NATIONALS STADIUM

Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, informally known as RFK Stadium is the new home of the Montreal Expos now known as the Washington Nationals. It's been more then 33 years since a baseball played in Washington. Opening in 1962, RFK Stadium was used only several years as a baseball facility. Originally, the Washington Senators played at Griffith Stadium, but after the 1960 season, they moved to Minneapolis, and became the Minnesota Twins. However, MLB granted Washington, D.C. another team, once again called the Senators. The team played one year at Griffith Stadium before moving into a new multipurpose stadium that was constructed near the Anacostia River. The stadium was named D.C. (District of Columbia) Stadium for its opening on April 9, 1962. D.C. Stadium became one of the first cookie cutter stadiums. The three tier grandstand circled the entire playing field. There were no seats in the lower deck in the outfield. The bullpens were behind the outfield wall in left and left center field. A huge scoreboard was part of the right field wall. D.C. Stadium was renamed RFK (Robert F. Kennedy) Stadium in 1968. Baseball lasted only nine years at RFK Stadium, coming to a close on September 30, 1971. The Washington Senators moved to Arlington after the 1971 season, and became the Texas Rangers. The Washington Redskins (NFL), the other main tenant of the stadium continued to play their until 1996, when they moved into FedEx Field. RFK Stadium is most remembered for being home to the Redskins. However, the 56,000-seat stadium has also proven ideal for concerts and other major events. RFK Stadium played host to the 1962 and 1969 Major League Baseball All-Star game. The stadium has seven entrances and parking for over 10,000 cars and 300 buses. At the start of every season in the RFK stadium, U.S. presidents traditionally opened it by throwing out the first ball in this stadium. After a 33 year hiatus, Major League Baseball will return to RFK Stadium in April 2005. For nearly a decade Washington, D.C. has came close to getting a MLB team in the city. Throughout the past 10 years the Montreal Expos have struggled in keeping fans coming to Olympic Stadium and have had numerous problems. Since 2001, MLB has been studying the idea of relocating the Expos and finally made a decision to move the team to DC in September 2004. The Expos will be moved to the city and RFK Stadium in time for the 2005 MLB season. In November 2004, the Expos were renamed the Washington Nationals. As part of the effort to bring the team to the city, RFK Stadium will undergo roughly $14 million in renovations to improve the stadium. Renovations include new dugouts, improvements to the clubhouses, scoreboard, press box, and making the seats in the lower deck retractable as the D.C. United (MLS) continue to play at the stadium. Current plans call for the team to play at RFK Stadium for approximately three seasons, before moving into a new 41,000 seat ballpark to be built along the Anacostia River about a dozen blocks south of the Capitol. The new stadium would be at a total cost of $440 million. The Washington Nationals will play their first game at RFK Stadium on April 15, 2005 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.