Maryland Business

By: Liz Farmer

That at least seems to be the thinking behind some of the upgrades to the Nationals Park experience this year. The ballpark is only a year old and already they’re ripping out the furniture and hanging up new artwork like it’s an episode of TLC’s Trading Spaces.

For example, the Nats announced their Red Porch Restaurant in the Center Field Plaza has been completely remodeled with the addition of decorative fans and sliding glass and rollup doors (so fans can watch the game from their tables). In addition, all the furniture is being replaced. In this kind of economy, the team is spending who-knows-how-many thousands of dollars to replace year-old furniture? Many teams at least give furniture a few years for fans to rip it to shreds. I was at the Red Porch Restaurant toward the end of the season last year and didn’t see anything so poorly worn that it justified replacement versus a touch up.

The Nats are adding some perfectly justifiable elements this year such as four new concession stands (a health food cart, two barbecue stands and a sandwich stand), $7 value meals, picnic tables and new LED boards posting ballpark and game information.

New artwork will also be unveiled Wednesday — a statue honoring D.C. baseball greats Josh Gibson, Frank Howard and Walter Johnson and a hanging mobile modeled after baseballs.

So how much of this is really for the fans? I was perfectly happy with the Red Porch last year and, quite frankly, ceiling fans and new seats won’t compel me one way or the other in my decision to go to a game.

New food and more signs obviously have a direct impact on visitors, but what about the artwork? It has been my experience that those who care that much about art to stop and appreciate it before finding their seats in the grandstands are not the ones who buy tickets. Instead they are the ones who get dragged along as the “plus one.”

So who out there is psyched about the changes? Does it make a difference? Does new furniture mean the Nats won’t lose at least 90 games this season?