I got there very early and walked the concourse checking out the food options. I need recommendations.
Had a chat w/a United official today who told me that they're planning on filling in the open panels in the roof this off-season. Said they didn't have time to finish it by the opener. Also says that they have "some plans beyond that" for the roof - all good news, for sure. #DCU— Pablo Iglesias Maurer (@MLSist) August 19, 2018
Ok my first time at the new home. My overall opinion, meh!!! I'm not that impressed. It is Philly with steep stairs. The food choices are poor at best. Too much Jose/Food Network not enough basics. As I have said in the past I don't go to soccer matches looking for four star restaurant food. Hot dogs (which are poor hot dogs). pretzels, soda. I don't need pulled pork with cole slaw on top of it. My sight-lines from my seat are not that much better than they were at RFK. It is not a bad place but I am not all that impressed.
I've had the Cuban sandwiches -- very good. Word is the Arepa Zone also is good, might try that next time I eat at the stadium.
Wouldn’t surprise me if you had this written out before you left and hit send when you got back home.
Lmao, goodbye bro. The sight-lines remark is absolute bullshit. I've pretty much sat in every section at RFK over the past 20 years and it just doesn't compare to Audi Field. Seriously, go look at the seating angles comparison for both stadiums. As for food, the arepas are absurdly good and you need to expand your palette. Comparing Audi Field to Philly is damn ignorant. Better sight-lines, food, atmosphere and surrounding area than Chester Field. Straight up, sell your ********ing season tickets dude and let someone else enjoy them. You want some stupid hotdogs go to a Nats game (no offense to Nats fans).
I said the sight lines were not better. I never said they were bad sight lines. Though I do have safety railing blocking my view of the corner so technically.................. No I have a simple palette. I do not need to expand mine they need to understand they are a soccer venue not a four star restaurant selling food network food. Surrounding area is better than Chester, I will concede that fact. However inside the stadium not much different except the angle of the seats, also fact. I have sold most of my tickets already and will not be buying tickets for next year. I will attend 3-5 games next season. So to all enjoy your poorly planned white elephant. It may grow on me over time but being an old curmudgeon I doubt it.
I think we're in transition from cans to cups, certain vendors were insisting that drinks be in a cup...then you'd see people strolling along with their cans. In other cheap-drinker news. I did not realize we could BYOB in that field out front which was nice since I just grabbed a table and the couple of beers I brought from home. (At least I think it's sanctioned since a bunch of other people had their own.) The more I go to Audi the more I like it. I do first half up in my seat in 104 way up top then stroll around for field-lebvel views for the second half. SITRUC I kept my eyes open for you but no luck...rest assured when I see you I will get you that beer!
I hope a large DC UNited crest is part of that work...still seems really odd not to see something out front.
I think it's incredible that they aren't even going to finish signage for this season. They should at least finish wayfinding and put up permanent signs above the gates and other entrances. EagleBank Field isn't a bad place though.
Sounds like user error to me. Unless you had one of the best views at RFK, I'd wager your sightlines of 98% of the field is better than it was there. But, it's a free country. You're free to be ornery about the new stadium if you like. My thought is that stadium itself is middle of the pack in terms of recent SSS, but the actual views from the seats are universally better than any soccer stadium I've ever been to.
Oh I can see through the railing but I am ornery after all. I am six feet higher that I was at RFK. I don't hate my view from Audi, I am simply saying it is no better than RFK. I have the view I want based upon my choice of seats. You guys must have all had the worst view in the history of soccer at RFK.
But let me add my positives. I like the team stores size and choices. The store flows very well. Also I am very pleased with the stadium entry security at Audi vs RFK. RFK was a cluster _uck of wand waving and wanting to see my wallet. Audi was smooth and simple.
The white elephant was packed and sold out last night on a work night. Anecdotally, Also lots of people using the unusable Metro on the way home. I've been hearing a lot about attending a game not just from people that have been interested in DCU previously, but also soccer haters and MLS haters. Had a few friends turn up last night on their own accord that I didn't even realize were attending. Maybe it's just because of Rooney, or the team is good, or a temporary affect from the new stadium, but whatever they're doing seems to be working right now.
Audi Field was great, really not sure why anyone would bitch about it tbh. It's not perfect, but I enjoyed the heck out of my experience there last night.
Was it me, or was the crowd really loud last night? And it's not just the SG's, who were great last night (we enjoyed the Iceland-like coordinated clapping), but the whole stadium. Even the folks in the club seats were energetic yesterday. If thid keeps up, the stadium is going to be an intimidating place to play. And this is the first time I've heard someone complain that the stadium food is too fancy. Just, wow. Man, some of the best hot dogs I've had in a long while were at Nats Stadium. There's a great gourmet hot dog stand right by the main gate. But it's probably too fancy for people with a child-like palette.
My problem with the food is that is is ridiculously expensive. Even just getting fries may bankrupt you I think I've had fries once, I don't remember if there was anything else involved. I'm not big into eating at games, but my wife likes to grab a thing now and then and she's appalled at the prices. I have heard great things about the arepas but I think last night my buddy said they were $17. They're way too small to be basically $20. They did seem heavy for their diminutive size. She wants something that comes in one of those bright white boxes, mostly for the box So I guess we'll be getting overpriced pizza at some point. Games on the same days as Nats games are the cluster******** everyone expected them to be - traffic control had my parking lot blocked off completely and we got lucky to find a place along the curb at the end of NJ to sit and wait for them to let people thru. Then about 100+ dirt bikes drove right past them, the cops, into the lot and back out the other side down First. A few other cars blew past her warnings so finally we did as well and pulled into the lot. It was a mess. But then we proceeded to sit and drink and have some fun with some friends who wondered by, so after the chaos of the Nats traffic control it finally worked out. We ran into that group of idiots on their dirtbikes/4-wheelers twice - once turning from S.Cap onto M - they lasted 2 light-cycles, then again while sitting at the foot of NJ. One fat dude put too much strain on the brakes on his tiny cycle and came pretty close to slamming onto the car, which would have been funny and tragic all at once. Took longer to get from I-395 to the parking lot than it did to get from Leesburg to there. I expected to move slowly because of Nats pedestrians, but they were fine, it was the bike-show and the cops/traffic people that gummed everything up
The worst part about my experience, by far, was the moron behind me who insisted Acosta is our worst player, Rooney was washed up, that defense should constantly, and only, PRESSURE!, and that soccer really, really isn't that hard, babe. I can't imagine being the poor "babe" headed home with that genius.