of locations kansas 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 area served world services sports 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 website populous.com 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 . 1 2 3 contents 1 history 1.1 company development 1.2 retro era of baseball parks 1.2.1 criticisms 2 offices 3 sports projects 3.1 association football 3.2 australian football 3.3 american football 3.3.1 nfl and college football 3.3.2 arena football league 3.4 baseball 3.4.1 major league baseball 3.4.2 minor league baseball 3.4.3 college baseball 3.5 basketball 3.5.1 nba 3.5.2 wnba 3.5.3 college basketball 3.6 ice hockey 3.6.1 nhl 3.6.2 ahl 3.6.3 echl 3.7 rugby 3.8 lacrosse 3.9 training facilities 3.10 multipurpose 3.11 tennis 3.12 horse racing 4 venue projects 4.1 convention and civic centers 4.2 arenas 5 event projects 5.1 olympics 5.2 commonwealth games 5.3 national football league 5.4 major league baseball 5.5 association football events 5.6 other events 6 references 7 external links history edit company development edit logo of the former hok sports 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 . 4 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 . 5 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 . 6 in march 2009 hok sport venue event changed its name to populous after a managers buyout by hok group . 5 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 . 7 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 . 8 retro era of baseball parks edit the red brick facade of camden yards was designed by populous to blend in to the surrounding neighborhood of downtown baltimore especially the nearby b & o warehouse . populous is credited for spearheading a new era of baseball park design in the 1990s beginning with oriole park at camden yards . 9 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 10 whereas progressive field s glass and steel exterior call to mind the drawbridges and train trestles that crisscross the nearby cuyahoga river . 11 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 . 9 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 . 12 13 14 and because the stadiums were designed for baseball instead of several sports the sightlines were uniformly excellent . 15 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 . 14 from 1992 to 2012 hok sport populous were the lead architects on 14 major league baseball stadiums and helped renovate four existing stadiums . 16 criticisms edit 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 . 15 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 . 15 17 18 19 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 . 20 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 . 21 offices edit headquarters of populous in kansas city missouri 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 sports projects edit this list is incomplete ; you can help by expanding it . association football edit john smith s stadium huddersfield england uk huddersfield town f.c 1994 macron stadium bolton england uk bolton wanderers f.c. 1997 sir bobby robson stand at portman road ipswich england uk ipswich town football club 2002 est dio da luz lisbon portugal s.l. benfica 2003 est dio algarve loul portugal s.c. farense louletano d.c. 2004 emirates stadium london uk arsenal football club 2006 northumberland development project london uk tottenham hotspur opens 2018 sahlen s stadium rochester new york rochester rhinos 2006 stadium mk milton keynes uk milton keynes dons f.c. 2007 wembley stadium london uk england joint project with foster and partners 2007 dick s sporting goods park commerce city colorado colorado rapids 2007 fnb stadium formerly soccer city johannesburg south africa south africa 2009 estadio omnilife zapopan jalisco mexico c.d. guadalajara 2010 fossetts farm stadium southend uk southend united 2011 children s mercy park kansas city kansas sporting kansas city 2011 arena das dunas natal brazil am rica de natal 2013 friends arena stockholm sweden sweden 2012 bbva compass stadium houston texas houston dynamo 2012 stade des lumi res lyon france olympique lyonnais 2013 kazan arena kazan russia fc rubin kazan 2013 estadio bbva bancomer monterrey nuevo le n mexico c.f. monterrey 2014 stade des lumi res d cines 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 22 new queens park london uk queens park rangers 2018 minnesota united fc stadium st. paul minnesota minnesota united fc 2018 australian football edit etihad stadium melbourne carlton blues ; essendon bombers ; north melbourne kangaroos ; st kilda saints ; western bulldogs 2000 simonds stadium geelong victoria geelong cats 2010 metricon stadium gold coast queensland gold coast suns 2011 spotless stadium sydney greater western sydney giants 2012 american football edit nfl and college football edit 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 firstenergy stadium cleveland ohio cleveland browns 1999 heinz field pittsburgh pittsburgh steelers ; university of pittsburgh football 2001 gillette stadium foxborough massachusetts new england patriots 2002 nrg stadium houston texas houston texans ; texas bowl ; super bowl xxxviii 2002 university of phoenix stadium glendale arizona arizona cardinals ; fiesta bowl ; super bowl xlii 2006 tcf bank stadium minneapolis university of minnesota football 2009 arrowhead stadium kansas city missouri kansas city chiefs renovations from 2007 2010 mclane stadium waco texas baylor university football 2012 kyle field redevelopment plan college station texas texas a & m aggies football 2012 ralph wilson stadium renovation orchard park new york buffalo bills 2014 arena football league edit bradley center milwaukee milwaukee iron 1988 pepsi center denver colorado crush sprint center kansas city missouri kansas city brigade baseball edit major league baseball edit 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 progressive field cleveland cleveland indians 1994 coors field denver colorado colorado rockies 1995 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 missouri 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 target field minneapolis minnesota twins 2010 marlins park miami miami marlins 2012 jetblue park at fenway south 2012 suntrust park cumberland georgia atlanta postal address atlanta braves 2017 minor league baseball edit stanley coveleski regional stadium south bend indiana a south bend silver hawks 1987 metro bank park harrisburg pennsylvania aa harrisburg senators 1987 coca cola field buffalo new york aaa buffalo bisons 1988 fifth third