Kroenke Sports and Entertainment recently broke ground on the new HKS-designed L.A. Stadium at Hollywood Park. The multipurpose venue is almost 3 million square feet and will be home to the NFL’s L.A. Rams. It is slated to open in 2019. Located on 298 acres and just east of Los Angeles International Airport in Inglewood, Calif., the stadium has been designed to host world-class sporting events and college championships.
The venue will include 70,000 seats, with the flexibility to expand to host more than 100,000 people. The L.A. Stadium will be the NFL’s newest home and the host for Super Bowl LV in 2021.
“The regional climate and cultural DNA of Southern California and Los Angeles are the foundation of our design,” said HKS Principal Mark A. Williams, AIA, LEED AP. “We have crafted a design that is responsive to its site, the community, and the global stage of sports and entertainment. We believe this project represents a very important piece of architecture for Southern California and will broaden the fan experience in sports and entertainment venues.”
A perforated, permeable metal “skin” cloaks the site to create an open-air canopy. This curving roof covers beyond the stadium itself, including outdoor spaces that serve as a crossover between indoor and outdoor. Within the metal perimeter, HKS designed an ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) canopy to facilitate year-round events while maintaining an outdoor feel. ETFE is a lightweight, transparent roof membrane that will create an open-air atmosphere while protecting fans and visitors from the elements.
The construction management joint venture of Turner/AECOM will lead the project’s construction, with HKS as the architect. “From day one, Mr. Kroenke [owner of the L.A. Rams] talked to us about his vision to elevate the fan experience,” Williams added. “He challenged us to create a venue unlike any other in sports that celebrated the NFL’s return to Los Angeles.”
