Stadium Design Retooled to Cut Costs

Once the contract is signed, the city would not be able to make changes to the design. A new ownership group for the Washington Nationals, currently owned by Major League Baseball, could make a change only if the group were willing to pay for it, the sources said.

Industry experts say such contracts are commonly used when an owner, in this case the District, has a tight budget and building plans are not completely finished. The contract being negotiated with the construction team of Clark-Hunt-Smoot would transfer the risk, but also the decision-making authority, from the city to the construction companies.

"We would have a lot more say in being able to adjust the design within the program and budget," said Gregory S. Colevas, a senior vice president at Clark.

The District and baseball already have negotiated an agreement that spells out the basic look of the ballpark, including how many seats, luxury boxes, restaurants, stores and offices it would contain. Under the new contract, the construction companies would agree to abide by that agreement.

However, the companies would oversee the city's consultants, including the architectural team from Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum Sport of Kansas City, Mo., and Devrouax & Purnell of D.C., Colevas said.

Although the designs completed by the architects last fall have not been made public, D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission officials showed them to some council members in December. Commission Chief Executive Allen Y. Lew called the ballpark design "iconic" and said it would match the majesty of the city's federal-monument dominated skyline.

But the stadium envisioned by the architects was costly. Construction officials estimated the costs at $337 million last fall, far more than the $244 million that had been set aside in the stadium budget, Lew said.

To help cover the increased costs, the sports commission removed planned improvements to roads and the Navy Yard Metro station from the budget. The commission also ordered some minor cutbacks to the stadium design that reduced the price to about $315 million.

Officials are now negotiating additional changes to reach the $300 million maximum figure. In addition to using less glass, another recent proposal is to use a cheaper heating and air-conditioning system, sources said.

Lew declined to comment. Baseball officials, who have approved the cuts so far, are concerned mostly with maintaining the negotiated number of seats, luxury boxes and other amenities, sources said.

City government officials described the design changes as typical in a major construction project, during which there is usually a give-and-take between the designs and costs.

"If there is a cap on the cost, you could have a nice stadium, but you might not have a castle," Cropp said.

Staff writer Thomas Heath contributed to this report.