It's official! The
city has declared May 4-6 to be Natitude Weekend, and the Nats have even festooned the Center Field Gate with a
new Natitude Park sign. All of this to work at Taking Back the Park from the hordes of Phillies fans that will,
despite best efforts, be once again descending on the neighborhood. (Though perhaps they should remember the spankings their team got the last time the teams played, during the final few games of the 2011 season.)
So, residents should be aware that there will be a whole lot more people in the area than for any game since the home opener. The schedule:
* Tonight (Friday, May 4), 7:05 pm.
* Saturday, 1:05 pm.
* Sunday, 8:05 pm. (A rare Sunday night game time, since ESPN has chosen the game for Sunday Night Baseball.)
And, as if getting to and from the neighborhood won't be congested enough, Metro has decided to
go forward with a weekend of heavy track work,
despite pleas from riders groups concerned about not only the Nats/Phillies game but also the Caps/Flyers game at the Verizon Center at 12:30 pm Saturday. For the Green Line, Greenbelt, College Park, Prince George’s Plaza and West Hyattsville stations will be closed, and buses will replace trains between Greenbelt and Fort Totten, but there's
work on all the other lines as well.
If you're coming to the neighborhood for the first time, my
Visiting Nats Park page will help you with information on parking, transportation, food options, and things to do outside the park.