
This weekend was the Washington Nationals' first home game in their brand spanking new $611 million stadium. Lauded as the "taxpayer-built palace," it sports freshly manicured Kentucky Bluegrass field and local favorite fares, such as Ben's Chili Bowl half-smokes (accordingly priced $2 higher than U Street) and Five Guy's burgers. Apparently, views of the Capitol are spectacular. One view, however, did not sparkle this weekend. Decked out in his baseball gear, our President was present to wave at the crowd and throw out the opening pitch. He was greeted with a hearty round of boos - and some cheers - and I imagine went home and stomped on his "W" hat. Perhaps it was disapproval for the war, but I like to think that the boos were attributed to the fact that he has done everything in his power to sink our voting rights bill. Thankfully, it didn't put much of a damper on the evening, and the Nationals were victorious.

Faced with the dilemma of having to attract a team back to the city, officials decided to renovate the stadium in 2001 rather than building a new one. This is one example of why I fell in love with Portland. All over downtown there are examples of how the city decided to invest in its old building stock, even in cases were it was clear that starting over from scratch might have yielded something much bigger, and (maybe) better. Although the inside of PGE Park is completely modern, the stadium still retains its old charm. And, for $8-15 a game and a quick walk from downtown, I'm ready!
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For related reading please refer to the Friday, September 01, 2006 installment of The Stuff Of Legends blog... I had a great time at PGE Park. Can you say: "Awesome Beer Garden?"
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