W ASHINGTON, D.C. MAJOR L EAGUE B ASEBALL
P ARK S ITE E VALUATION P ROJECT
S UBMITTED T O :
The D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission
The D.C. Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development
The Washington Baseball Club, L.L.C.
S UBMITTED B Y :
Brailsford & Dunlavey Project Management Sports Facility Planning Project Finance
Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Urban Design
Heinlein Schrock Stearns Sports Architecture
Jair Lynch Companies Real Estate Consulting
Gorove / Slade Associates Transportation Planning
Justice & Sustainability Public Outreach
November 6, 2002
D.C. MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PARK SITE EVALUATION PROJECT
T ABLE OF C ONTENTS
I NTRODUCTION
E XECUTIVE S UMMARY
I. WASHINGTON, D.C. IN THE 21ST C ENTURY: A DYNAMIC C ITY P RIMED FOR B ASEBALL 5
II. BASEBALL P ARK P LANNING P RINCIPLES: THE E LEMENTS OF S UCCESS IN AN U RBAN S ETTING 13
III. BASEBALL P ARK P ROGRAM: STATE OF THE A RT, TAILORED TO THE M ARKET 25
IV. SITE E VALUATION P ROCESS: COMPREHENSIVE, OPEN P LANNING A PPROACH 29
V. RECOMMENDED S ITES: FIVE U NIQUE O PPORTUNITIES FOR AN OUTSTANDING V ENUE 33
VI. PROJECT E CONOMICS: A FEASIBLE P UBLIC-PRIVATE P ARTNERSHIP 61
VII. CONCLUSION: THE T IME FOR A D IALOGUE 69
BRAILSFORD & DUNLAVEY Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects
D.C. MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PARK SITE EVALUATION PROJECT
Image provided by Frank Ceresi, Images of Baseball in Washington, DC, www.fcassociates.com. Swampoodle Grounds, c. 1888. View of the Washington Nationals playing the Chicago White Stockings at the old Swampoodle Grounds on the site of the current Union Station. The catcher is the baseball legend Connie Mack.
Image provided by Frank Ceresi, Images of Baseball in Washington, DC, www.fcassociates.com.
Griffith Stadium, c. 1935. Also known as National Park and Beyer’s Seventh Street Park, Griffith Stadium was the home of the Washington Senators from 1892 through 1899 and 1903 through 1961 and of the Homestead Grays from 1937 through 1948.
BRAILSFORD & DUNLAVEY Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects
D.C. MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PARK SITE EVALUATION PROJECT
I NTRODUCTION
In the Spring of 2002, the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission, the D.C. Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, and the Washington Baseball Club, L.L.C. commissioned a team of consultants to conduct an evaluation of potential sites for a Major League Baseball park in the District of Columbia and to develop financing concepts for a baseball park project. The selected team, led by Brailsford & Dunlavey and Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects, represented a broad range of disciplines and undertook a comprehensive planning-level analysis of the proposed baseball park development. The scope of the study included: