* "Capitol Riverfront neighborhood day at Nationals Park will be Wednesday, April 21st with ticket discounts available to residents, employees, and friends of the BID." The on-street supervisor of the BID's Clean and Safe Team will be singing the National Anthem. [I think, though, that Southwest is going to be part of this "neighborhood day" as well, even though it's not in the BID. This was mentioned at an ANC 6D meeting a few weeks ago.]

* There will be a "Fitness in the Front" event at Canal Park on May 1, with free classes offered by local instructors and information tables (and freebies!). See the link for the lineup and additional info.

* Residential update: "The residential population in the Front is estimated to have reached 3,030 as of the first quarter of 2010. Rental properties including the Onyx, Axiom, Jefferson and 909 are 95% leased. For sale units including Capitol Quarter, Capitol Hill Tower and Velocity are 71% sold. The residential population is predicted to reach 3,500 by the end of 2010."

* And Justin's opens on April 16, but you knew that already. :-)

Best not to speak of what happened on the field, or about the ratio of Phillies fans to Nats fans (at least the shared red-and-white team colors makes it a little less obvious), but despite all of that, it was a warm and sunny start to the Nationals' 2010 season, and I wandered and took some photos of the scene at and around the ballpark as the day got underway.

The big part of the pregame ceremonies, of course, was the throwing out of the first pitch by President Obama. I gave my camera's high-speed-shutter quite a workout to catch the action (though not the ball's trajectory to the plate--ahem), and so here's my Presidential First Pitch photo gallery as well.
And now we'll wait to hear how the arrivals and departures of 41,000 people went. Things didn't look too bad, with the stadium being mostly full at gametime, but there were no doubt problems with full parking lots, lengthy magnetometer lines, and the game letting out just as rush hour starts. Though I'm guessing that the stadium didn't exactly *stay* crowded, given the scoreline, allowing for a more evenly spaced departure crowd, rather than the entire throng being dumped onto Half Street at the end of a 3-2 thriller. But I'll update this entry with links to any media pieces on transportation nightmares.

It'll be an eventful day Monday as the Nats' 2010 season opens, both for folks skipping out on work to head to the ballpark and for neighborhood dwellers and workers who will have 41,000 guests popping in around late morning.

If you're going to the game, check my pages on parking options, taking Metro (including the JDLand Approved Walking Route from Capitol South), and general traffic restrictions. (Dr. Gridlock did a roundup today as well, if for some reason you might trust him more than me for this sort of info.)

If you're a resident/worker, remember that the west entrance of the Navy Yard station becomes one-way inbound after the game. (The New Jersey Avenue entrance remains two-way.)

As you've been warned repeatedly for the past few days, security will be heavy, so give yourself plenty of time to get into the stadium (gates open at 10 am for the 1:05 pm start). But that'll give you a chance to try out the new food options and see all the changes from last year, and there will also be all sorts of entertainment going on to help you pass the time.

The weather forecast looks good--certainly better than 2008, and warmer than last year. If you really want to stroll down memory lane, here's all my ballpark photo galleries, going back to the groundbreaking in May 2006.

I'll be roaming around with camera in hand (and perhaps also a serving of chicken and waffles), so feel free to say hello.

With the Nats just a few days away from starting play at their stadium, it was time for the annual Nationals Park media tour for the ink-stained newspaper wretches (plus their cohorts, the blow-dried TV folks and the Cheetos-munching bloggers), to highlight what's new at the ballpark and what fans should know in trying to arrive for the first two games of 2010.

Knowing that there will be a number of news stories tonight listing all the changes, I concentrated more on taking photos, which you can see in this gallery. The splashiest change is the complete renovation of the PNC Diamond Club, which has exchanged its former sports bar/take me out to the ballgame motif for a much sleeker feel. (The new bar is pictured above.) They've also tweaked the Red Porch and Red Loft, adding two more rows of tables and chairs on the field side of the Porch while removing the seating on the balcony of the Loft and adding in drink rails.

The Scoreboard Walk now has lounge furniture (so you can pretend you're in South Beach rather than Near Southeast), and the "Party Nights" with music, $5 pre-game beers, games, and other entertainment will now be at all Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night games, with the gates opening 2 1/2 hours before first pitch. (It'll all be running on Opening Day, too.)

There's also all sorts of new food offerings, starting with the new "Triple Play Grill" next to Hard Times Cafe in the Center Field Plaza, offering shrimp po boy and crab cake sandwiches, and a "Florida Foot Long SeaDog," which is actually a cod sandwich. They've also reworked the "Taste of the Majors" offerings, creating five foot-long hot dogs for the National League East teams. A new outlet called Change Up Chicken, in Section 130, will have a chicken and waffle sandwich, along with other chicken specialties and waffle fries. The Dupont Deli in Section 227 will have a triple-decker grilled cheese sandwich on Texas Toast, along with grilled Italian, and turkey sandwiches. There's also going to be three Flippin' Pizza outlets (sections 115, 214, and 311), and a Healthy Plate Cart in Section 110. And, if I may say so, if you're lucky enough to happen upon the red velvet cupcakes (at the Red Porch), don't pass them up.

As for Opening Day, the team is of course very excited that President Obama will be throwing out the first pitch, but they are reminding fans that a presidential visit plus a sellout crowd will make for long lines to get in, which is why the gates will be opened at 10 am for a 1:05 pm start. (But if you're one of the first 20,000 fans who try to beat the rush, you'll get a replica batting practice hat.) And there was talk of the new parking options for 2010 (no more Nats Express and the new economy lots). Read my earlier entry today for more on that. But, if you're a season ticket holder, at least you'll have your own red-carpet line to stand in at the Center Field Gate--for all games after Opening Day.

Having *still* never really gotten warm again after the damp cold Opening Day of 2008, I have my fingers crossed that the weather on Saturday and Monday will be about what it was like today (warmer, actually). It almost felt like spring out there!

Check back for links to additional media coverage.

UPDATE: Here's stories from Fox5 and WJLA. (Though points deducted from WJLA for saying that one of the economy parking lots is at 6th and M *SW*. Sigh.)

UPDATE II: NBC 4, a slew of Tweets from MASN's Kristen Hudak, and Nats320.

* Metro has just released its information on getting to and from the ballpark: "Expect standing room only to/from Nationals games."

* WTOP writes about the two new economy lots for stadium parking; you might want to check my Stadium Parking map for a graphic that's a little clearer, and that also shows non-official cash lots. One item in the piece that I'm checking on, though--it says that piers at the Yards Park and will allow private boats to be docked there starting in July. But everything I've seen up to now has said that the piers and marina are to be built in the park's third phase, which isn't expected to come online until after 2012. Am waiting for a response from Forest City for clarity.

UPDATE: Forest City confirms that the piers are not coming this summer, contrary to what the article reports; they are planned for later phases.

* WAMU had two short pieces on Near Southeast on Monday: "Ballpark Hits Old Reputation Out of Field," and "Population Near Nationals Park Doubles in One Year," which now seems to have disappeared from their web site.

* Be prepared for another slew of stadium-related news stories later today, with the annual ballpark media day on the agenda. And the weather's nice for once!