The Nationals Friday will begin a month-long targeted ticketing campaign entitled "Take Back the Park," designed to encourage local fans to attend the club's May 4-6 home series against the Phillies. The Nationals, with the aid of ticketing partner Tickets.com and MLBAM, have launched a microsite at nationals.com/ourpark in which DC-area purchasers beginning Friday will have an advance presale window for tickets to the three games, roughly a month before single-game tickets go on sale to the general public. The effort is designed to create more of a home crowd for the games against the Phillies, which in prior years have been overrun by visiting fans from Philadelphia. During the '10 season opener, which was attended by President Obama and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, thousands of boisterous Phillies fans booed each Nationals player during team introductions. Some of those fans attended in group ticket blocks sold by the Nationals. "We've heard about it, we've seen it, and frankly, I'm sick of it. I'm tired of seeing Phillies fans in our park," said Nationals COO Andrew Feffer. "So we're doing something about it, and are giving our local fans every incentive to come out and see this team." Several local partners, including the Greater Washington Board of Trade, will be co-promoting the presale. The May 6 finale of the series will be nationally televised on ESPN, but Feffer said the ticketing campaign was in the works prior to ESPN finalizing its early-season broadcast schedule. Ticket purchasers in the campaign will have their billing and shipping addresses verified. Those addresses must match and be within the DC Metro area. Existing Nationals season-ticket holders will also have access to the "Take Back the Park" presale at discounted rates.
