Parking strain only stadium problem

Over-capacity throng clogs lots; game experience eases pain

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

‘‘I did a flip on the slide!” said Tyler Plourde, a La Plata tyke with a mouthful of something sweet sitting in the grassy seating area behind the outfield about his exciting excursion to the playground area at the brand new park.

Mom Fawne Plourde seconded his emotion.

‘‘He’s more a soccer fan, not baseball,” she said of Tyler, a budding futbol player. ‘‘This is fun though. It’s something to do.”

She said the prices appeared reasonable for food and souvenirs in the stadium, something she said was a bit of a surprise.

The Plourdes arrived early to experience some of the pregame hoopla — sky divers, a rock concert, innumerable ceremonial pitches etc. — and so did not experience the traffic issues that made it tough going for some who arrived closer to game time around 7:30 p.m.

‘‘There were some problems,” allowed Charles County Sheriff Rex W. Coffey (D), taking in some of the hoopla himself on the concourse behind the third base dugout before the game. ‘‘I think this will be the worst day. They are going to be adding some additional parking. We’re pretty much crowding them in, though.”

Cars were packed along both sides of Piney Church Road leading up to the stadium for several hundred yards, and along Billingsley Road in both directions from the stadium access at Piney Church for a few hundred more.

With 7,180 officially in attendance in a stadium that putatively seats 4,500, it’s likely that the parking facilities won’t get tested that much again. And, with a few outlying parking lots not yet paved, the parking situation seems bound to improve.

Coffey said crowd control was not exactly an issue, though there were plenty of sheriff’s officers scattered around the stadium.

‘‘It’s a nice crowd of people,” Coffey said. ‘‘They’re mostly families, just out to have a good time.”

For most people, though, the stadium experience was first class.

Jim Ryan brought son, Justin, 9, a fourth-grader at Archbishop Neale School, to the game. Justin was too excited to sit still for an interview for long, saying only that he does indeed like baseball before losing the thread of his thoughts.

Jim was more reflective.

‘‘I love the stadium,” he said. ‘‘It looks like a crab house.” As for the food, Jim summed up his opinion in a word: ‘‘Yum!”

Jeff Freeland of Waldorf sat with his family and sampled what seemed like a little bit of everything while watching the opening ceremonies. He compared the food favorably to that of Nationals Stadium in Washington, D.C., where he also goes to see baseball games.

‘‘I like the sausage better,” Freeland said. ‘‘The funnel cake is better too. Not as greasy.”

From the point of view of stadium employees, everything was going better than expected.

Supervisor of Ushers Wayne Evans said the stadium operation was running smoothly before the game started.

‘‘So far, so good,” the Charles resident said. ‘‘We’re mostly concentrating on getting everyone in and settled down.”

On the effect of the stadium on the community, Evans said he believes it will be positive.

‘‘I remember when the Baysox were supposed to come [in the mid-1980s] and how disappointing that was when it didn’t work out, so this is really great,” he said.

‘‘I’m not sure if it will bring a lot of white-collar jobs, but I think it’s a positive.”

A walk along the concourse behind the lawn seats brought a mini-tour from Evans — ‘‘the bumper boat pond is going to great when it’s finished ... that’s the Red, Hot and Blue tent with all the good food” — and an unsolicited encomium to the ballpark’s management.

‘‘Now, this isn’t just sucking up. These people are great to work for,” he said ‘‘These guys are nothing but good.”

Kaye Willis, the director of premium account services for the Blue Crabs’ parent company, had come down from the Lancaster Barnstormers stomping grounds where she works to help with the grand opening of the new franchise’s home.

‘‘Our franchise owns 50 percent of the Camden Riverdogs, and the Lancaster Barnstormers and York Revolution and now the Blue Crabs,” Willis said. ‘‘I’m just here to try to help out and make sure everything’s running smoothly.”

Willis was on the door at the VIP Legends Club, a swanky bar and dining area for suite and skybox holders and other notables.

Willis was accosted with effusive, friendly greetings from Dan Sensinig and family, Lancaster, Pa., residents and, apparently, huge Barnstormer fans. He said the family came down to root for their home team, but also to participate in the opening of the new stadium and spread the gospel of the good times that are to be had at Atlantic League baseball games.

‘‘They really work to make sure everything is friendly and the stadium has a home feel to it,” Sensinig said. ‘‘It’s really outstanding.”

St. Mary’s County Commissioner Francis Jack Russell (D) said he was having a great time, and said he is sure the stadium and new team will be a big hit throughout Southern Maryland.

‘‘It’s a great day for baseball in Southern Maryland!” he exclaimed. ‘‘Of course when we played, it was a lot rougher, with stones and clay and strawberries, if you know what I mean,” referring to the characteristic scrape marks players get sliding on those stones and clay. ‘‘Still, this is good and close for folks in St. Mary’s and Calvert.”