Nationals Park opened in April 2008 as the 42,000-seat home of the Washington Nationals Baseball Club and as a catalyst for the Capitol Riverfront and the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative framework plan. Situated on 17 acres, it is a LEED-certified stadium that hosts multiple events beyond baseball. Baseball returned to Washington after a 33-year absence when the city was awarded the Montreal Expos franchise in 2005. The site was selected in late 2005, and demolition and construction began in 2006 and lasted 22 months. Previously, the site contained small commercial buildings, night clubs and strip clubs, auto repair shops, and an asphalt batch plant.