Holy sweet & sour Jesus and baby Jesus! When I signed my lease on the place I’m living in now, in NW DC, nobody told me that “Ice Storms” really existed. Hell, I didn’t even like Ang Lee’s ‘Ice Storm’, in the theaters. Why would I think that this was cool? Thankfully, while most people in DC are thinking “baseball = Roger Clemens on trial”, the things that are keeping me warm this winter are thoughts of cool summer days and nights, watching Nationals baseball at that BEEEEEUUUUUtiful new stadium, in it’s last phases of construction. Now, you may be asking yourself, how does this tie-in to the whole “District Creatives” theme of this website/blog/thing/movement? Well, on a number of levels it does. Let me try to explain.
-Anyone who’s ever been to a baseball game anywhere but RFK Stadium, and then has had to suffer thru sitting in the direct sun of a day game at RFK, knows that the design, layout and overall setting of the park has a lot to do with the enjoyment of a game. (This is why, I won’t go to Fenway anymore to watch my Sox play, but will drop most of what I’m doing to go to Camden when the Sox come to Baltimore.) That being said, regardless of how the team does this year, thanks to the amazingly creative design team at HOK / Devrouax-Purnell, the designers have laid out a great experience for any fan of any baseball experience level to enjoy. Being at the park last week, you can see all the attention to detail and the time they’re taking to get every aspect of the stadium right. It really is a pretty impressive way to re-do, and re-invigorate that part of town.
-The stadium is giving back to the community before it’s even opened the gates. The place is giving jobs back to the community, and providing hundreds of District residents opportunities for financial growth, on the job training, and a chance to be a part of history. It should be a model for the future, as evident by the website here, and will be known, moving forward as the cornerstone of the development of people’s lives and the environment that they, and we all, live in.
So, in a nutshell, it does tie in with the theme of this website, and excels upon it. It’s a true showcase of the talent that is here in DC, and will continue to grow past it’s completion.
So on this chilly, crummy, downright terrible weather day we’re having, warm yourself with the fact that baseball is right around the corner, and this weekend pitchers & catchers report, and pretty soon, it’s going to be opening day in that great new ballpark, built by and for the community. -kk
