(WASHINGTON, DC)- Today, Washington, DC Mayor Anthony A. Williams, DC Sports and Entertainment Commission and Clark/Hunt/Smoot, A Joint Venture, held groundbreaking ceremonies marking the official start of construction for the new Washington Nationals Ballpark.

Demolition and excavation work are underway for the new home of the Washington Nationals baseball team. Approximately 315,000 cubic yards of soil will be excavated from the 20-acre site. Work began in late April in preparation for pile driving in early May. The first steel mill order has been placed and reinforcing steel for the cast-in-place concrete has been ordered. Placement of the concrete foundations is set to begin in June with steel erection scheduled to begin in October.

The accelerated schedule for ballpark construction is the focus of the team of Design/Build professionals at Clark/Hunt/Smoot, Construction Manager and HOK Sport/Devrouax and Purnell Architects. Clark/Hunt/Smoot, A Joint Venture, was selected by the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission as Construction Manager for the new DC Ballpark. Clark/Hunt/Smoot is comprised of Clark Construction Group, LLC of Bethesda, Maryland; Hunt Construction Group of Indianapolis, Indiana; and Smoot Construction Company of Washington, D.C. The combined portfolio of these three firms includes the construction of 11 of the past 16 Major League Baseball ballparks built in the country.

Leading the team for Clark/Hunt/Smoot is one of the nation's most experienced and respected ballpark builders, Alan Petrasek, Senior Vice President of Clark Construction. "We must begin working multiple crews in multiple areas of the site as soon as possible. Our plan is to use three pile driving rigs to accelerate foundations work. Concrete operations will continue in similar fashion." according to Petrasek. "The HOK and Devrouax and Purnell Design Team have been very responsive to the schedule and the architects have been burning the midnight oil to make the hyper fast-track schedule possible," said Petrasek.

"During construction, Clark/Hunt/Smoot will minimize disruptions to surrounding communities as much as possible," according to Mark Cain, President & CEO of Smoot Construction of Washington, D.C. To keep construction traffic off neighborhood streets, trucks will travel pre-determined routes: Half Street or First Street to M Street, and M Street to South Capitol Street. To minimize dust during excavation and demolition activities, water will be applied to presoak areas such as storage piles, graded areas and unpaved roadways. When materials are transported off-site, trucks will be covered to limit dust emissions. Accumulated mud and dirt will be removed from trucks daily to minimize tracking of mud on adjacent public streets. "We will take appropriate steps to mitigate the impacts of construction to surrounding streets," said Cain.

Clark/Hunt/Smoot's combined experience in building sports facilities includes 15 major league ballparks. In the last 10 years alone, the companies have constructed some of the nation's premier Major League Baseball sports facilities, such as Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Arizona - the world's first retractable roof with natural grass and Safeco Field, another modern engineering marvel with retractable roof capabilities.

More recently, the team has constructed some of the league's newest venues, including PETCO Park for the San Diego Padres, Citizens Bank Park for the Philadelphia Phillies, Great American Ball Park for the Cincinnati Reds, Miller Park for the Milwaukee Brewers and Comerica Park for the Detroit Tigers. Hunt Construction Group recently completed the new Busch Stadium for the St. Louis Cardinals to rave reviews from players, fans and the City of St. Louis.

Kenneth Johnson, Vice President of Hunt Construction Group, said, "Hunt Construction Group, the #1 builder of sports facilities in the world, the proud builder of new Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals, baseball's newest jewel, is looking forward to being a part of building the new ballpark for the Nationals. This project may very well redefine the baseline for which all future ballparks are measured. The citizens of our nation's capitol are deserving of this type of project, a project that is fan-friendly, which families can build memories and the Nationals can build championships."