They came not to cheer, but to vote.

This Election Day, many Washington area residents got to enter their favorite local sports venues for the first time during the coronavirus pandemic.

Capital One Arena, Nationals Park, FedEx Field and the Entertainment and Sports Arena (ESA) were all repurposed into “super vote centers” to accommodate large crowds while maintaining social distancing.

Marc Lippman of Southeast D.C. used Election Day as an opportunity to go inside Nationals Park. It was his first time inside since last season, though he did spend Opening Day outside the gates with “about a dozen other craze-o’s,” as he put it.

“I love Nationals Stadium. I love the Nationals,” he said after casting his ballot. “Also being here and finding parking outside here is good.”

Fellow voter Charlene Morgan agreed that voting at Nationals Park was convenient. “It was quick and fast and there’s no crowd,” she said.

While Nats Park had fast-moving lines and voting there was smooth for most, it was also the busiest voting center in the District, according to site coordinator James Howlett. He said that on Monday more than 6,000 people voted at the baseball stadium.

Some professional athletes were surprised by the sight of their stomping grounds transformed into a voting center.

“I haven’t been in the locker room since we played against Miami [on March 8] and it’s funny because I was hurt that game, so I didn’t even get the chance to play,” said Washington Wizards point guard Ish Smith. He was with a half dozen Wizards and Mystics players and staff who came to Capital One Arena in the middle of the day to encourage people to vote. He took a couple minutes while he was there to sit in the locker room.

Smith takes pride that the arena is now a voting center. He says that this is, at least partially, a result of him and other local athletes speaking up over the summer about political and racial justice issues. Members of the Wizards and Mystics participated in D.C. protests against police violence this summer.

“It’s funny because, you know, sports and politics, usually people know try to stay on one side. And now it is intertwined,” Smith says.

Mystics forward and D.C. native Tianna Hawkins also showed up to get people to go in and vote. “It’s bigger than basketball for me,” Hawkins said Tuesday. “It’s bigger than basketball for my league.”

Hawkins said Election Day had her in high spirits: She was back at Capital One Arena, where she’d played before the Mystics moved to the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Southeast last year. She’d also just received a notification from D.C.’s Board of Elections telling her that her mail-in ballot had been counted.

“I’m happy,” she said. “My mind is at ease.”