Arched Wonder

American Airlines Center
Dallas, Texas

Our award-winning engineering gave the American Airlines Center — home of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and the NHL's Dallas Stars — unique features, including its frame: a cross-vault roof form that consists of two intersecting barrel vaults.

The primary roof framing system takes advantage of the inherent depth and arch shape of the barrel vaults by using the upper concourse floor framing as a tension tie to resist the thrust from the steel arched trusses.

The horizontal framing at the concourse levels is cast-in-place concrete and the main seating bowls are precast concrete, which reduced costs and expedited construction. The project’s design was recognized as the top engineering project in Texas and received a national award as one of the top engineering projects in the United States.

The center has 20,000 seats, 130 luxury suites, three restaurants and a club lounge. The project anchors the 72-acre Victory development that helped revitalize the West End historic district in downtown Dallas.

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Structural Engineering