Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) in collaboration with HNTB, the new ballpark for the Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball team will be located on the Las Vegas Strip and offer panoramic views of the city skyline. The 33,000-capacity covered, climate-controlled stadium will sit on nine acres on Las Vegas Boulevard.
The A’s will relocate from Oakland, Calif., to Las Vegas in 2028. The new ballpark’s expected opening date will be in spring of that year.
BIG’s design pays homage to the sport: Five overlapping shells on the ballpark’s roof will resemble baseball pennants. The pennant-shaped arches are designed for passive shading and will maximize natural light; they will block direct sunlight glare while allowing indirect natural light through north-facing clerestory windows. In addition, the structure’s exterior metal cladding will reflect the daylight and the city’s night lights.
“The resultant architecture is like a spherical armadillo,” Bjarke Ingels, BIG’s Founder and Creative Director, said in a statement.
An elevated outdoor plaza connects with the bridges over Las Vegas and Tropicana Boulevards. The plaza directs fans to the ballpark’s main concourse and its large glass atrium. In addition to improving wayfinding and circulation, this entrance allows views of the entire field and seating bowl upon entry. Inside, open atria will serve as multipurpose exhibition spaces showcasing local and global artists.
How will the A’s open-air ballpark keep fans cool in the Las Vegas heat?
Inspired by historic ballparks such as Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, the Athletics ballpark will boast an intimate, tiered design that brings fans closer to the action than traditional ballparks and provides every seat with clear sight lines. An air-conditioning system distributes at the seats instead of from above, making cooling more efficient.
The current design features an 18,000-square-foot jumbotron, which would make it the MLB’s largest screen, as well as the world’s largest cable glass wall, according to BIG’s statement.
The Athletics Ballpark will be able to double as a venue for concerts, conferences, and other events. Potential development around the ballpark could include an onsite hotel and casino.
“Las Vegas is where the imagination runs free, characterized by bespoke, one-of-a-kind experiences. The A’s new ballpark will be filled with unique settings for the social interplay between, sport, spectacle and entertainment,” said Lanson Nichols, Principal-in-Charge, HNTB, in a statement.
On the Building Team:
Owner: Athletics
Design architect: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)
Architect of record: HNTB
MEP engineer: Henderson Engineers
Structural engineer: Thornton Tomasetti
General contractor: Joint venture between Mortenson and McCarthy
Check out more recent projects from Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG):
- Bjarke Ingels's curved residential high-rise will anchor a massive urban regeneration project in Greece
- Bjarke Ingels Group and Skanska to deliver 1550 on the Green, one of the most sustainable buildings in Texas
Related Stories
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Dec 23, 2015
Kengo Kuma selected to design National Stadium for 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Japan chose between projects from Japanese architects Kuma and Toyo Ito. The decision has been met with claims of favoritism, particularly by the stadium’s original designer, Zaha Hadid.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Dec 16, 2015
Tokyo down to two finalists for Olympic Stadium design
Both cost less than the Zaha Hadid proposal that was scrapped over the summer.
Sponsored | Sports and Recreational Facilities | Dec 14, 2015
Soccer Field in the Sky
House of Sports in Ardsley, N.Y., is home to a soccer field on the third floor of a downtown building.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Dec 7, 2015
Michigan YMCA receives Universal Design Certification
The 116,200-sf Mary Free Bed YMCA in Grand Rapids is accessable for everyone who uses the facilities.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Dec 7, 2015
High tech material makes Minnesota Vikings' new stadium's roof light and strong
U.S. Bank Stadium will have an ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) pneumatic roof, a durable, flexible material made of a polymer similar to Teflon.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Dec 3, 2015
Herzog & de Meuron unveils renderings of redeveloped stadium for Chelsea FC
As many as 264 brick piers will line the perimeter of the stadium and extend to a steel ring perched above the field.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Nov 16, 2015
Edmonton's Rogers Place among North America's 'next-gen' stadiums
The home of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers made Curbed’s list of 11 next-generation stadiums in North America. Also on the list are new venues for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Nov 13, 2015
It’s time to make MLB stadiums safer
Major League Baseball doesn't have official stadium design guidelines. Skanska's Tom Tingle has three ways the league can make the game safer for fans while still preserving its integrity.
Office Buildings | Nov 6, 2015
Real Madrid to get new headquarters designed by Rafael de La-Hoz
The design of the building is made of a set of two parallelepiped-shaped volumes.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Nov 2, 2015
MJA Studio proposes converting Australian stadium into giant surf pool
The Subiaco Oval, which was built in 1908, could become the Subi Surf Park, a complex with apartments, stores, and a 300-meter-long wave pool.
