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The scores of city officials, construction workers and architects working on the Washington Nationals' new ballpark grew accustomed to one thing over the last two years: pressure.

From the start, there was pressure all around the stadium project. Deadline pressure. Budget pressure. Political pressure.

But on March 30, Nationals Park will host its first official Major League Baseball game, just 23 months after the start of construction — record pace for the building of a major league stadium. What's more, the project will be completed without violating the D.C. Council's $495 million cap on the "hard" and "soft" costs such as labor, materials, financing and insurance.

"I'm pleased we were able to get it open on time and keep it under the cost cap, but I knew all along we would," said council member Jack Evans, Ward 2 Democrat and stadium advocate. "So I'm not surprised, but I'm pleased we were able to do it."

Officials have been quick to credit the thousands of workers who toiled along South Capitol Street for the last two years, but many of the decisions that allowed the city to complete the project on time came early on, starting with the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission's selection of HOK Sport as lead architect and Clark Construction as lead builder.

HOK had built many of the newer ballparks in Major League Baseball, and Clark headed several large construction projects, including FedEx Field and the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The commission also added local architect Devrouax & Prunell and Hunt Construction Group and Smoot Construction.

"You have to be working with architects and designers and builders who know what ... they're doing," said former sports commission CEO Allen Lew, who left the post last year to head the city's school modernization efforts. "These people have to be experts, they have to have a proven track record and understand the idea of fast-tracking. You bring in contractors and builders that are willing to accept the deadlines and the challenges."

In a traditional construction project, architects complete their plans before handing them over to the builder. But with the construction of Nationals Park, there was no time for waiting.

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Front Page > Sports > Nationals Park: Home at Last