With a Nationals' World Series Championship in the Record Books, Chris Pashkevich Looks Back on Building Nationals Park

Two common interests for the Pashkevich family are construction and Nationals’ baseball.  Chris, Scott, and Adam Pashkevich all work at Clark Construction. All three had the opportunity to work on Nationals Park. And all of them are diehard Nats’ fans.  Now, more than a decade after the stadium was delivered, the Nationals have won their first World Series. We checked in with Chris Pashevich as he thinks back on building the stadium and the Nationals’ success.  

How did you become a Nationals fan? 

Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, I had an older cousin that used to take me and my brothers to the Washington Senators games all the time. Then, the team suddenly moved to a new city! I just couldn’t believe it. I was just a kid, so I didn’t know that teams could move and change cities. When the Nationals came to DC in 2005, I started attending the games again, and then I had the opportunity to lead the foundations work for the new stadium which was really cool.

What is your favorite memory for your time working on the construction of Nationals Park?

The groundbreaking. Mr. Clark attended it, and the mayor and the Nationals owners were there too. All the groundbreaking shovels had baseball bats for handles. It was awesome to kick the project off like that, and to be part of that experience.

What was it like to watch the Nationals play in the World Series in the stadium that you helped build?

It was unbelievable! I attended the first home game in that stadium. To go from that inaugural game to watching the Nationals compete in the World Series in the same stadium, it just doesn’t feel real.

Do you have any superstitions that you carried through the World Series?

My brothers and I attended the Dodgers and St. Louis playoff games – but when we went to Game 3 of the World Series… it was on a whole other level. It’s hard to  even describe the experience. My brothers and I all have game time superstitions. One of my brothers wore the same shirt for a week! When the Nationals lost their first game, he was a little relieved that he could finally change it.

How does it feel now that the Nationals have won the World Series?

I got very little sleep for the first couple of nights. It was just so motivating to experience. The Nationals never gave up. There’s nothing more inspiring than seeing your home team become world champions!