A common complaint about going to games and concerts at Northwest Stadium in Prince George’s County, Maryland, is about getting there.
Having a new stadium with a better transportation situation than Northwest is a low bar to clear, a transportation official told News4.
The most obvious question about getting to a new stadium is, can Metro handle it? Metro General Manager Randy Clarke is optimistic about the Stadium-Armory station, which serviced the old RFK Stadium.
“Now we have three lines going through there – it used to only be two – and we can run up to eight-car train sets, which we never had the ability to do before,” he said.
The Blue, Silver and Orange lines travel through Stadium-Armory.
Part of the plan for a new stadium will analyze what, if any, transit improvements will be needed. Clarke said there is an older study that looked at a potential new station at nearby Oklahoma Avenue, on the northern side of the stadium site. But he stressed it is very early to be talking about that.
“That could be part of the analysis as well,” he said. “We don’t know if a station is fully needed there or not. If it is, how much it would cost? How long it would take to build?”
Another potential transportation winner is D.C.’s streetcar system, which does stop at Oklahoma Avenue near the stadium and connects to Union Station. The streetcar is currently free to ride.
Mayor Muriel Bowser touted the transportation options already in place.
“It is served by Metro. It’s served by the highway. It’s served by an expansive bus system,” she said.
Bowser stressed new parking will be built, but it won’t be a sea of parking like what exists at RFK now. In total, 8,000 parking spaces are expected to be available.
Team owner Josh Harris noted trail connections along the Anacostia River.
“You can actually ride your bike from Nationals Park,” he said. “It’s a 15-minute bike ride.”
An important thing to point out is serious parking restrictions in the neighborhoods around this stadium likely would be put in place on game and event days, much like what happens around Nats Park on gamedays.
