Multiple proposals for new NFL stadiums in Los Angeles and St. Louis have supplied steady work for sports architects over the past six months.
Populous, the designer of 15 new and renovated NFL facilities, by far the most of any firm in sports, is not among them.
While HKS, Manica Architecture and HOK roll out impressive renderings and fly-through videos of proposed stadiums for the St. Louis Rams, San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders, Populous has sat on the sidelines watching its competitors grab the headlines.
The Kansas City firm found itself in a complex situation. Since 2011, Populous had been unable to work on NFL stadium projects in greater Los Angeles after signing a deal with AEG that year to design a new exhibition hall at the Los Angeles Convention Center, which AEG runs on behalf of the city. At the time, it was tied to the development of Farmers Field, the NFL stadium that AEG proposed for next door. The agreement included a clause preventing Populous from competing for similar NFL work in the Los Angeles market (SportsBusiness Daily, June 29, 2011).
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The proposed St. Louis stadium would have an in-seat digital display in the upper deck modeled on Olympic stadiums.
Photo by: HOK |
Four years later, the NFL’s latest potential return to Los Angeles has changed the landscape considerably. Rams owner
Stan Kroenke selected a site in Inglewood next to the Forum to build a stadium. The Chargers and Raiders, meanwhile, selected property in Carson to jointly build a stadium. Farmers Field is dead after AEG pulled the plug on the proposal in March, in large part because an NFL team did not commit to the project.
The convention center project Populous initially worked on has been eliminated as well, replaced by the city’s Plan B to expand the facility by 430,000 square feet now that there will be no NFL stadium attached to it.
Amid all these developments, Populous is now freed from its noncompete, said Ted Tanner, AEG’s executive vice president of real estate. It took effect March 9, the date AEG announced it was pulling out of the Farmers Field project, company spokesman Michael Roth said.
The same is true for Gensler, the firm AEG picked to design Farmers Field, said Ron Turner, leader of Gensler’s sports practice. AEG officials refused to say whether the same restrictions were lifted for Icon Venue Group, the owner’s rep for Farmers Field. Icon’s founder and owner Tim Romani did not return an email for comment.
Populous and Gensler are competing for the convention center expansion. The city has replaced AEG in the selection process.
The Chargers preferred to have Populous work on the Carson project. Over the past decade, the team and the architect developed a strong relationship after working together on several stadium proposals in San Diego. Mark Fabiani, special counsel for the Chargers and their point man for stadium development since 2002, reached out to Populous officials in December and was told the restrictions prohibited them from teaming up again. As a result, the Chargers, acting quickly to counter Kroenke’s deal in Inglewood, hired Manica after interviewing several firms.
“We didn’t want to move in another direction,” Fabiani said. “We’re very fond of the guys at Populous after working with them for years. It’s disappointing … but we’re happy with David [Manica].”
> TINY LIGHTS: Manica Architecture’s newest images of the Chargers/Raiders stadium proposal drew media attention for a tower that shoots simulated lightning bolts or fiery flames depending on which team scores a touchdown.
In St. Louis, HOK has created an in-seat digital display as a signature design element for the riverfront stadium that’s been proposed by a local task force to keep the Rams in town. HOK Design Principal Bill Johnson came up with the idea after seeing similar crowd projection displays at past Olympic Games, including the 2012 London Games. Small boxes of LED lights on rods are attached to the backs of individual seats to create the effects. The lights can be programmed to form a single image that can be seen clearly from across the stadium. The effect is similar to the Mediamesh on the exterior walls of some arenas.
Essentially, it’s the high-tech version of the card stunts common at major league and college stadiums.
The digital display in St. Louis would encompass 8,000 to 10,000 seats in the upper deck. Johnson said there could be an opportunity for fans to control those LED boxes, for example, by choosing among one of three messages for display.
“The biggest challenge for the NFL is how to get people back to the stadium,” Johnson said. “We have to raise the bar in design, but what does that mean exactly? It’s interaction with digital content. Everybody has their head in their phone and tablets and a personal relationship with content. This is a way to share it with a larger audience.”
> SONOMA RED: Sonoma Raceway has developed a seamless piece of activation for Mendocino Forest Products, a new track sponsor.
As part of a three-year deal valued in the six figures annually, the regional lumber company is building a 135-foot-long redwood deck that will extend above 76 reserved seats on a terrace along Turn 2 at the 47,000-seat facility.
The official name of the new structure is the Real. Strong. Humboldt Redwood Deck. Behind the new deck is a covered, private bar with concessions and televisions.
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Sonoma’s new deck will have local flavor.
Photo by: SONOMA RACEWAY
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Construction costs were $350,000 plus $100,000 in trade, track officials said. The investment covers the deck and the addition of two Grille Gardens providing new seating and shade areas near turns 2 and 9.
All three spaces address the need to create more shaded areas for fans on a long race day, said Steve Page, the track’s general manager.
The raceway is selling two premium ticket packages for the deck for both the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event on June 28 and the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma Verizon IndyCar Series Finale on Aug. 30.
Those packages are priced $199-$249 for NASCAR and $149-$199 for IndyCar depending on seating location. Food credits of $20, preferred parking and pit passes are included in all four packages.
Don Muret can be reached at dmuret@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @breakground.
