WASHINGTON -- Fans attending the baseball game between George Washington and St. Joseph's were seated right behind the dugout. It's a bargain they won't be able to get again anytime soon.

About 5,000 fans braved cold temperatures Saturday to take in the first baseball game at Nationals Park. While watching the game, they also made sure to poke around and see the different amenities available at the stadium.

Concession stands did a brisk business. While the full menu was not available, the menus were posted for the season: $4.50 for a Nats Dog, $5.50 for a quarter-pound hot dog and $6.75 for a half-smoke from Ben's Chili Bowl.

Soft drinks are $4.50, bottled water is $4, and beer is $6.50 from a bottle and $7.50 on tap. Fans order cafeteria-style and then pay as they are leaving the food area. The food at Georgetown Grill got rave reviews.

The only other food station open was a Mexican Cantina. GW fans Brad and Rebecca Dyer munched on some nachos while waiting for the game to start, with Rebecca calling them "divine."

Colonials fans Noah and Kitty Weiss, who had been to games at RFK, said the new park represented a huge jump forward.

"It's just a whole lot better," Noah said. "It seems like it's going to be easy to see from every seat."

A touch of the old home remained, though, as RFK staple DC Washington sang the national anthem.

During the game, promotions were run between innings, including a dance contest, grocery- pricing game, and the Presidents' Race, which ended with George Washington winning, of course.

Other fans were enamored with the videoboard. The giant screen projects in high-definition, resembling ones recently installed at the District's other modern sports venue, the Verizon Center.

Underneath the scoreboard is a plaza area for fans. It was not open Saturday, but workers were stocking the Build-a-Bear store with customizable dolls, including Screech the mascot.

Next to the store is an area for fans to play video games. Stations have been built for Gran Turismo 5 (auto racing), Sing Star and MLB '08. The games are run on PlayStation 3.

At the entry plaza, the cherry blossom trees haven't shown any signs of blooming yet, though most of the trees in the city won't begin to bloom until next week. Fans attending with tickets from GW were given commemorative hats to mark the occasion.

They also a got strong start from the home team, with the Colonials jumping out to a 7-0 lead in the fourth inning. While most of the fans left before the final pitch was thrown, they did their part for the stadium testers -- leaving behind plenty of hot dog wrappers.