Snøhetta and HOK join forces to design 'new kind of ballpark' promoting sport, wellness and culture in Oakland
– Craig Dykers, Snøhetta partner-in-charge
Four international design firms are combining to create a new stadium for US baseball team The Oakland Athletics, better known as the A’s.
Snøhetta – whose large-scale leisure buildings include the Norwegian National Opera in Oslo and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art expansion in California – will collaborate with stadium specialists HOK, US studio Sasaki Associates and local firm Studio T-Square.
Together, the partners will design a new ballpark on the site of the Peralta Community College District headquarters, near Laney College in Oakland, California, and master plan a surrounding leisure district to boost the club’s engagement with the local community.
The ground will replace the Oakland Coliseum, the home of the A’s have long shared with National Football League franchise the Oakland Raiders.
Designed by in 1966 by architecture studio Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, it is the last major stadium of the era designed for both professional baseball and American football, and is widely felt to be no longer suitable for the development of either of its two teams.
The Raiders have already broken ground on a new $1.9bn (£1.45bn, €1.62bn) stadium in Las Vegas which is due to be completed in 2020, and the A’s hope their own new home will be open by 2023.
Craig Dykers, Snøhetta partner-in-charge, pledged to create “a new kind of ballpark that acts as a centre for sport, wellness and culture”.
“With its new home closer to downtown Oakland, the project will reinvigorate the relationship between the A’s and the city,” he said.
“We look forward to working with the team and the residents of Oakland to create a vision that will not only continue the rich legacy of the A’s, but also strengthen communities, foster healthy habitat and build a vibrant new cultural heart for the city.”
Describing the club’s vision, Oakland Athletics’ president Dave Kaval said: “We want to create the best ballpark experience for our fans, players and community. It is critical for our ballpark to truly integrate into the fabric of Oakland.
“All of the design firms on this project are industry leaders and have reputations for leading award-winning transformative and cutting-edge projects. We look forward to working with them to develop a project that works for our entire community.”
Brad Schrock, regional leader of Sports + Recreation + Entertainment at HOK, added: “The new ballpark is a transformational opportunity for the city of Oakland and the A’s to create an architectural icon and completely reimagine the fan experience.”
The practice have worked on several high-profile stadia in North America and Europe, including the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta; the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami; Little Caesars Arena in Detroit; Rogers Place in Edmonton; and FC Barcelona’s New Palau Blaugrana.
The four commissioned design teams will now start to develop a unified design vision. According to local media reports, any final proposals will have to be approved by the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Authority.
If the plans receive the greenlight, the Coliseum is likely to be transformed into a community sports park and urban youth baseball academy.
Oakland Athletics Snøhetta HOK design Sasaki Associates Studio T-Square
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