|
|
 |
 |
Nationals Park
The Washington Nationals (which was also the name of the original Washington Senators prior to 1956) is the third franchise to play in Washington D.C. Before arriving in Washington they were the Montreal Expos, the first team to be located outside the United States. From their very inception the Expos struggled both for fans and financially with Major League Baseball taking over ownership of the team in 2002.
On September 29, 2004 it was announced that the Expos would move to Washington D.C. and play home games in RFK Stadium until a new stadium was built. Getting a new stadium built was not without controversy. On more than one occasion Major League Baseball stated it would move the team again if plans and funding for a new stadium were not approved by the city council. Building a new ballpark was paramount in relocating and keeping the team in Washington D.C. On March 5, 2006 Major League Baseball signed a lease with a $611 million cap for a new stadium that the city council finally approved on March 7. With the 41,000 seat stadium project affirmed, in July 2006 Major League Baseball announced that Theodore N. Lerner, a wealthy local business man who grew up in Washington D.C. along with his son and two sons-in-laws had purchased the team for $450 million dollars.
The first regular season game played at Nationals Park was a rare one- game series broadcast on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball “ on March 30 2007, with the Nationals winning 3-2 against the Atlanta Braves on a walk-off –home-run by Ryan Zimmerman. It was the first home opener victory for the Nationals since moving to Washington D.C.
To visit this gallery, click here. |
|
Back to "History of the Galleries" Index
|
|
|