HOK’s female sports venue designers and engineers discuss the momentum in women’s sports and its influence on facility design.
The last 12 months have been electric for women’s sports. Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have almost single-handedly changed the landscape of women’s basketball, setting records for ticket sales and ratings, first in the NCAA and now in the WNBA. The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team attracted a record crowd for their friendly match in Atlanta this spring, and participation in youth sports among girls reached its highest level since 2013. We’ve also witnessed several milestones, from record-breaking viewership for the NCAA Women’s Final Four to the opening of the first soccer-specific stadium for a National Women’s Soccer League team in Kansas City.
Given this momentum, it’s no surprise that in 2024, women’s sports are expected to generate more than $1 billion in revenue for the first time in history. Media coverage of women’s sports has nearly tripled since 2021.
HOK’s female leaders in Sports + Recreation + Entertainment are deeply invested in the ongoing growth of women’s sports and offer unique perspectives from their personal and professional experiences. In this Q+A, Macrina Abdouch (project architect, Kansas City), Shannon Bartch (regional leader of Sports + Recreation + Entertainment, San Francisco), Melissa Clark (senior project manager, Chicago), Francesca Meola (senior project engineer, New York), Kirsty Mitchell (senior project manager, London) and Emily Ostertag (director of Interiors, Kansas City) share their passion for women’s sports and discuss how its growth is poised to transform sports facilities.
What attracted you to sports facility design?
Emily: I was a swimmer my entire life. I did synchronized swimming and competitive swimming from ages 6-14.From high school on, I focused on competitive swimming with the goal of getting a college scholarship. When I was going on my recruiting trips, a lot of people discouraged me, saying, “Athletes don’t do architecture,” implying that it was too hard because of the time-intensive studio classes. I chose the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I studied interior design while swimming for four years. My graduate advisor for my thesis said, “Why don’t you combine your passions? You love sports and you love design.” That was the first time I thought of putting the two together.
Shannon: Sports have always been a part of my life. I played multiple sports as a kid and watched a lot of baseball with my dad growing up. When I started to pursue architecture, I realized I could combine my passion for sports with my love of design. I enjoy the impact a sports facility can have on a community, whether it’s a professional sports facility that brings a community together or a campus facility that becomes a home away from home for student-athletes. These facilities have a huge role in the lives of athletes.
Kirsty: Growing up in New Zealand, I was always around sports and loved playing netball—a hobby I continue to enjoy. When I arrived in the U.K., a recruiter viewed my CV and suggested I apply for a job at HOK, as it seemed to align my architectural ambitions with my hobbies. I haven’t looked back since!
Francesca: As a structural engineer, I have always been attracted to sports venues. I see them as the epitome of structural engineering—the ultimate challenge. It’s a way of pushing boundaries while contributing to the fan experience. It has been fun to see these projects come to life and work so collaboratively with our architecture and design teams.
Melissa: I previously worked as an architect in other markets for over 20 years but have always loved sports. I knew I wanted to shift my focus to combine that passion for athletics with my love of architecture, so I joined HOK in 2023.
Macrina: I grew up always having an interest in playing and watching sports. I tried all sports as a young kid as many do and fell in love with golf and continued to play competitive golf. I knew from a young age that I wanted to be an architect but the ability to play golf at a collegiate level was discouraged with architecture as a major. As I got into my first year of architecture I realized that sports and entertainment architecture was a specific market in the industry and from that time on my sights were set on finding my way to working on sports facilities. It happened to help that I went the University of Kansas which had strong ties to Kansas City where a large majority of Sports Architecture design is occurring.
How will this tremendous momentum in women’s sports affect facility investments?
Kirsty: I’m hopeful that the momentum will expand the industry, help investors and fans appreciate women’s sports and help them understand the value it adds culturally and economically. In the U.K., only 2% of sponsorships in athletics go to women’s sports. This needs to become more aligned to attract owners and investors and further the growth trajectory of women’s sports. Facilities will follow that.
It would also be useful if some of that investment went toward sports science that aims to better understand the female body and the intricacies of women’s sports. Data tells us female athletes are more prone to certain injuries. Both athletes and designers of training and performance spaces would benefit from having more data as we prepare for explosive growth in the industry.
Melissa: The masses have realized how great women’s sports are and are putting their time and money behind it. At this moment in time, investing in a women’s team takes far less capital and is therefore more accessible—and it has endless growth potential. The evolution of men’s sports has proven that the more investment put into facilities, the larger the return. We will inevitably see women-specific facilities and improvements to shared facilities in the near future.
Emily: I hope we can keep the media attention going as we continue to set more milestones and inspire young people. I also hope that more attention will be placed on equalizing pay for women in sports. As the importance of women in sports grows, we need salaries to grow as well. This will result in more investment and greater potential for these female-specific venues.
HOK has led the design of numerous women’s collegiate facilities, recreation centers and professional arenas that serve WNBA teams. Have any lessons learned impacted your approach to women’s sports facilities?
Shannon: Absolutely. On collegiate projects I’ve worked on, we prioritize meeting at least once with the women’s coach and trainers to gather their input on the program for the facility. This input is critical to understanding how they use the space, as well as special considerations and concerns. However, this doesn’t happen as often on professional arenas serving both NBA and WNBA teams. Frequently, the project is primarily funded by the NBA team’s owners and revenue. This is a big miss and something we, as the design team, should require on every project.
Emily: Yes! Caring holistically for the athlete, whether male or female, is very important, and something done well in collegiate training and recreation spaces. Recovery, nutrition, rest and a greater focus on mental health are all critical to an athlete’s overall well-being and their performance. Designing professional facilities that accommodate spaces for counseling, meditation and rest is critical. The adjacency of these spaces is also very important to maximize time and efficiency for athletes.
For professional women’s sports facilities, we should also incorporate space for family members and children. Providing amenities that allow female athletes to balance their family life and professional athletic career is essential. Women, in particular, are pulled in so many directions between being a mother, having a career and more. So, how can we help reduce that stress through the design of their facilities?
Macrina: Athletes spend a lot of their day in these facilities. How can the building type provide as much efficiency and comfort for the players and staff as possible? Outside of providing spaces for their physical, training how can spaces within the building promote well-being for women? Each new project signals an evolution in space dedicated to recovery, nutrition, and mental well-being. Growing square footage dedicated to well-being is a great direction for facility design that promotes the importance of holistic health of all athletes.
How should we approach designing women‘s facilities differently? What considerations must we take into account?
Shannon: Women’s bodies are a lot different than men’s, meaning our physical and mental needs naturally vary. When designing a women’s facility, we need to understand these differences and design to accommodate the specific needs of female athletes. When we embark on designing a female-focused facility, it’s important to interview athletes and coaches about the facilities they have used in the past to understand what they have liked about them and what is missing. Facilities have been tailored to men for so long, so a fresh approach is needed.
Melissa: Part of the reason women’s sports is taking off is a newfound confidence in the brand. It is no longer muddied with women trying to play a “man’s sport” and market it similarly. Women have differing physiology, and we socialize and experience spaces differently. Given that, we should think about facilities in a whole new way. The question we should be asking is: Why would we want to design women’s sports facilities the same way we have men’s? Why not rethink every aspect of what they can be—not just for the athletes but for the fans? Now is the time.
Kirsty: Rather than adapting a men’s venue and using that as the blueprint, we should think about how women behave and start from scratch. Surveys from key athletes, staff and spectators are crucial to evaluating what venues can do to improve the overall experience for women. Women’s sports tend to be more family-focused and oriented, so we could consider how to incorporate more flexibility in everything from restroom facilities and concession offerings to family-friendly amenities like pram storage and family entertainment zones. In addition, many women’s sports spectators are first-time visitors, so wayfinding, communication and clarity in branding are critical. The goal is to turn those first-time visitors into repeat visitors.
Macrina: From a training facility perspective, all aspects of the facility should be reexamined to make sure that it is women-centric in design. Women do not operate the exact same way as men physically, mentally, or socially. so we need to take a deep dive with athletes and staff into all aspects of the facility to produce the best results.
As women in leadership positions, what advice would you give to young women who aspire to pursue careers in sports venue design?
Melissa: Architecture is an amazing profession that combines multidimensional thinking, art and communication. If you want to see your ideas come to fruition in tangible, experiential ways, then architecture is it. Sports architecture, in particular, has such a broad influence on everyone from the athlete to the coach to the fan.
Francesca: Go for it—the outcome is worth it! I was the lead engineer for St. Louis’ new MLS stadium, Energizer Park (above), and seeing it built and open to the public makes me so proud. We added an important component to the city’s infrastructure, creating a destination not only for the fans but for the entire community. The sports field can be intimidating, as it is still dominated mostly by men, but things are rapidly changing. Look no further than our structural engineering group here in New York. We are currently designing the new soccer stadium for New York City Football Club with a team full of young women who are passionate about what they do and in love with sports.
Emily: My biggest piece of advice would be to be confident and know your worth. At the start of my career, I was often one of the only women in the room. It took a bit longer to gain respect and trust. But that is absolutely changing as more women enter the field. And I’m thankful our clients also expect a strong female presence on our projects.
Kirsty: Just do it! It’s a privilege to synergize my passion for design with my interest in sports and entertainment. It has led to a career I wholeheartedly enjoy. It’s a thrill to design venues where memories are made, entertainment is had and where your space becomes a backdrop for which history is made and recorded. Experiencing a game or concert in a venue you’ve played a part in creating, and being a spectator among many thousands is surreal. We need more women in sports and entertainment design. That diversification of our industry will lead to an inherent understanding of key issues impacting women and help us design spaces that better meet their needs.