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.[10]
Address
14 sanctioned parking lots or garages
41,373[1]
45,966 (October 12, 2012 vs. Cardinals)
Left Field - 337 feet (103 m)
Left-Center - 377 feet (115 m)
Center Field - 402 feet (123 m)
Right-Center - 370 feet (113 m)
Right Field - 335 feet (102 m) 
[2]
Kentucky Bluegrass
May 4, 2006
March 22, 2008 (college, George Washington Colonials)[8]
March 29, 2008 (exhibition game)
March 30, 2008 (regular season)[9]
M-E Engineers
JVP Engineers
SIM-G Technologies[7]
Designed by HOK Sport and Devrouax & Purnell Architects and Planners,[11] the ballpark cost $693 million[3] to build. An additional $84.2 million was spent on transportation, art, and infrastructure upgrades, bringing the total cost to $783.9 million.[12] The stadium has a capacity of 41,373.[1] 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 2019 World Series, the first in the city since 1933.[13]
Location and transportation[edit]
Nationals Park is located in the Southeast quadrant of Washington, D.C., on South Capitol Street (a main artery separating Southeast from Southwest Washington) 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 (it was previously 15 feet (4.6 m) above ground level).
The primary method of transportation to the stadium is on the Washington Metro system. The stadium is one block from Navy Yard–Ballpark station on the Green Line.[14] 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 (dubbed the "Nats Express") from parking lots at RFK Stadium to Nationals Park on game days.[15]
Several Metrobus routes and the DC Circulator's Eastern Market–L'Enfant Plaza route 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[edit]
Site selection and design[edit]
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.[16]