And remember that many of those photos are taken with somewhat wide-angle lens, in order to display as much of the visual field as possible, but at the expense of distorted sizes and distances. The stadium and the scoreboard are massive in person.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: I'm just now back from this morning's media event at the ballpark, and so should have some photos soon. But every outlet in the city was there, so I'll be depending on them for most of the actual *information* that came out of the event. Short takes: stadium is on time, and on budget. First baseball game will be an exhibition game on Saturday, March 29, versus the Orioles; it will be a special free event for season ticket holders, stadium workers, and hopefully local kids. And there's no word yet on whether they're going to get to open on the March 30 ESPN season opener. And season ticket invoices will be in the mail on Friday.

Photos to come, as well as links to all the news from Stan Kasten about season tickets, parking, seat relocations, etc. Keep checking back.

UPDATE I: Still working on photos, but here's the Post on the big headlines, along with Barry Svrluga's blog.

UPDATE II: Here's the main update: my photos from today's event are now posted. Very quick and dirty, and the weather was not the best so the images aren't as dramatic as some of my previous shots. Oh well. Soon I'll fold them in to my Stadium Interior Construction Gallery, where the photos are (gasp!) a week old. But time was of the essence today.

UPDATE III: For those interested in the nitty gritty of season ticket sales and relocations, Nats320 took far better notes than I would ever be capable of. And MLB.com now has its piece up on the day's events. And a new entry from Barry Svrluga with much more detail on today's event, which I'd link to even if he hadn't said such nice things about this site.

UPDATE IV: Worn out yet? Well, here's WUSA9 coverage (with a link to the HD video). Other local networks haven't yet put their video up. And while it doesn't have to do with today's event, I also want to link to this opinion piece in the WashTimes by a diehard Nats fan talking about the team, the stadium, and the impact on the city (including Near Southeast). Anyone who gives the proper shout-out to Mayor Baseball deserves a link!

UPDATE V: Boswell in the Post gushes, calling the ballpark "a thing of beauty": "To my surprise, despite such a ludicrous life-long wait and many clenched-jawed apprehensions, I loved the place." To see the views of the city he's so blown away by, check my Ballpark Overhead photos.

UPDATE, 11/14: Wrapping this up, here's the WashTimes and Examiner pieces. And, for a bit of balance, some harrumphing from City Paper's blog.