At a remarkable pace, builders say, a 41,000-seat stadium is taking shape in Southeast.
The 2,600, 14-inch concrete piles have been driven deep into the ground. Steel trusses are being lifted into place “like an erector set” by a dozen giant cranes. Precast concrete bleachers along the first base line are in place.
“Put very simply, we’re on schedule, on budget,” said Allen Lew, chief executive officer of the D.C. Sports Entertainment Commission, the public agency charged with stadium construction.
The Washington Nationals’ South Capitol Street ballpark will be ready by Opening Day 2008, Lew said, as required under an agreement signed by the District and Major League Baseball. Five months after the May groundbreaking, he said, the facility is “literally rising out of the ground.”
For the most part, the 21-acre stadium remains a massive muddy hole, but hundreds of people are working 12 hours a day to keep the project moving forward. More than 9,000 tons of steel will be raised in the next several months, no matter the weather, said Alan Petrasek, project executive with Clark/Hunt/Smoot.
“We’re jumping through hoops to make sure we hit every one of our dates,” Petrasek said.
The stadium’s exterior and foundation should be finished by June 30, project manager Matt Haas said. The cranes will then be removed and the field excavation, drainage system installation and interior work will get underway.
Before the tour, reporters were briefed on the construction status while standing on the north end of the stadium site — where the parking garages are slated to be built. At the moment, the site is a vacant dirt lot.
The parking issue remains unresolved. The District is aiming for a mixed-use development, complete with condominiums, retail and underground parking — though the development would certainly push the overall project above the $611 million cap. The Nationals’ owners are pushing for two standalone above ground garages, which are easier and less expensive to build.
Whatever the final decision, garage construction must start soon, Lew said. “We need to start that yesterday,” he said.
