HOK, Snow Kreilich Architects’ CITYPARK named world’s most beautiful sports venue

CITYPARK, the home of Major League Soccer’s St. Louis CITY SC, has been named to the prestigious Prix Versailles “World’s Most Beautiful Sports Venues List 2024.” The 22,500-seat stadium, designed by HOK and Snow Kreilich Architects, anchors the largest urban professional sports campus in the United States and serves as source of civic pride and a beacon for downtown St. Louis.
Established by UNESCO in 2015, Prix Versailles is a series of architectural competitions that honor the finest contemporary projects worldwide in various categories including hotels, airports and museums. The World’s Most Beautiful Sports Venues List was introduced in 2019 and honors the most remarkable sports venues from the perspective of interior and exterior architecture. The list is determined by a prestigious jury that identifies the best projects around the globe.
“With St. Louis CITY SC and CITYPARK, it has been our mission from the very beginning to elevate St. Louis on a global scale,” said Lee Broughton, St. Louis CITY SC’s chief brand architect and ownership group member. “CITYPARK was always intended to be a civic asset that embodies a positive trajectory of pride within our city, representing the spirit of a new St. Louis. We are grateful to Prix Versailles for this esteemed recognition and to our design partners Snow Kreilich and HOK for their collaboration in bringing our vision of CITYPARK to life.”
Guided by ownership’s strategic pillars—connection, mobility, sport, training and experience—CITYPARK offers a best-in-class fan experience that is modern, inclusive and distinct. With open and transparent architecture, CITYPARK is woven into the fabric of its urban neighborhood and its design enhances the fan experience. Every seat is within 120 feet of the pitch (which sits 40 feet below street level) and all four corners of the building are active and accessible, drawing the community in, with back-of-house operations all underground.
Elements of CITYPARK’s design are inspired by the neighborhood surrounding it, with the canopy mirroring the reflective nature of Eero Saarinen’s iconic Gateway Arch. CITYPARK and the Arch bookend Downtown St. Louis’ Gateway Mall. The stadium also features powerful public art. Pillars of the Valley, a permanent exhibit at the stadium’s southwest corner, serves as a tribute to Mill Creek Valley, a predominantly Black neighborhood that was demolished in the 1950s for urban renewal, displacing its 20,000 residents and disrupting their lives.
The World’s Most Beautiful Sports Venues List 2024 includes:
 CITYPARK, St. Louis, Missouri
 Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
 təməsew̓txʷ, New Westminster, Canada
 Workers’ Stadium, Beijing, China
 Hybrid Stadium, Hangzhou, China
 Olympic Aquatic Centre, Saint-Denis, France
CITYPARK will now compete against the venues in the sports category for one of the three 2024 World Titles: Prix Versailles, the Special Prize for an Interior, and the Special Prize for an Exterior. The Prix Versailles World Jury will vote on the World Titles and announce the winners on December 2.
Past Prix Versailles sports and non-sports venue honorees include Lusail Stadium, host site of the 2022 FIFA World Cup; TQL Stadium, home of FC Cincinnati (and the only other soccer-specific American stadium that has been recognized by Prix Versailles); Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport, an HOK-designed project; and Paddington Station – Elizabeth line, part of London Underground.
Source: hok.com