The Washington Redskins opened training camp in Richmond, Virginia yesterday and as a lifelong Redskins fan and season ticket holder it felt only natural to go. I’ve always heard that isn’t that exciting, but it’s opening day, it’s in Richmond and they are my team so I went. I heard that we set the all time record for attendance on opening day so there was a lot of support.
So what’s it like? Well, you’ll see some stretching then they will break up into groups by position and do drills. Then later in practice they will start running some plays where you will get to see the defense trying to intercept a pass, but no tackling (yet).
Here are some things I witnessed that might help you.
- There is ONLY ONE ENTRANCE and it’s on the DMV drive almost to Leigh St. Yes you can park at Movieland for $5, but you will still be walking all the way down Leigh St. Your other options if you don’t want to park in the pay lots are to look for parking on Broad or any of the side streets going towards the fan. I noticed tons of spots when I rode my bike around checking everything out. That leads me to my next point.
- Bike. If you have a bike and you are close enough I would ride it. There is a bike rack on Leigh St. or you could of course lock it to a pole, tree, etc. Easy in, easy out.
- Trolley. There is a trolley that leaves from Main St in the fan and makes stops down Main/Robinson before heading to camp and dropping you off right at the entrance. It’s free, but if you miss it or it’s full then you might want to have a backup plan because there is only one this year.
- If you can score a VIP ticket you will have access to a private area with tents to take shade under, as well as some light snacks and drinks. You will also not have to fight through all the people to have a good view of the field although when they were actually running plays it was at the compete opposite end of the field so the view was actually much better for those non VIP people at the other end. When you come in you will see the tents on your right. Check-in is on your left where you will get a lanyard with your name and tent number. With this you can go right up to the endzone or on the other side of the field across from where the main gallery of people are.
- There are separate porta potties in the back corner of the VIP area as well.
- Those tickets that you might have seen via email are NOT required. You can literally just walk right in. If you have a bag they will check it, but otherwise you can just walk up and go find somewhere to hang out.
Here are a few picture to show the view from the VIP area.
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Also Richmond.com has compiled a nice list of things around training camp. Check it out here.
Finally, if you are looking for a place to grab a drink on a patio after since you can’t drink at training camp there are five places within easy walking distance. En Su Boca, Buz n Neds, City Diner, The Savory Grain and Hardywood Park Brewery. Just open your browser to www.findapatio.com and let the app do the rest.
Go Skins!
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