Venue Detail
Washington Nationals
Revenues From Sports Venues Pro Facilities Report
January, 2010
Washington Nationals
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2400 E Capital St Washington, DC 20003 Phone: 202-675-6287 URL: washington.nationals.mlb.com Owner: Theodore N. Lerner and other investors League: Major League Baseball National League, Eastern
Venue
Nationals Park, 1500 S. Capital St SE, Washington, DC 20003Owner: DC Sports and Entertainment Commission Managed by: Team Built: 2008 Capacity: 41,222 Permanent concession stands: 19 Concessionaire: The Levy Restaurants Suite caterer: The Levy Restaurants Soft drink: Coca Cola Beer: MillerCoors
Ticket prices
Season tickets range from $810 to $4,050 Single tickets range from $7.00 to $105.00 2007 average attendance: 24,217 2008 average attendance: 29,005 2009 average attendance: 22,716
Luxury Suites
Quantity: 66 Term: 5 to 10 years Price: $150,000 to $400,000 Seats: 15 to 24
Club seats
Quantity: 2,500 Term: 3 to 7 years Price: $3,645 to $4,455
Financing
The deal for the $667 million ballpark includes $20 million from Major League Baseball and a letter of credit from the league that would cover revenue shortfalls for one year in the event of a terrorist attack or work stoppage. The city gave up a third of the parking revenues at the ballpark on non-game days. That will repay the league for its $20 million investment.
The plan also allows the team to play up to three regular games a year in another city. The move could only happen once in every five years.
The lease gives the Nationals control of all stadium advertising and the revenues from it. The team would also get naming rights earnings. Rent will average $5.5 million a year over the 30 years with 8,000 tickets being made available to charities each season. The city will get $1 for every ticket sold above 2.5 million for the season.
Glass panels make up the walls of the ballpark’s concourse, giving the ballpark a translucent quality and opening it to the surrounding neighborhoods. Heavy use of concrete, painted to look like limestone, is intended to repeat design aspects found in the convention center, federal monuments and the Verizon Center to the north.
A study done for Washington, D.C., officials shows a new ballpark would be worth $203 million in new revenue during the Nationals’ first season. That falls back to about $190 million by 2011 once the novelty of the new ballpark wears off, according to Economic Research Associates, which did the work.
Revenue will grow by 2.8 percent a year once beginning in 2011, putting the team behind the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball’s top tier.
The figures were higher than expected and were treated skeptically by league officials who felt ticket revenues were optimistic. The figures do not include television revenue.
The Nationals sold 2.69 million tickets and earned a profit of $10 million after taxes last season, according to team officials.
The report estimates that the Nationals will sell 3.17 million tickets in the first season at a new stadium, with interest tapering off the following two years and then stabilizing in 2011 at about 2.65 million tickets per year. The consultants said the average ticket would cost about $38.48 during the first season at the ballpark. (Facilities, Financial, MLBTeam, Professional Sports, Venue)