Soccer stadium opening sets up big All-Star week in D.C.

The Nationals have known for a while now they'd be getting new neighbors down the street from their ballpark. Now they know when those neighbors officially will move in: One day before the beginning of All-Star festivities on South Capitol Street.

D.C. United will play its first Major League Soccer game at the brand-new Audi Field on July 14 after spending the season's first 4 1/2 months traversing the country playing 12 road matches and two home matches at other venues in the Washington area while construction of its 20,000-seat stadium is completed.

That July 14 match against the Vancouver Whitecaps will kick off four straight days of major sporting events in the neighborhood, with Nationals Park set to host the All-Star Futures Game on July 15, the Home Run Derby on July 16 and the All-Star Game on July 17.

It'll be a significant test of the area's ability to hold big sporting events, with extra traffic, extra media, extra security and everything extra that comes with the territory. And though there won't be any official overlapping of baseball and soccer, that test will come later in the summer.

D.C. United has two home matches currently scheduled for the same day the Nationals play at home: Aug. 19 (Nats vs. Phillies at 1:35 p.m., United vs. New England at 6 p.m.) and Sept. 2 (Nats vs. Brewers at 1:35 p.m., United vs. Atlanta at 5:30 p.m.).

There's also potential for overlap in October if the Nationals make the postseason for the fifth time in seven years. United hosts matches at Audi Field on Oct. 7, 13, 17 and 21. We won't know the Nats' potential postseason schedule for some time, but based on past scheduling MLB's Division Series figure to be played between Oct. 4-11, with the League Championship Series played between Oct. 12-21 and the World Series played between Oct. 23-31.