Photo courtesy BIG
The Oakland Athletics’ upcoming MLB ballpark will soon dazzle with its massive exterior metal cladding shell, shimmering in both the daylight and nighttime city lights of its Las Vegas, Nev., home. The project is the latest in a partnership between the Oakland baseball team and architectural firm, BIG, dating back to their first collaboration on the team’s ballpark in 2018.
The new stadium’s key feature is its roof, which will display metal cladding shells whose shapes evoke baseball pennants. For players, these arched “pennants” will attenuate direct sunlight glare, while also welcoming indirect natural sunlight and some of the sights of the Las Vegas Strip through its north-facing clerestory windows.
“Our design for the new Vegas home for the A’s is conceived in response to the unique culture and climate of the city,” says Bjarke Ingels, founder and creative director of BIG. “The resultant architecture is like a spherical armadillo—while opening and inviting the life of The Strip to enter and explore. In the city of spectacle, the A’s ‘armadillo’ is designed for passive shading and natural light.”
The ballpark is expected to open in spring 2028.
