West Coast Design Trends: Sports

Walter P Moore engineers and sports enthusiasts Ryan Anderson, Jeff Nixon, and Bart Miller explore design trends among recent west coast sports venues.

In recent years the west coast of the United States has seen a reemergence of world-class professional sports venues. The region now is dotted with iconic design showcases that leverage the mild local climate, respect environmental sustainability, and anchor ground-breaking entertainment destinations and mixed-use developments.

Walter P Moore continues to contribute to the delivery of these revolutionary sports venues. The firm has risen as the premier structural engineer for sports venues on the west coast by pushing the boundaries of design, building materials, and technology on projects such as SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park and the Inglewood Basketball and Entertainment Center (IBEC) in Inglewood, California; Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada; and Chase Center in San Francisco, California.

Iconic Architecture & Material Innovation

The last decade has seen a rebirth of high design ambition in west coast sports venues, reflecting a culture that adores the glamour of Hollywood and the glitz of the Vegas Strip. The region has set lofty expectations for iconic architecture, complex geometric forms, and innovative applications of building materials—demanding that sports venues become more than just a place to play the game, but also pieces of art that integrate seamlessly into the urban context.

SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers of the National Football League (NFL), boasts the world’s largest cable-net roof structure and application of single-skin ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE). Designed by HKS Architects and supported by Walter P Moore’s structural and enclosure specialists, the stadium roof demonstrates the state-of-the-art in the design of long-span, lightweight structures.