There were many factors which led to record poor attendance at Nationals Park: the lack of restaurants and bars within walking distance of the stadium, high ticket and concession prices, and no marqee stars on the team, all contributed to the Nationals being nonexistent in the DC sports scene.