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
![Bjarke Ingels’ design for the Oakland A’s new Las Vegas ballpark. Rendering by Negativ](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Bjarke%20Ingels%E2%80%99%20Oakland%20A%E2%80%99s%20new%20Las%20Vegas%20ballpark%20_Image-by-negativ%202_1.jpg)
![Bjarke Ingels’ design for the Oakland A’s new Las Vegas ballpark. Rendering by Negativ](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Bjarke%20Ingels%E2%80%99%20Oakland%20A%E2%80%99s%20new%20Las%20Vegas%20ballpark%203.jpg)
![Bjarke Ingels’ design for the Oakland A’s new Las Vegas ballpark. Rendering by Negativ](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Bjarke%20Ingels%E2%80%99%20Oakland%20A%E2%80%99s%20new%20Las%20Vegas%20ballpark%20.jpg)
![Bjarke Ingels’ design for the Oakland A’s new Las Vegas ballpark. Rendering by Negativ](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Bjarke%20Ingels%E2%80%99%20Oakland%20A%E2%80%99s%20new%20Las%20Vegas%20ballpark%20_Image-by-negativ%202.jpg)
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
| Jul 29, 2013
2013 Giants 300 Report
The editors of Building Design+Construction magazine present the findings of the annual Giants 300 Report, which ranks the leading firms in the AEC industry.
| Jul 19, 2013
Renovation, adaptive reuse stay strong, providing fertile ground for growth [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Increasingly, owners recognize that existing buildings represent a considerable resource in embodied energy, which can often be leveraged for lower front-end costs and a faster turnaround than new construction.
| Jul 3, 2013
World's biggest freestanding building opens in China
Measuring a stout 100 meters high, 500 meters long, and 400 meters wide, the New Century Global Centre in the Tianfu New District of Chengdu, China, is officially the world's largest freestanding building.
| Jul 3, 2013
Mall of America will double in size after $2.5 billion expansion
The nation's largest indoor mall will undergo a $2.5 billion, 10-year expansion project that will add attractions like an NHL-sized skating rink and an indoor water park.
| Jul 2, 2013
LEED v4 gets green light, will launch this fall
The U.S. Green Building Council membership has voted to adopt LEED v4, the next update to the world’s premier green building rating system.
| Jul 1, 2013
Report: Global construction market to reach $15 trillion by 2025
A new report released today forecasts the volume of construction output will grow by more than 70% to $15 trillion worldwide by 2025.
| Jun 28, 2013
Building owners cite BIM/VDC as 'most exciting trend' in facilities management, says Mortenson report
A recent survey of more than 60 building owners and facility management professionals by Mortenson Construction shows that BIM/VDC is top of mind among owner professionals.
| Jun 13, 2013
7 great places that represent excellence in environmental design
An adaptive reuse to create LEED Platinum offices, a park that honors veterans, and a grand national plaza are among the seven projects named winners of the 2013 Great Places Awards. The Environmental Design and Research Association recognize professional and scholarly excellence in environmental design, with special attention paid to the relationship between physical form and human activity or experience.
| Jun 5, 2013
USGBC: Free LEED certification for projects in new markets
In an effort to accelerate sustainable development around the world, the U.S. Green Building Council is offering free LEED certification to the first projects to certify in the 112 countries where LEED has yet to take root.
| Jun 3, 2013
Construction spending inches upward in April
The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced today that construction spending during April 2013 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $860.8 billion, 0.4 percent above the revised March estimate of $857.7 billion.