HOK Sports Facilities Group and its co-Founder & Senior
VP Ron Labinski, were profiled by Jon Morgan of the
Baltimore SUN. Labinski "has been so successful that he's
running out of stadiums to build and is looking to export
his architectural revolution. He's trying to expand to
cricket, soccer, rugby and other sports in other countries."
Labinski: "The peak of the market has passed us. We have a
lot more competition than we've ever had. What we're
looking for now is the next new idea." In all, HOK has been
involved in 450 arena and stadium projects, working for 30
of the 31 NFL franchises and 22 of the 30 MLB teams. HOK
billed clients $68M last year, and the company's number of
employees "has swelled to 250." But Morgan wrote that HOK's
"gold rush may be ending." Other firms won the bidding for
the four most recent baseball and three most recent football
stadiums. Morgan: "Hence Labinski's eye on foreign
markets." HOK has been signed as co-designer to build a new
Wembley Stadium in London and has worked on several other
international facilities (Jon Morgan, Baltimore SUN, 7/12).
