After backpack ban, lockers to be placed outside Nats Park

Back in early February the Washington Nationals announced that, starting this season, fans will no longer be able to bring backpacks into the ballpark. They cited “security” for the ban. As I wrote at the time, there is a lot of reason to be dubious about that claim, but for whatever reason, you cannot bring your backpacks into Nats Park this year.

In totally unrelated news:

Binbox, a D.C.-based start-up, will make 500 medium- and large-sized storage lockers available at the right field and home plate gates outside Nationals Park this season . . . Medium lockers (10-by-15-by-22 inches) will be available for $2 per hour, charged in six-minute increments. Large lockers (15-by-15-by-22) will be available for $3 an hour. Binbox’s rental fees will be capped at $10 and $15, respectively, each game.

The Nationals will, reportedly, not make money off the locker rentals, so this would appear not to be a direct gouge, but I am going to assume that Binbox is not being allowed to place their lockers on the park’s premises for nothing, so there has to be some sort of benefit here, be it a flat fee or something else.

If not, I’m going into the locker business and I’m setting up shop at Nats park and I’m charging $1.95 and $2.95 hour with flat fees of $9 and $14, respectively. Bet I can still do OK as long as someone stakes me up front for the lockers.

Anyway, enjoy the ballgame. It’s gonna cost you more now than it did before.

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