By GURPREET NANDRA

After 46 years, the Washington Nationals baseball team said goodbye to Robert F. Kennedy Stadium. The stadium originally hosted the Washington Senators baseball team. First named DC Stadium, it was later renamed Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in honor of the assassinated attorney general.

The Senators played their last game at RFK on Sept. 30, 1971. The Montreal Expos moved to Washington, D.C. in 2005, becoming the Nationals and bringing professional baseball back to the nation’s capital. The acquisition of the Expos was not without controversy; part of the deal to bring the team to the district included the building of a new stadium, costing approximately $611 million.

On Sept. 23, the Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 with three runs scored in the bottom of the 8th inning. Nearly 40,500 fans came to pay tribute not only to a team but to a stadium that has many memories for many Washingtonians. Dressed in fire-engine red, it was easy to see that the fans at the game understood this was a historic day for the Nationals and RFK. Fans were buying souvenirs, singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” and even carrying dirt from the field home with them. Festivities included introductions of former Senator players, a video tribute, fireworks and digging up of home plate in order to use it in the new park.

The new Nationals Park, located on the banks of the Anacostia River in Southeast D.C., will be completed by opening day in April 2008. According to the Nationals Park Web site, the new stadium will allow the fans to see the Capitol. There is also a countdown to the day that the stadium will open. It is expected to hold 41,000 people.