Washington Nationals for the Destitute

May 9, 2013 5:25 PM

How early does one need to be at Nationals Park to grab one of the $5 grandstand tickets for a Saturday afternoon game? They start selling them 2 1/2 hours in advance, how early do I really need to be there? First time back in DC in a couple years...they're playoff contenders now. I have been watching SeatGeek for amazing deals for other seats...but I've got graduate student money.
posted by Hollywood Upstairs Medical College to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (4 answers total)

Best answer: If you hang around the park right before game time you should be able to pick up cheap seats on the street for $10. Also, check Craigslist, I've never failed to get $50 seats for $20 that way.
posted by COD at 6:40 PM on May 9, 2013

Best answer: There's a special this weekend for $5-10 grandstand tickets, plus if you pick up today's paper there's coupons for 2-1 hotdogs and $5 crappy beer in the sports section of the Post. Here
posted by foodmapper at 7:46 PM on May 9, 2013

Best answer: I'll agree with the above. If you arrive at least an hour before game time you should be able to snag a $5 ticket, generally. You'll want to get in the line for the main ticketbooths (at the Centerfield entrance of the stadium). They're playing the Cubs this weekend, so it's not going to have the same demand as a Phillies or Mets homestand.


There are also student discounts available if you don't get a $5 ticket.

"Fans age 18 and under or with a valid student ID can save 25% off any ticket priced $25 or less."
posted by Flamingo at 6:49 AM on May 10, 2013

Response by poster: Results: track work and traffic foiled plans to get there early, appeared about 30 minutes ahead of first pitch on Saturday and all Grandstand seats were sold out. Whoops! Got a $25 seat in Section 416. Luckily even the cheap seats at Nationals Park have good sightlines.

Will probably just snag a ticket in advance next time, since at that rate on StubHub we could've sat far closer!
posted by Hollywood Upstairs Medical College at 6:15 PM on May 12, 2013