I've been meaning to mention this after hearing about it last week, but it wasn't until I saw
this article in Tuesday's Post that I actually believed it--on
Tuesday evening (May 6), there
is a high school baseball game being held at
Nationals Park, between
my alma mater Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School and arch-rival Whitman (at least they were arch-rivals back in MY day). Go Barons! Admittance is free, with gates opening at 5 pm for a 6 pm game.
The Post article explains that the teams are using the stadium for free, but they must each sell a minimum of 250 tickets to future Nationals games. This isn't necessarily sitting well with the organizers of the May 31 DC High School Baseball Classic, an all-day event "capped by an all-star game and a matchup of the District's top public school team and one from a top D.C. private school," at a cost of $36,129. (The B-CC game is expecting 200-300 fans, while the DC Classic is expected to have 5,000 people in attendance.)
Sayeth the Post: "The two games offer a look at how the Nationals are opening the $611 million, publicly financed facility for community use. The D.C. Classic will be one of the 18 days annually that the team, per its lease agreement with the city, operates the stadium for D.C. Sports and Entertainment. Tonight's game between B-CC and Whitman is not one of those days, but is the first of a pilot program the team is developing with an aim similar to the D.C. Classic -- generating interest in baseball among the area's youth."