Nationals Park
Nationals Park is a baseball stadium along the Anacostia River in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Washington Nationals. Since its completion in 2008, it was the first LEED-certified green major professional sports stadium in the United States.
Designed by HOK Sport and Devrouax & Purnell Architects and Planners, the ballpark was initially expected to cost $670 million, with a later price tag of $693 million to build, financed almost entirely by D.C. This amount included $135 million in an upfront payment from taxpayer funds. The rest of the sum, about $535 million, was funded by municipal bonds, putting the city deeply into debt. An additional $84.2 million was spent on transportation, art, and infrastructure upgrades, bringing the total cost to $783.9 million. The stadium has a capacity of 41,373. The Washington Monument and the Capitol building are visible from the upper decks on the first base side of the field.
Nationals Park hosted the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the first All-Star Game to be played in Washington, D.C., since 1969. It hosted games 3, 4, and 5 of the World Series, the first in the federal district since.
Location and transportation
Nationals Park is located in the Southeast quadrant of Washington, D.C., on South Capitol Street at the Anacostia River waterfront. The ballpark is accessible from Interstate 395 via the Southwest Freeway, and from Interstate 295 via the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, which carries South Capitol Street across the Anacostia River. The Douglass Bridge was renovated so that South Capitol Street could continue at ground level past the stadium.The primary method of public transportation to the stadium is on the Washington Metro system. The stadium is one block from Navy Yard–Ballpark station on the Green Line. The station is located near the park's center field entrance and is heavily used by fans on game day. The station's southern entrance was expanded when the stadium was built, adding an escalator and elevator and moving the farecard mezzanine to street level.
Parking near the stadium is limited. There are 14 Nationals Park-sanctioned parking lots or garages, with a small number of third-party lots nearby. During the 2008 and 2009 seasons, the Nationals ran a free shuttle service from parking lots at RFK Stadium to Nationals Park on game days.
Several Metrobus routes serve the park. Various other transit options include a water taxi service from Alexandria, Virginia, and Georgetown.
Cyclists are encouraged to ride to the stadium and are offered free valet bicycle parking. Garage C, located next to the ticket windows at the corner of 1st and N Street, houses a free bike valet service where fans are invited to store their bikes during the game. There are also 110 red bike racks on the sidewalks around the ballpark.
History
Site selection and design
After it was announced that the Expos would leave Montreal, the government of Washington, D.C., began looking for a site for a baseball stadium to lure the team to Washington. After considering sites near RFK Stadium, in NoMA and straddling I-395 at Banneker Park, District officials announced on September 21, 2004, that they had chosen a site near the SE Anacostia waterfront.Construction
Financing for the stadium was expected to be provided by a banking syndicate led by Deutsche Bank. However, the finalization of the financing deal stalled due to complex negotiations among the city government, MLB as the owner of the team, and the bank. The bank requested a letter of credit or comparable financial guarantee against stadium rent to cover risks such as poor attendance or terrorism. The requested guarantee was $23 million, with the city requesting that MLB provide the guarantee. The financing situation was later solved, and construction began in May 2006.The site of Nationals Park was chosen by Mayor Anthony Williams as the most viable of four possibilities for a ballpark. The ballpark's design was released to the public at a press conference on March 14, 2006. Groundbreaking was in early 2006. With an ambitious construction schedule of fewer than two years to complete the stadium, a design-build approach was selected to allow the architects and builders to work in concert with one another. Ronnie Strompf, the project superintendent, coordinated the efforts of numerous subcontractors daily.
Opening
The 2008 Washington Nationals season was the team's first in Nationals Park. The George Washington University and the Nationals announced in February 2008 that the GW Colonials baseball team would play the first game in Nationals Park on March 22, 2008. GW played Saint Joseph's University in an afternoon game and the hometown Colonials had a 9-4 victory over Saint Joseph's.The Washington Nationals defeated the Baltimore Orioles, 3-0, in an exhibition game on March 29, 2008, in their first game in the ballpark.
The Nationals opened the 2008 MLB season in Nationals Park with a rare one-game series against the Atlanta Braves on March 30, which served as the first official MLB game at the park. True to tradition, President George W. Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch. The Nationals defeated the Braves, 3-2, with a walk-off home run from Ryan Zimmerman, giving the Nationals their first opening day win since moving to Washington. Chipper Jones of the Braves hit the first batted ball and first home run, while the Nationals' Cristian Guzman got the first base hit. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Zimmerman's game-winning home run was the third walk-off home run in major-league history to be hit in the first MLB game played at a stadium. The game was the most-watched MLB opening night in the history of ESPN.
In their first season at Nationals Park, the Nationals finished with a league-worst record of 59–102. At home, they drew 29,005 fans per game, placing their average attendance at 19th in MLB.
Seasons and changes
2009 season
Several ballpark improvement projects were completed by the Nationals during the off-season, including:- Expansion of the Red Porch restaurant in center field to include additional tables on both the concourse and field side. Glass windows on the concourse side were replaced with slidable garage doors, opening to a fenced outdoor patio. On the field side, the rear-most row of Center Field Lounge seats was removed, with an outdoor deck featuring tables and chairs installed in its place. New signage was added on the concourse side.
- Installation of three statues in the ballpark honoring Walter Johnson of the original Washington Senators, Frank Howard of the expansion Senators, and Josh Gibson of the Negro league Washington Homestead Grays, which played many of its games in Washington.
- A large Washington Nationals hat was added above the entrance to the team store near the center field plaza.
- New LED message boards were added over the roof of the Center Field Gate, providing information and instructions to fans entering the ballpark.
- New advertisement panels were attached to the face of the two garages in the center field, with green panels being replaced by white panels. Additional panels showing the team's 2009 promotions and the current lineup were added to the western garage, facing the plaza.
Before the Nationals 2009 home opener on April 13, 2009, at 3 pm, longtime Philadelphia Phillies announcer Harry Kalas was found unconscious in the Nationals Park press box at 12:20 pm. Kalas was rushed to George Washington University Hospital and pronounced dead at 1:20 pm. A moment of silence was held before the game, followed by both Nationals and Phillies fans applauding Kalas in tribute. The Phillies played with a picture of Kalas in their dugout.
On June 4, 2009, Randy Johnson became the 24th pitcher in MLB history to reach 300 wins when the San Francisco Giants beat the Nationals 5-1 at Nationals Park. The game was scheduled to be played the night before, but was delayed due to heavy rain in the DC-area. On July 4, 2009, Adam Dunn became the 123rd player to hit 300 career home runs. The home run came in the 7th inning in a 5–3 win versus the Atlanta Braves.