Stephen Smith, CBS News
Not a single inning has been played at Nationals Park, but Keith Stubbs has already witnessed the stadium’s energy. Stubbs, who runs a local baseball program for inner-city youths, recently took some of his kids on a tour of the freshly manicured diamond.
“They’re lighting up when you take them down on the field,” he says. “They can start to visualize and imagine what it would be like to play there.”
This Sunday, Nationals Park will host the first primetime game of the 2008 season. The newly minted $611 million stadium marks not only a rebirth for the local team, but a potential sea change in the nation’s capital. Built along the Anacostia River in southeast Washington, the ballpark is poised to revitalize a long-neglected area of the city and help renew African American interest in baseball.
