That is not the stadium photo, it a rendition. I can't remember the term, Vapotectchure. Anyway, those drawing never include cars or parking lots- a game is about to start, but apparently only 10 people drove there. So, still no thoughts, except, I liked RFK the one time I was there. Location was cool. Admittedly it was 20 years ago. How does the new stadium look? When will it be ready? Where is it?
Google Maps says it's a little southwest of Nationals Park. Other nearby places are Fort McNair, National Defense University, and Titanic Memorial.
Audi Field opens on July 14. Address is 32-60 R St SW, Washington, DC 20024 Another rendering: Location relative to the River and the Nationals ballpark: Recent construction photos:
Looks like two stops that are close. One is a little less than a mile away, the other is on the other side of Nationals Park and is a bit farther
Unfortunately the DC United website is malfunctioning, so I can’t get tickets from them directly for the first game.
This is a question you should asking on the DC United boards. It’s more appropriate there, and you’ll get a better answer than the MLS-at-large posters here can give you.
=================== The one end looks pretty steep. Has kind of an English look of stadium jammed in to an older existing part of a city. I wil get to LAFC early this year and catch DC later this summer, with a possible side trip to ATL to complete my MLS Stadium collection.
It looks fantastic IYAM, and being so close to Nationals Park should be a good thing in the long run. That said, why so small? Can it be expanded if there is strong ticket demand?
Here: I'll give you my opinion: As we said before, Buzzaed Point is an excellent location that will be unmatched by any other SSS in the country for central location and activity in the vicinity. Perhaps Portland could compete. There isn't much in walking distance of the LA Coliseum/LAFC, Houston is on the wrong side of a highway, Stade Saputo is cut off by a river, the Fire, Red Bulls and the Union are decades from seeing any development in their respective forgotten satellite cities. Others are in car-dependent areas with no transit. Other fan bases will look at Buzzard Point fondly regardless of our criticism of the building itself. They'll also be blown away by the atmosphere from the steep stands and tight footprint. Here is another post I made in response to someone criticizing the location because it wasn't downtown, merely in a close-in neighborhood that is emerging as an activity center: Don't poo-poo the Buzzard Point location. It is a unicorn with all the characteristics that we all said we wanted. That's an excellent location by any objective standard. It is incredibly hard to get a centrally located stadium in the old cities of the Northeast corridor. Look at where the stadiums in Philadelphia, New York, and Boston are located! Look at where Chicago and Los Angeles are located! ... Buzzard Point is in the District, with Metro access, centrally located, and close to Virginia so all the Virginia fans can stop whining that it's not convenient to whatever far-flung sprawlville they reside in. It was never going to be in Chinatown because the land simply isn't there. Buzzard Point is more central than any other MLS stadium in our region of the country. Of the others that are similarly central as Buzzard Point, they are in the south where the land is cheaper, they share a stadium with an NFL/CFL (Montreal shares a site but not the exact stadium) team, or they play in a stadium that's so old that it was originally built at a time when it was at the fringes of its city. These excerpts are from this thread: https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/screw-you-lucy-buzzard-point-stadium-news-thread.2014757/page-309 Other hardcore DC United fans are positive about the stadium but point out criticisms of the Front Office's implementation of the new stadium. Most non-hardcore fans are excited to have a new facility that is not crumbling, doesn't repel women with its crustiness, and is centrally located by the Metro and amenities.
1) The footprint is tiny. It took a lot of work to get 20,000 seats into about two acres. Don't follow up criticizing the land. It's what was available in a central Metro-accessible location. We are thrilled to have it because outside the beltway screams minor league. Land use politics in the northeast corridor are very, very tough. Our region also doesn't have acres of abandoned industrial land like our neighbors in the satellite cities of Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York. 2) Anything is expandable for a price. Look at Portland. Our fanbase has been eroded over the years by playing at the millstone that was RFK Stadium. Our ownership will focus on filling Buzzard Point consistently before it starts looking at spending the money on another tier. 3) Always remember that Atlanta did not have the growing pains that the original MLS teams have had. Atlanta got to borrow the best ideas from all those that came before, as well as not have to constantly prove itself to all the haters and doubters. Please have some humility and appreciate the hand that your forebears have had in your success. If you still draw 60,000 after a couple of bad seasons and after the new-toy shine starts to fade, then you'll have something. Look at NYCFC. They drew 40,000 their first season, and now draw 22,000, despite being a good team on the field, all because because they're no longer the latest new thing in town.
Having just moved away from DC for a second time, i get the idea of wanting to be shed of RFK. The way those 1980 era tvs (okay, maybe 90s) were balanced on rusting racks was terrifying when you were below one. And while the bouncing stand was cool I am not sure that was designed to bounce. But the new place has traded blue and orange (and silver, never forget silver) for Green. And RFK had parking. I never drove, being carless and living near the green line, but is the new place a step up for actually getting to the game?
I don't think English stadiums would be allowed to have stands that steep. Health and safety and all that.
It's a ten minute walk from the Navy Yard station on the Green Line. There are many private parking garages on the other side of South Capitol Street. The team hasn't reserved any of them but they're available. We are adults and people will figure it out.
I won't quibble with your point about Buzzard Point being an "excellent location" and accessible by transit. I've taken the Metro from Silver Spring to see the Nationals play, so I suspect I have an idea of your personal commute to the games. I'm not sure, however, that Buzzard's Point is "unmatched" in MLS for centrality of location and activity in the vicinity. Seattle and Toronto both have fairly centralized stadia which are walkable (I know because I've walked them) from their prime tourist destinations (Pike Place Market and CN Tower, respectively). And I don't recall having to traverse a highway when walking to Houston's stadium from my downtown hotel. Even San Jose's stadium is walkable from its downtown core, and I know fans who make the walk rather than pay parking. I have often ridden my bike to games from my home in one of downtown's surrounding neighborhoods, and I can do it in less time and more easily than you can take the subway to Buzzard's Point.