The rest of the sum, about $535 million dollars, was funded by municipal bonds, putting the city deeply into debt.

[1] The Washington Monument and the Capitol building are visible from the upper decks on the first base side of the field.

[16] The station is located near the park's center field entrance and is heavily used by fans on game day.

The station's southern entrance was expanded when the stadium was built, adding an escalator and elevator and moving the farecard mezzanine to street level.

However, the finalization of the financing deal stalled due to complex negotiations among the city government, MLB as the owner of the team, and the bank.

The bank requested a letter of credit or comparable financial guarantee against stadium rent to cover risks such as poor attendance or terrorism.

The site of Nationals Park was chosen by Mayor Anthony Williams as the most viable of four possibilities for a ballpark.

With an ambitious construction schedule of fewer than two years to complete the stadium, a design-build approach was selected to allow the architects and builders to work in concert with one another.

[29][30] A moment of silence was held before the game, followed by both Nationals and Phillies fans applauding Kalas in tribute.

On June 8, 2010, pitcher Stephen Strasburg, called the "most hyped and closely watched pitching prospect in the history of baseball",[33] made his first major league appearance, starting a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates before a sold-out crowd at Nationals Park.

Strasburg pitched seven innings, giving up two runs and striking out 14 batters, a new team strikeout record.

Minor changes before the start of the 2011 season include removing the party tent on top of the LF parking garage to improve views of the U.S. Capitol from upper sections, chrome baseball decorations adorning the outside the stadium, and various signage and concession changes including the departure of Five Guys.

[34] In June 2011 four new concession stands opened, owned by Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group: Blue Smoke (barbecue), Box Frites ("Belgian-style fries and dipping sauces"), El Verano Taqueria (Mexican) and Shake Shack (hamburgers, hot dogs, frozen custard).

On July 17, 2015, during a regular-season game between the Nationals and the Los Angeles Dodgers, a series of three power outages affected a bank of lights along the park's third base line.

Due to the power outages, the game was suspended in the top of the 6th inning, with the Nationals leading the Dodgers, 3–2, at that point.

The Viscount Sonus 60, priced at $20,000 on European Web sites, was manufactured in Mondaino, Italy, and tuned in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

[48] In a joint statement the following day, Mayor of D.C. Muriel Bowser and Nationals owner Mark Lerner said, "While MPD's investigation is ongoing, it appears the incident involved a dispute between individuals in two vehicles.

In addition, the stadium's lighting was overhauled, with the installation of brand new LED Musco Show-Light® entertainment technology.

Fans in the upper deck sitting down the right-field line near the foul pole can get a glimpse of the Washington Monument and the National Cathedral during day games.

When the stadium first opened in 2008, the restaurant was enclosed by glass windows with a view of the field, which were soon made retractable.

[57] In 2010, the stadium added the Ring of Honor, celebrating players from the Washington Senators (Joe Cronin, Rick Ferrell, Goose Goslin, Clark Griffith, Bucky Harris, Walter Johnson, Harmon Killebrew, Heinie Manush, Sam Rice, and Early Wynn), Negro league Washington Homestead Grays (Cool Papa Bell, Ray Brown, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Cumberland Posey, and Jud Wilson), and the Nationals franchise's previous incarnation, the Montreal Expos (Gary Carter and Andre Dawson) who have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Since 2011, a submarine dive horn has blared after every Nationals home run and win—a nod to the park's location in the Navy Yard neighborhood.

In September 2018, the ashes of John McNamara, a sportswriter killed in the Capital Gazette shooting, were spread in the flowers just over the left-field fence.

The largest of the three, the FIS Champions Club, is a two-story indoor lounge exclusively for fans with tickets in sections 206–221.

The lounge is 33,000 square feet (3,100 m2) and features various food entities, live television broadcasts of the game on dozens of TVs, and views of the Anacostia River.

In 2021, various displays highlighting the history of baseball in the District of Columbia and awards won by the Nationals and their players were installed.

A hockey rink was constructed on the field where the home team Washington Capitals hosted the Chicago Blackhawks.

Performers who have held concerts at Nationals Park include Billy Joel, Taylor Swift, Shakira, Lady Gaga, and Paul McCartney, among others.

Fall Out Boy was scheduled to co-headline, but pulled out due to a positive COVID-19 test within the band's organization.

On April 17, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass at Nationals Park for 47,000 people during his visit to the United States.