Populous and Jack Nicklaus create demountable stadium for high-stakes golf putting
– Bobby Sloane, Populous associate
Global sports architects Populous have designed a flat-pack 18-hole putting course that can be disassembled and moved from city to city.
The touring facility is the brainchild of Canadian firm MSOP Entertainment Inc, which has launched a new tournament called the Major Series of Putting (MSOP).
The sport of putting, developed and largely controlled by Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté, is a much-simplified version of golf, in which players compete on a putting surface with only one club each and no tee allowed.
The goal of MSOP’s creators is to take the event around the world and the inaugural tournament has just finished in Las Vegas, where professional and amateur golfers competed for large cash prizes.
Populous and golf course architects Nicklaus Design – founded by golfing icon Jack Nicklaus – designed the temporary venue for the event.
The stadium accommodates 2,000 spectators but has no fixed seating except for in the clubhouse. Instead, spectators are encouraged to explore, walking around the circular field of play to follow the events and players they’re most interested in watching. An elevated ring called the halo encloses the facility.
To enhance competition, a central playoff hole has been designed for tiebreakers, to create a focal point for key moments. Amenities include live leaderboards, a restaurant and a sports bar.
The construction of the 20,000sq ft (1.8 million sq m) stadium began in August 2017 on an empty blacktop parking lot off the world-famous Las Vegas Strip. It will now be taken down – returning to the site to its original state and leaving no permanent structures behind – before being rebuilt elsewhere.
In a blog on the Populous website, associate Bobby Sloane said: “After an initial visioning session with MSOP in October 2015, it became clear this venue wasn’t going to look or feel like a traditional golf course. The facility needed a modern look representative of the sport of putting. Realising we needed to make a strong statement we kept coming back to the beauty and simplicity of the sport – ‘one putt, one ball, one hole, sink it and you win’.
“As conversations evolved from ideas into sketches, the circular form of the cup and the ball and the inherent connection of the two started to fit the bill of what a temporary putting stadium should look like.”
Jeff Keas, Populous principal-in-charge for the project, added: “Designing the MSOP stadium was a unique experience because there is no precedence in place. There is no such venue in the world.
“We had no boundaries in developing the conceptual design and therefore we were able to explore countless new ideas in order to help MSOP create their vision.”
Demountable sports facility are in vogue. Earlier this week, the design of a temporary ground for the 2022 football World Cup in Qatar was revealed. The 40,000-capacity Ras Abu Aboud Stadium will be disassembled after the competition is over, and will either be rebuilt in its entirety elsewhere or separated into sections that can form smaller sporting and cultural venues.
Populous Jack Nicklaus putting Major Series of Putting Guy Laliberté temporary venues architecture design
BIG unveils Eve Music Hall as Croatia venue nears completion
Bob Rogers hands BRC to long-serving leadership team
Wellness care hospital opens in Vilnius with innovative spa and hospitality concept
Universal and Puy du Fou projects point to rise of Oxford–Cambridge corridor
A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’ planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism investment.
For years, the corridor has been associated primarily with science, technology, housing and university-led economic growth. However, the clustering of large-scale visitor attraction projects along the
All-inclusive eco-wellness development Auko to open near Vietnam’s Son Doong caves
Shedd Aquarium upgrades its visitor experience with new Immersion Theater
Shedd Aquarium has opened the Immersion Theater developed in partnership with SimEx-Iwerks, as part of a wider strategy to enhance the guest experience and create additional revenue opportunities.
The attraction has transformed the aquarium’s Phelps Auditorium into a multi-sensory venue combining panoramic projection, environmental effects and interactive technology.
A new pre-show area allows visitors to engage with augmented reality marine animals before entering the
Mandarin Oriental announces standalone Mansions-branded residences for Abu Dhabi
MCR is planning a luxury hotel for London's BT Tower
Joy as a radical act: Yinka Ilori launches solo exhibition celebrating the rebellious power of spreading happiness
Work gets underway on Madrid's €800 million leisure complex
Work is underway in Madrid on one of Europe’s most significant multi-functional complexes, combining sport, entertainment, culture and education.
The €800 million initiative to regenerate the former Olympic Aquatic Centre in the north-east of the city, next to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium, is being led by Barsento – a joint venture between Live Nation Entertainment, Oak View Group and Atlético de Madrid. The project will
Therme Manchester reveals 90:90 strategy – 90 per cent of the UK population within a 90-minute drive of a Therme
Four Seasons’ Naples Beach Club opens 2,800sq m Sanctuary spa inspired by indigenous Calusa people
Orient Express Corinthian to host Ocean Rebirth wellness retreat in collaboration with Guerlain
Famed London nightclub, Tramp, launches Tramp Health
First look: Miraval opens on the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia
Hainan Science Museum by Ma Yansong, opens in China
A new science museum has opened to the public in Haikou after attracting more than 350,000 visitors during a four-month soft opening period.
Designed by Ma Yansong and his practice MAD Architects, the Hainan Science Museum is located on the edge of Wuyuan River National Wetland Park and has already recorded peak attendance of more than 5,800 visitors in a single day.
Commissioned by
Zannier Île De Bendor launches with design by Hardel Le Bihan Architectes
Sæl Spa readies for launch in London: “a modern British sanctuary”
Immersive art bathhouse Submersive announces debut location in Austin
Construction begins on regenerative wellness destination The Shenandoah Nature Resort
Royal Caribbean reveals record-breaking cruise ship
V&A East opens in London
David Geffen galleries open at LACMA
New venue The Lands by Capella includes a longevity centre to complement sister hotel Capella Sydney
World of Frozen launches at Disneyland Paris
Pical Resort by Valamar reveals first Croatian spa under the ESPA brand
Mandarin Oriental creates end-to-end Egyptian journey with two new hotels and first-ever luxury river cruise
Designers Mendil + Meyer launch new division called Lām Concepts for strategic wellness projects
Wilderness Bisate in Rwanda reveals brand’s second Sanctuary spa
4a Architekten shares details of wellness extension at Salinarium Bad Dürkheim Thermal Spa
Designed to restore neglected land and renew the identity of Iraq’s capital city, Baghdad Sustainable Forests promises a new way of living surrounded by nature. Gensler’s Ian Mulcahay tells us why he thinks the project could become a model for the repair and enhancement of urban centres
