Number of locationsKansas City (USA)
London, (UK)
Brisbane (Australia)
New York City, San Francisco, Denver, Boston, Knoxville, Norman, Pittsburgh (USA)
Sydney (Australia)
Singapore (Singapore)
New Delhi (India)
Beijing (China) ServicesSports, entertainment, events, conference and exhibition centre architecture
Interior design
Environmental Branding
Wayfinding
Events planning
Overlay
Masterplanning
Landscape Architecture
Sustainable design consulting
Facilities operations analysis
Aviation experience design HeadquartersKansas City, Missouri, United States Profiles LinkedInTwitterFacebook
Populous (formerly HOK Sport Venue Event) is a global architectural firm specializing in the design of sports facilities, arenas and convention centers, as well as the planning of major special events.
Populous formerly operated as HOK Sport Venue Event, which was part of the HOK Group. In January 2009, Populous was created through a management buyout, becoming independently owned and operated. It is reported to be one of the largest architecture firms in the world.
Company development
In 1983, HOK under Jerry Sincoff created a sports group (initially called the Sports Facilities Group and later changed to HOK Sport Venue Event). The firm initially consisted of eight architects in Kansas City, and grew to employ 185 people by 1996.
On several projects, HOK Sport had teamed with international design practice LOBB Partnership, which maintained offices in London, England, and Brisbane, Australia. On HOK Sport's 15th anniversary in November 1998, the firm merged with LOBB. The new practice retained headquarters in all three cities.
The Kansas City, Missouri, office was first based in the city's Garment District in the Lucas Place office building. In 2005, it moved into its headquarters at 300 Wyandotte in the River Market neighborhood in a new building it designed, on land developed as an urban renewal project through tax incentives from the city's Planned Industrial Expansion Authority. It was the first major company to relocate to the neighborhood in several decades. In March 2009, HOK Sport Venue Event changed its name to Populous after a managers’ buyout by HOK Group.
In October 2015, Populous relocated to its new headquarters at the newly renovated Board of Trade building at 4800 Main street near the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City.
The company is one of several Kansas City-based sports design firms that trace their roots to Kivett and Myers which designed the Truman Sports Complex which was one of the first modern large single purpose sports stadiums (previously, stadiums were designed for multipurpose use). Other firms with sports design presence in Kansas City that trace their roots to Kivett include Ellerbe Becket Inc. and HNTB Corp.. 360 Architecture is also based in Kansas City.
"Retro" era of baseball parks
Populous is credited for spearheading a new era of baseball park design in the 1990s, beginning with Oriole Park at Camden Yards. At Camden Yards, and in other stadiums built by Populous soon thereafter like Coors Field and Progressive Field, the ballpark was designed to incorporate aesthetic elements of the city's history and older "classic ballparks." Camden Yards's red brick facade emulates the massive B&O Warehouse that dominates the right field view behind Eutaw Street, whereas Progressive Field's glass and steel exterior "call to mind the drawbridges and train trestles that crisscross the nearby Cuyahoga River." Starting with the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati in 2003, a number of Populous Sport's stadiums featured more contemporary and even futuristic designs. Subsequent stadium exteriors featuring this motif opened in Washington and Minnesota.
In addition to moving away from the concrete exteriors of the "cookie-cutter" multi-purpose stadiums that preceded the new parks, Populous incorporated other innovative touches: natural grass playing surfaces (instead of artificial turf), asymmetrical field dimensions, various park-specific idiosyncrasies (like Tal's Hill), and less foul territory that would keep fans farther from the diamond. And because the stadiums were designed for baseball instead of several sports, the sightlines were "uniformly excellent."
Camden Yards was not only hugely popular with baseball fans. The success of a new ballpark in downtown Baltimore convinced many cities to invest public funds in their own new ballparks to help revitalize struggling urban neighborhoods. From 1992 to 2012, HOK Sport/Populous were the lead architects on 14 Major League Baseball stadiums and helped renovate four existing stadiums.
Criticisms
Populous's designs across Major League Baseball have become so prevalent that some critics have asserted that the distinctiveness that was originally found in early "retro" ballparks is impossible to maintain: "There are nearly 20 [new ballparks] around the league, [so] their heterogeneity has come to seem altogether homogenous." Whereas "classic" ballparks like Fenway Park were given strange dimensions simply because of the limitations provided by the plots of land on which the parks were built, new stadiums do not feature such restrictions. One sportswriter said the attempt to emulate the old parks in this way is "contrived."
In addition, a number of commentators have criticized what they see as a tendency to cater new ballparks toward wealthier ticket buyers, such as with expanded use of luxury suites instead of cheaper, conventional seating. Several writers have noted that upper deck seating at new ballparks may actually be farther away from the field than in the older parks, partly as a result of these new upper decks being pushed higher by rows of luxury suites.
One writer in The New Yorker said it is "not quite right to credit or blame Populous" for trends in their new stadiums—as it is ultimately team owners that plan what they want in future stadiums—but they "certainly enabled" such changes.
Offices
Kansas City, Missouri, USA
London, UK
Boston, USA
Brisbane, Australia
San Francisco, USA
Denver, USA
Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
New York City, United States
Norman, Oklahoma, United States
Pittsburgh, United States
New Delhi, India
Sydney, Australia
Singapore
Beijing, China
MLB
Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida – NFL Miami Dolphins, MLB Florida Marlins (1987)
U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago – Chicago White Sox (1991)
Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore – Baltimore Orioles (1992)
Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, California (Renovation of Anaheim Stadium, joint project with Walt Disney Imagineering) – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (1998)
Comerica Park, Detroit – Detroit Tigers (2000)
Minute Maid Park, Houston – Houston Astros (2000)
AT&T Park, San Francisco – San Francisco Giants (2000)
PNC Park, Pittsburgh – Pittsburgh Pirates (2001)
Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati – Cincinnati Reds (2003)
Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia (joint project with Ewing Cole Cherry Brott of Philadelphia) – Philadelphia Phillies (2004)
Petco Park, San Diego – San Diego Padres (2004)
Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri – St. Louis Cardinals (2006)
Nationals Park, Washington, D.C. – Washington Nationals (2008)
Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City – Kansas City Royals (renovations in 1997 and 2009)
Citi Field, Willets Point, Queens, New York – New York Mets (2009)
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York – New York Yankees (2009)
Stade des Lumières – Décines, France – Olympique Lyonnais (2014)
City of Manchester Stadium expansion – Manchester, UK – Manchester City F.C. (2015)
Orlando City Stadium – Orlando, Florida – Orlando City SC (2017)
New Queens Park – London, UK – Queens Park Rangers (2018)
Minnesota United FC Stadium – Saint Paul, Minnesota – Minnesota United FC (2018)
Northumberland Development Project – London, UK – Tottenham Hotspur F.C. (2018)
NFL
Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida – Miami Dolphins; University of Miami football; Orange Bowl; Super Bowl XXIII, XXIX, XXXVI, XLI and XLIV (1987)
EverBank Field – Jacksonville Jaguars; Gator Bowl; Georgia vs. Florida football game; Super Bowl XXXIX (1995)
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina – Carolina Panthers; Meineke Car Care Bowl (1996)
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida – Tampa Bay Buccaneers; University of South Florida football; Outback Bowl; Super Bowl XXXV and XLIII (1996)
FedExField, Landover, Maryland – Washington Redskins (1997)
M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore – Baltimore Ravens (1998)
Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee – Tennessee Titans; Music City Bowl (1999)
Spotless Stadium, Sydney – Greater Western Sydney Giants (2012)
General Purpose Arenas
Bradley Center, Milwaukee – Milwaukee Iron (1988)
Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire (2001)
The O2, London, UK (formerly the Millennium Dome) (2007)
Sprint Center, Kansas City (2007)
3Arena, Dublin (formerly The O2 Dublin) (2008)
AMSOIL Arena – Duluth, Minnesota (2010)
Ford Center – Evansville, Indiana – Used for Professional Ice Hockey, College Basketball, and Music Concerts (2011)
First Direct Arena, Leeds (2013)
Philippine Arena – Bulacan, North of Metro Manila, Philippines – multi-purpose arena, plenary hall for Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ) Centennial Project – a 50,000 seating capacity (2014)
Philippine Arena, Manila, Philippines (2014)
Darling Harbour Live Theatre, Sydney, Australia (2016)
Bristol Arena, Bristol (2020)
Pepsi Center, Denver (1999)
Horse Racing
Ascot Racecourse, Berkshire, UK (2006)
Eagle Farm Racecourse, Brisbane, Australia (2016)
NHL
Honda Center – Anaheim, California – Anaheim Ducks (1993)
United Center – Chicago – Chicago Blackhawks (1995)
Air Canada Centre – Toronto, Canada – Toronto Maple Leafs (1999)
Pepsi Center – Denver – Colorado Avalanche (1999)
Xcel Energy Center – St. Paul, Minnesota – Minnesota Wild (2000)
Gila River Arena – Glendale, Arizona – Arizona Coyotes (2003)
Prudential Center – Newark, New Jersey – New Jersey Devils (2007)
Consol Energy Center – Pittsburgh – Pittsburgh Penguins (2010)
Videotron Centre – Quebec City – Potential new or relocated NHL team and Quebec Remparts, QMJHL (2015; joint project with ABCP Architecture and GLCRM & Associates)
T-Mobile Arena – Las Vegas – Vegas Golden Knights (2016)
AHL
BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee – Milwaukee Admirals (1988)
GIANT Center – Hershey, Pennsylvania – Hershey Bears (2002)
Toyota Center – Houston, Texas – Houston Aeros (2003–2013)
Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire – Manchester Monarchs (2001)
Wells Fargo Arena at the Iowa Events Center, Des Moines, Iowa – Iowa Wild (2013–14 season)
ECHL
Maverik Center – West Valley City, Utah – Utah Grizzlies, 2002 Winter Olympics (1997)
Ford Center – Evansville, Indiana – Evansville Ice Men (2011)
Multipurpose
Tropicana Field – St. Petersburg, Florida (joint project with Lescher & Mahoney Sports(Tampa) & Criswell, Blizzard & Blouin Architects (St. Pete) (1990)
Ervin J. Nutter Center – Fairborn, Ohio – NCAA Wright State Raiders (1990)
Alamodome – San Antonio, Texas (1993)
Hong Kong Stadium – So Kon Po, Hong Kong (1994)
Manchester Velodrome – Manchester, England, UK (1994)
Millennium Stadium – Cardiff, UK – Wales football team and Wales rugby union team (1999)
ANZ Stadium – Sydney, Australia – 2000 Summer Olympics (1999)
Westpac Stadium Wellington, New Zealand (2000)
Nanjing Olympic Sports Center – Nanjing, China (2004)
Croke Park – Dublin, Ireland – Gaelic Athletic Association (2004)
Queensland Tennis Centre – Tennyson, Queensland, Australia (2009)