Clark Construction won a $23 million contract to build the Washington Nationals’ new ballpark from the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission on Friday.
The contract requires approval from the D.C. council and should come to a vote sometime in mid-September, according to Claude Bailey, general counsel to the sports commission.
On the Georgetown campus, Clark was responsible for the construction of the Southwest Quad.
“Clark proved to be the most qualified,” Bailey said. “They have superior expertise in building in the Washington area, especially in cramped urban areas.”
The contract includes a $9.4 million fee to pay for management of the project and $13.9 million for other expenses. Clark, a Bethesda-based firm, will receive $700,000 with or without the council’s approval to pay for pre-construction planning.
Planning will take roughly six months, while construction will be a two-year operation at the stadium site along the Anacostia waterfront in southeast D.C., Bailey said.
Tentative plans for the ballpark include a seating capacity of 41,000, luxury suites, a restaurant and sports bar, family plaza and more. D.C.-based HOK Architects, the firm slated to design the ballpark, may release their plans as early as October, Bailey said.
Clark executives will then have to work with HOK to make sure the ballpark can be built within its $279 million budget.
Greg Colevas, a senior vice president for Clark, had confidence in the company’s ability to finish within the timetable. “It’s not just the company,” Colevas said. “It’s the individuals involved.”
He added that Clark-which partnered with Hunt Construction Group and Smoot Construction in its bid-has an extraordinary amount of experience in building ballparks.
Combined, Clark, Hunt and Smoot have built 11 of the 15 newest ballparks in the country, according to Colevas. Their work includes Oriole Park at Camden Yards and FedEx field, where the Redskins play.
The dense urban environment of the Anacostia waterfront presents another challenge to the ballpark’s construction. To date, the city has not acquired all of the land at the ballpark site. 14 acres are still privately held, but could soon be seized by the city under eminent domain laws, according to the Washington Post.
Before construction can begin, all of the existing structures on the site must be cleared of hazardous materials, such as asbestos and lead paint, and demolished, Colevas said. Many of the underground utilities will also be relocated.
