Global design studio HOK and Minnesota-based Snow Kreilich Architects have teamed up to create the Citypark urban sports campus and stadium for a Major League Soccer club in St Louis, Missouri.

Designed for the St Louis City Soccer Club, Citypark spans 25.5 acres in the heart of downtown St. Louis, near the iconic Gateway Arch and Mississippi River.

"[The venue] shifts the MLS stadium narrative from an enclosed singular space divorced from the city to a public space that brings together all of St Louis to be part of a civic soccer experience," the team said.

Completed in November 2022 by HOK and Snow Kreilich Architects, the complex includes a 22,500-seat stadium, team headquarters and a practice facility, and has a structural system made primarily with recycled steel.

The stadium was built on a former freeway off-ramp and parking lot with an elevated topography that allowed the pitch level to be set 17 feet (5.1 metres) below the street-level concourse and minimised the height of the building in relation to the surrounding buildings.

The team submerged the operations and support spaces below grade – accessed by tunnels and buried loading docks – to create a 360-degree seamless fan experience that connects to the surrounding street grid.

The ground level of the rectangular stadium is enclosed with light-grey masonry and glass that allow views both into and out of the venue.

Additionally, an elevated upper concourse wraps around the building with a drink rail along the facade, opening the stadium to the gameday festivities on the exterior of the stadium.

A 120-foot wide, portico-like canopy is supported by two rows of columns – an inner row of robust, compressed columns and an outer row of delicate, tensile columns – to balance above the steeply raked concrete seating bowl.

"It acts as a front porch to the city and creates connections between the city and the activity of the stadium," said HOK.

While providing shade to fans and amplifying the sound of cheering, HOK and Snow Kreilich Architects wanted to create a modernist structure reminiscent of the Gateway Arch.

"Citypark exhibits a seamless fusion of structural engineering and architectural design," said the studios.

"Through a coordinated system that features steel in a variety of ways, the structural engineering complements the architecture, creating open, interconnected spaces and fluid exterior forms."

Lightweight spanning trusses were combined with an invisible lateral system that concealed the seismic bracing. Meanwhile, the canopy's shallow cantilever is supported by an outrigger system and varied beam sizes that allow the edges of the canopy to look thinner.

The venue opened its inaugural season in 2023, billing itself as a "zero-waste venue: with 100 per cent recycled structural steel – that can be disassembled and reused – low-energy LED lighting, low-flow water fixtures, and a high-efficiency building control system.

"The urban stadium is connected to and focused on the City as much as it is on soccer," the team said.

An additional 17,000-square foot (1,580-square metre) flexible indoor event space sits in the centre of the complex, offering views into the pitch to the north, practice fields to the south, and the Mall to the east.

Meanwhile, a 70,000-square foot (6,500-square metre) outdoor space on the eastern side of the complex provides public infrastructure for civic events, food, and performances – further connecting the stadium to the context.

Other professional sports facilities that HOK is currently working on include Major League Soccer's first fully electric stadium for New York City Football Club in Queens and a renovation for the National Football League's Jacksonville Jaguars stadium with a fritted dome in Florida.

The photography is by Michael Robinson.

Project credits:

Client: St. Louis CITY SCDesign architect: HOKDesign architect: Snow Kreilich ArchitectsArchitectural support: KAI EnterprisesArchitectural support: WA, IncLandscape architect: HOKLandscape architecture Support, Irrigation: DG2 DesignTurf design: Kimley-HornConstruction manager: MAK Joint Venture (Mortenson Construction, Alberici Construction, Keeley Construction)Steel fabricator: Hillsdale FabricatorsSteel detailer: Esskay Structures IncSteel erector: Alberici Constructors, IncOwner's representative: Kwame Building Group + Unlimited PartnersStructural engineer: HOKCivil engineering and structural engineering support: David Mason & Associates, IncMEP engineering, fire protection & technology: ME EngineersPlumbing engineering support: Custom EngineeringSustainability consultant: HOKInterior design: HOK + Snow Kreilich ArchitectsArchitecture/interiors support, FF&E: ArcturisSignage & wayfinding: Kiku Obata & CompanyLighting designer: ME EngineersCode: Code Consultants, IncWind studies: CPP IncAccessibility: Ed Roether Consulting, LLCTechnology design support: Faith Group, LLCFood service: S20 Consultants, IncVertical transportation: Van Deusen & Associates, Inc