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PNC Diamond Club at Nationals Park (Washington Nationals)

Florian Buechting Sports Reviews No Comments

PNC Club at Nationals Park (Washington Nationals)

PNC Club at Nationals Park (Washington Nationals)
4.7

Rating

 4.7/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Great service
  • Nice range of food options
  • Lovely seating
  • Good value for money

I just cannot state that I am a huge baseball fan. As I watched a few matches of the New York Mets during earlier US Open tennis trips, I do have a decent MLB history. However, when I followed the Pittsburgh Penguins on their three match East Coast trip in April 2024, there was a too tempting opportunity. Just the day after their match at Prudential Center at the New Jersey Devils and before their away game at Capital One Arena in Washington, Pittsburgh’s very own Pirates played one of their first season matches at the Washington Nationals. Ain’t baseball also about having too much food and drinks? I decided to do it in style – and went for a PNC Diamond Club ticket with all-inclusive food and beverages at the Nationals Park. Here are my thoughts about the visit.

 

Nationals Park – Location & Traffic

Nationals Park is located South of Central Washington. Audi Field, home of the soccer teams D.C. United and Washington Spirit, is located nearby. The ballpark is a short ride with the Washington Metro away from the city center attractions. In some ten to fifteen minutes, you reach the Navy Yard-Ball Park station. From there, it is just a short walk to the Northern and main entrance to Nationals Park. There are also other gates and a dedicated VIP gate, but I would rather recommend to use public transport. Together with the purchase of the ticket, I was offered a VIP parking ticket for 49 USD.

 

Nationals Park – Arena & Ticket Situation

Nationals Park is an open roof ballpark with a capacity of 41,339 people currently. Center field size is 402 feet or 123 meters. Apart from rather posh seating options close to the home plate, you also have a wide range of very affordable outer field position seats. Even they felt to be reasonably comfortable, even though the Seventh Inning Stretch, a baseball tradition, might be more necessary there. I was quite amazed that in the match, the majority of Pirates fans sat right behind their team’s bench – which leads to some sort of “away fans block”. This is an experience I do not have (but sometimes miss) in NHL ice hockey, for example.

Getting tickets for a Nationals match differs significantly on factors like the opponent or the weather. While the first match between the Washington MLB team and the Pittsburgh one was sold out (season opener 2024, better weather), the attendance of the match I visited at slightly rainy weather was comparably low with an official number of just 14,022 people. You should overall get tickets rather easy, especially compared to other major US sports, though.

 

Nationals Park – PNC Diamond Club

Visiting this Washington Nationals home game was the first time I enjoyed VIP / hospitality seating in an US-American sports event. The more, I was really looking forward to it. While the Terra Club seats are very close to the pitch, PNC Club seats are right above. The lounge is really nice. The inside seating is rather bistro style and all around are food and beverage options. At one side, there is a major bar. You are assigned to a table. If you go to your seat, though, the indoor place is vacated again. Due to the low attendance, the whole atmosphere was absolutely relaxed. The staff was very kind and lovely.

Right outside the lounge area, there are tables with chairs on a terrace, which are a lovely option to enjoy the game and still have short distance to the buffets. The seats are cozy and wide, without being overwhelmingly posh. I loved the view from my seat, which was more or less right behind the home plate.

 

Food & Drinks

The PNC Diamonds Club includes food and beverages. Drinks are limited to soft drinks, beer and house wines. Other drinks are available at an additional charge. I really loved the food options in the hospitality area. They had typical stadium food like hot dogs, pizza or nachos. However, there were also some really nice other options like delicious salmon, chicken, lovely vegetables like asparagus and many more. There were also salads and a wide variety of desserts, including an ice cream fridge, which you can simply grab. Especially if you go to your seat, you can have a bag of crisps, nuts or Cracker Jacks. There was also limited drink and snack service at your seat.

The hot food buffets are closed after the fifth inning.

 

Nationals Park – Atmosphere

As said, the atmosphere in the stadium was limited due to the low attendance. Nonetheless, due to some interesting plays and the group of away fans seated together, there was some cheering (without being pushed to do so) in Nationals Park. I am sure it is much better in a more crowded stadium or a rather deciding game towards the end of the season.

 

Nationals Park – Food & Shopping (outside Club)

If you are not going for a VIP / club seat, the food options at Nationals Park are really widespread. More or less, the whole concourse has food and drink options. There is also a much wider range of items, including more healthy options, especially compared to the ice hockey matches I visited before in the States.

At the main entrance, there is a major fan store. I was surprised that the Nationals’ merchandise is rather limited in regards of the kitschy and weird items. Nationals Park also features some additional merchandise booths with a limited range of items on offer.

 

Washington Nationals PNC Diamond Club at Nationals Park – My View

I initially struggled with the ticket price and whether I should invest it. However, I have to say that the PNC Diamond Club was an amazing experience. Overall, the service is absolutely affordable and adds a lot of value, on top of the great seats which come with the package anyway. The food and staff was lovely and I felt absolutely filled and happy after the game. I would definitely opt for another try if I happen to run into a baseball match again on an USA trip. If you want to have a relaxed baseball game in Washington, I definitely recommend this options.

 

 

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