BIG and HNTB team up to propose new Oakland Athletics stadium for Las Vegas relocation

The Bjarke Ingels Group and HNTB-led stadium proposal for the Oakland Athletics in Las Vegas has been published for the first time since the Major League Baseball franchise formalized its intention to relocate from the Bay Area to Nevada in time for the start of the 2028 season. 

The first renderings of the new ballpark reveal an enclosed dome design framed by a north-looking panoramic view of Las Vegas attractions, made possible by the world’s largest cable-net glass wall in left field. This creates the same city-stadium "living room" effect seen in other modern ballpark designs, such as Baltimore's Camden Yards and the new LoanDepot Park in Miami.

A retractable roofline is created by five overlapping shells that are designed to resemble baseball pennants. This allows for the sun's harshest glares to be directed away from the playing surface, which is flooded by softer natural light from outside of clerestory windows. Fans will enter and be oriented to the stadium via a large glass atrium that connects with a grand concourse meant literally to "pull the city into the venue."

Auxillary entrances are marked by a further set of "bouncing" arches that increase user accessibility and a connection to the outdoors. Fans will enjoy a more efficient in-seat air conditioning distribution system and optimized views enabled by splitting the upper level and lower bowls into a tiered structure. MLB's largest jumbotron, at 18,000 square feet, finally enhances the gameday experience. Capacity for the proposed stadium is set at 33,000. Bjarke Ingels says the resultant architecture is "like a spherical armadillo."

BIG's marketing team also said the design was partly inspired by Fenway Park and Wrigley Field — the two oldest continually operated professional sports facilities in North America.

HNTBs' Sport Design Leader, Lanson Nichols, says: "Las Vegas is where the imagination runs free, characterized by bespoke, one-of-a-kind experiences. The A's new ballpark will be filled with unique settings for the social interplay between, sport, spectacle and entertainment."

BIG had previously pitched a replacement of the Athletics’ aged-out Oakland Coliseum facility in 2018 while the team and local city officials were in dispute over a potential new deal that fell through before the beginning of last season. The new deal to relocate was finally approved by MLB owners last November. A press release mentions a hotel and casino may be included on-site as part of potential future developments surrounding the plan's elevated outdoor plaza.

The Las-Vegas Review Journal reports this to be a $1.5 billion venture backed partially by funds provided by a state assembly bill that was approved in June of 2023.