That's one thing I frequently do, grab a drink or what-not at Barracks Row and then walk to the stadium. If I have the time this includes a stop or two along the way for a drink. It's also feasible to do this from the Wharf, as both walks aren't bad (1+ miles from the Wharf to 1.5+ miles from Barracks Row I'd guess). One could take the cheap ($1) circulator bus much of the way and get off at the stadium metro station if they wanted. It's fun, and there are plenty of people doing it. Obviously it's not for everyone, but I like walking and enjoy the neighborhoods. As things develop, there will be more stuff between the stadium and these locations in addition to near the stadium itself.
I thought the Circulator bus had been cancelled - at least for the stretch between the Waterfront Metro and Audi.
See and that is the difference between us. To you this is as much a social outing as it is a soccer game. For me having been in this game for over 40 years it is strictly a soccer match. I am not saying I am right and you are wrong. Nor are you right and I am wrong. We both have different expectations. Many here have made fun of me not knowing of any of the businesses between the Metro and AF. I just don't care. I am all about 2 hours of football, nothing else.
That's me in a nutshell. Even at RFK I typically came alone, shunned tailgating in favor of watching warmups, and bolted out of the stadium at the final whistle so I could get home fast. At Audi I go for the game, not for the social scene and not for the food or the beer (primarily because I hate waiting in line). I travel to the match with a condo neighbor, a veteran SE, who also avoids the social scene. He and I both were born in the late Jurassic age, so it's about all we can do to stumble to our seats in time for kickoff. Extra curricular activities are not part of our experience - only the soccer is important.
IIRC - They're announcement in the spring said they were not doing the special detour down to Audi Field because of all the construction and change in traffic patterns. The bus used to come down Half St SW, but thats blocked off now at Potomac SW.
I renewed my tickets for 2 years with barely a pause. I go to games via Metro and I don't find Audi that much harder to get to than RFK. The metro transfer at L'Enfant adds a little bit but it isn't that bad.
I've avoided that for the past 2 years, not because of the transfer on the way there ... but what's it like on the way back out to VA (I assume you're on the Orange or Silver lines)?
Correct. The bus runs along it's normal route without making a special game-day detour due to construction. Basically it gets you to the Navy Yard/Stadium metro. It runs between L'Enfant Plaza and Eastern Market by way of M Street and as noted above, going through Barracks Row on one end and the Wharf on the other. I think it's supposed to have a frequency of 10 minutes or so, but I use either the "Transit" or "DC Metro Transit" apps to see when it's going to show up since traffic and other issues can mess up the timing. The bus had been free for awhile, but the $1 fare is being collected - they take cash or SmartTrip cards. And as a non-transit note, I don't think how long you've been in the game matters much regarding liking to do things before/after the game. Been in the game over 40 years myself. I do focus on the game when in the stadium, but like the social aspects before/after as well.
Just to circle back on the parking issue. All of the surface parking lots around Audi Field and Nationals Park are only being used as parking temporarily until they get developed. Surface parking in the area is going to get rarer and rarer as the Navy Yard/Southwest Waterfront/Buzzards Point area continues to get built out. People are going to need to adjust accordingly. The era of tailgating at American sporting events is on its last legs, and is really only possible in stadiums that sit in a sea of parking, like FedEx Field. The idea of building a stadium like that in an urban area where land is expensive doesn't really fly anymore. I mean, if the DC United fanbase wanted to prioritize tailgating, the stadium would've been build next to Segra Field in Loudoun. But, there's a reason why every new MLS stadium is being built as close to the urban core as possible, with teams like Chicago ditching their suburban stadia and moving back into the city.
Last time Chicago was playing at that stadium downtown, it allowed us to tailgate on the top levels of the stadium parking garages
n urban stadia (esp. in UK) the counterpart to tailgating is packing into local pubs. I don't know what the zoning requirements are around Audi but I would like to see more of these in the near vicinity. Sure, it's crazy to rely solely on soccer fans during a short season but the area is building up and it's not outlandish to hope for some publicans with a long view into the future to take the plunge.
That’s one of the nice things about the LAFC stadium. It is smack in the middle of a city with Light Rail access but also in a Museum/Park/Coliseum area with parking. They also get to use the green area out front for supporters tailgate. It would be if DC were able to build a stadium in the RFK/Armory space. James
It works reasonably well. I feel like we usually get pretty lucky and have never had to wait more than 10 minutes @ L'Enfant for an Orange/Silver (both work for me). The only time it has been a problem were nights (rain or playoffs) where the trains stopped running and we had to Uber back to VA.
If it were just the wife and I, I think we’d have bailed, but the kids find this to be like an institution. When our 3 yo sees her United jersey, she starts singing Vamos United and knows about half the words now. And same thing with her Caps jersey I’m pretty sure C-A-P-S was the first thing she spelled. I could imagine our son saying F it about the Caps, but he’s a die hard soccer fan. We got a Wizards tix for our soccer associations night out when our little dude gets to sit on the bench for warm ups. Will be interesting to see how interested he is afterwards since he plays hoops with his school friends some times. I could see him wanting Wizards over the Caps, but that’s NEVER happening. Maybe a 5pk.
I only has season tickets once, in 2014, but I have been going to most games or at least to a good number of them since 1999 (I only got to the US in the summer of 1998 and I was not in the DC area at first). I went to less games only one year, sometime in the early 2000s if I recall well. Then AF opened, I was excited, also it would take me a shorter time to get to it than to go to RFK. But soon I realized something was different, all the bs that went on for months with the ultras groups, the way DCU had decided to treat its most loyal fans, the huge number of home games compressed in a relatively short period of time. And then, in the off season, the announcement of Flo, another stab in the back to loyal fans. This year has also been very particular at a personal level, I went through divorce and that took me to reprioritize everything in my life, especially under an emotional point of view. DCU is not the only thing I almost let go, as I am not renewing the subscription to an Italian magazine I have been a subscriber for over 20 years. But staying specifically with DCU games, this year I have only been to the two LA games, the Betis and Marseille frendlies, the USOC game vs Philly, the game vs SJ, and will now be going to the game vs Cinci, and hopefully to one or more playoff game. And I have been to 3 aways, Philly, because it had been a bunch of years since I was there the last time, and Colorado and Minneapolis, bot places / stadia where I had never been before. I did watch almost every other game on ESPN+ as for some reason I was incredibly not blacked out, but I almost stopped going to AF. I could have gone to more games but - even if it was a meaningless friendly - the game we played against OM was the last drop, I really felt betrayed and disrespected as a fan, and I never respect anybody who does not the same with me. And that - after the DU querelle of the previous season and Flo, was already the third time in a little more than a year that I felt like that. Too much, also for me.
Back on topic—I've not had full-season tickets ever, but have had FlexPlans. In '96, I got the 9-game (each away team in the league) for the family-of-four, then two adult/two youth Flex until the kids aged out. Organized groups with my kid's youth teams through the early 'aughts, and then pared back to just me (and occasional groups) until they eliminated the FlexPlan. My ticket-rep survived the nights of the long knives, and is still aces, and I still enjoy the sweet frustration of following this team, despite the ham-handedness of the FO, but I find I'm getting to the new stadium less and less. Part is that I'm a dinosaur and do not have a smarty-pants phone , and part is the pricing structure that makes it so bloody expensive just to get in. (No running to the home leg of a playoff game against the New York/New Jersey MetroStars and paying for a ticket at the gate). And I really miss the atmosphere of Lot 8, but I never expected the like at a downtown stadium. (Though I'd love to see a bar named Lot Eight open up in the area.) So I'm not really tied into the whole Full Season thing, just the people I've come to know and love. United's my team, and I'll see them live when I can. Just not so often.
There are plenty of bars and restaurants around Audi Field, and there will be more as the Buzzard Point area continues to develop. Salt Line seems to have become a popular choice with the fans, especially when the weather is nice.
That's because most team are chasing Pyrite, fools gold. The millennials who take Uber or Lyft or public transport to games. But as I have said 1000 times around here they are not loyal fans who come back year after year. Next year they are going to concerts, plays, bars or others forms of entertainment. They will abandon the club and they will be without STH money because they chased off all us old timers with there millennial driven decisions.
But those bars and restaurants you mention are between the Navy Yard/Ballpark Metro stop and Audi Field, understandably. I am hoping for the day when there are a few between the Waterfront stop and Audi.