NATS PARK’S KEY PLAYERS

NATS PARK’S KEY PLAYERS

A few of the people chiefly responsible for bringing the Nationals’ stadium into being:

ALLEN LEW

Former CEO of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission

Lew guided the stadium project through its most critical phases and made several key decisions — for example, he chose HOK as the architect and Clark as the builder — that kept construction on time and under the D.C. Council’s cost cap.

ANTHONY WILLIAMS

Former mayor of the District of Columbia

It was Williams’ decision to put together a package to lure the Expos from Montreal that included a new ballpark for the franchise. And it was his decision to place the ballpark in a once-downtrodden neighborhood near the Anacostia River in Southeast.

JACK EVANS

D.C. Council member for Ward 2, chairman of the finance committee

Evans had pushed for the return of baseball to D.C. for more than a decade. He was the chief architect of the stadium financing plan and instrumental in gaining the support of the business community. He also helped gather the necessary votes on the council to approve the project.

MARK TUOHEY

Partner, Vinson & Elkins law firm. Former chairman, D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission

Tuohey was the city’s lead negotiator in talks with Major League Baseball to lure baseball back to D.C. and for the lease for the ballpark.

BILL HALL

Partner, Winston & Strawn law firm. Vice chairman, D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission

With Evans, Hall mounted a campaign to lure baseball back to D.C. in 1994 and has been involved in the movement ever since. He was a lead negotiator in countless talks between the city, Major League Baseball and the Nationals.

HOK SPORT

Led by architects Joe Spear and Jim Chibnall, HOK was the lead designer of the stadium, eschewing the traditional brick construction in favor of more steel and glass. HOK’s willingness to allow construction to begin before the full design was complete helped the project get done on time.

CLARK/HUNT/SMOOT

The joint venture of Clark Construction Group, Hunt Construction Group and Smoot Construction delivered on a promise to build the stadium in under two years while also guaranteeing the work at a fixed price. Clark project executive Matt Haas and superintendent Ronnie Strompf were at the stadium site directing as many as 1,200 workers.

— Tim Lemke