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WASHINGTON - Nationals Pitcher John Lannan takes the mound Friday as the home team opens a three-game series against the Phillies, but The Bullpen will be full, hopefully.

The Bullpen is the first establishment to open down in the Nats' new neighborhood.

Bullpen staffers were putting the finishing touches on 14,000-square foot tent, where fans can enjoy a drink and some food while watching the game on big-screen TVs.

"This has been a dead sprint for about thirty days since we got approval from the neighborhood to get it up and running," said Bo Blair, The Bullpen's owner. "It's been an incredible task."

The Bullpen is located at N and Half streets, directly across from Nationals Park.  The city was expecting business to be booming when the team relocated from RFK Stadium, but a year later the businesses have yet to arrive.

"It's sort of a vacuum because there are so few restaurants," said Lenny Goldberg, who works in the neighborhood.

The Bullpen is only a temporary structure, set up out of necessity.

"Because of the whole credit crunch, Akrage, which is our landlord, wasn't able to build their building yet," Blair said. "We hope to have the bar for two seasons while they figure it out."

In spite of that credit crunch, city officials say baseball fanfare will help move things in the right direction.

"We're in the second inning of the economic development of this entire neighborhood and that's what we're really building here," said Sean Madigan, communications director for the deputy mayor for economic development. "It's not just bars and restaurants, we're building an entire neighborhood."

The city's department of economic development is investing $60 million into waterfront parks and services this year.

As for the future of The Bullpen, owners are confident the popularity of summer baseball will help them through their first season.

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