One of my favorite things that I’ve been able to do over the last 20 years in this business is visit the majority of the cities in the NHL and watch games at the various arenas.
For someone who grew up a huge NHL fan in a small non-NHL city in western Canada and only ever attended a handful of games in Vancouver, this was bucket-list stuff.
My interest in arenas was also fueled by the fact my father designed custom homes and commercial buildings for a living, so I grew up around that design process, from conception to reality. The scale and architectural marvel of an NHL arena, and how unique they all were, fascinated me.
I quickly became, in short, a big-time arena nerd early in my career.
One thing I realized, with the more NHL buildings I was able to go to (and in some cases write about), was they all have their own distinct character that added something a little different to the experience: different entrances, concourses, restaurants, fan zones, press boxes and views of the ice.
They also added, in many cases, a distinct character to the section of the city where they were built.
There are the arena districts in places like Columbus and Edmonton, where whole neighborhoods have sprung up around where the teams play and draw in locals and tourists looking for food and entertainment even on non-game days. There’s also the integration of NHL teams into historic places like Broadway in Nashville and The Strip in Las Vegas, adding some hockey flavor where previously there was none.
In some cases, NHL owners use arena projects to revitalize large areas of the city. In addition to Washington, D.C. and Newark, N.J., Jeff Vinik has pulled that off in Tampa, where the area around Amalie Arena has been dramatically transformed between when I first started covering games there in 2008 and now.
“We said, ‘What if we created a 24-7 live, work, play environment with all the amenities of a true walkable city?’ … It’s something that does not exist in Tampa,” Vinik said of his mindset when he began to build out around the arena.
“This could be a really vibrant and exciting place. It would be good for the Lightning and the arena and vice versa it would be good for the district. And it would be good for the whole Tampa Bay area for generating economic growth. It seemed like a lot of positives that would come along with it.”
Those cities are just a few examples — and I know I’m leaving out some other good ones. (And there are still four NHL arenas I’ve yet to get to, including new ones on Long Island and in Salt Lake City.)
Edmonton’s Rogers Place in the ICE District. (Courtesy of HOK Group)
When I put out the call to our subscribers for mailbag questions earlier this year, a few of the most interesting ones I received were about NHL arenas and how and why they’re built the way they are.
To answer your questions, I reached out to the HOK Group, which is one of the largest architectural firms in the world. They are currently involved in the construction of the Calgary Flames’ new home, Scotia Place, which will open in the fall of 2027.
Other arenas built by HOK include Nationwide Arena in Columbus (opened in 2000), Rogers Place in Edmonton (2016), and Little Caesars Arena in Detroit (2017) — three of the more interesting recent designs in the league. All told, once the Flames arena opens 2.5 years from now, HOK will have been responsible for helping construct four of the 11 most recently built NHL arenas.
Taking on the questions are HOK’s Scott Ralston, a senior project manager based in Kansas City, and Bill Johnson, a design principal in HOK’s Denver studio. Both are currently involved in the design of Calgary’s new arena, and have in the past contributed to the designing of Rogers Place, Little Caesars Arena, Nationwide Arena, Footprint Center (Phoenix), Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) and T-Mobile Center (Kansas City), among other facilities.
1. Most of the newer arenas in the NHL have a similar capacity of around 18,000 (Detroit, Edmonton, Pittsburgh, etc.). Is there a reason they are built with similar sizes? Are there design reasons that prevent a large market team, say Toronto or New York, from building a 25,000 or 30,000-seat venue for NHL games?
“Our goal is to meet a minimum capacity of roughly 17,000 seats for arenas,” Ralston said. “This can comfortably accommodate sporting events and touring shows that have stage concerts ‘in the round’ or at one end of the arena.
“(But) an arena’s capacity is more of a business decision than an architectural one. We help clients optimize their seating configurations to balance capacity with comfort. We are currently using (our Scrum design) tool to enhance the seating bowl configuration at Scotia Place in Calgary.
“(Capacity questions) are all about knowing your market and making sure your supply of seats meets the anticipated demand. Otherwise, seat pricing could collapse and make it less profitable to operate the venue. We work with clients to help them determine the right size for their space and what other amenities and premium spaces they can offer fans besides the general ticket within the seating bowl.
“We also examine opportunities to transform a building’s capacity so it can more effectively be a destination arena for large sporting events and concerts as well as smaller shows and community events. The technology we’re using at Avicii Arena in Stockholm — automated, moveable panels — is an example of one way this can be approached.”
2. When you design a new NHL arena, is it always a bespoke process or do you take elements from previous designs and incorporate them into the new facility? I’ve noticed some new NHL arenas feel similar and others are very unique (i.e. Seattle).
“It depends on (the requests of) each client,” Ralston said. “Some have more efficient arena designs, but top-tier teams across all major sports have bespoke design solutions for their venues that represent the client and team’s local culture and values.
“In our current work on Scotia Place (in Calgary), the HOK/DIALOG team has created a design that reflects both the region’s natural beauty and its cultural heritage. The design features a distinctive flame motif that lights up at night, rising from glacial-like forms at its base, while incorporating Indigenous cultural perspectives and local landscape elements. This kind of contextual design creates a community landmark instead of just another arena.
“We also create a sense of place through our arena designs and surrounding sports and entertainment districts. At Rogers Place in Edmonton, the arena’s sleek, stainless-steel design complements the city’s modern office towers. Nationwide Arena in Columbus also incorporates lots of red brick to complement the historic neighborhood and create an authentic experience that celebrates the city.”
The 2027-28 Flames take on the Bruins during a theoretical game three seasons from now at Scotia Place. Note: Big flames are cool. (Courtesy of HOK Group)
3. What are some of the cutting-edge developments in arena design that are being incorporated into newer ones? What are some of the developments that will come in the future that you’re excited about?
“There’s a trend toward social interaction on game day at the arena,” Johnson explained. “Fans want to move throughout the facility and experience first-class amenities and socialization opportunities at bars, clubs, suites and more. These opportunities become ‘Instagrammable’ moments that can be shared in real time on social media.
“We’re seeing this amplified by what we call the ‘Celebrity Fan Effect.’ Look at how Taylor Swift’s presence at NFL games has begun to transform expectations around the fan experience. This is pushing us to reimagine venues as places where sports and entertainment converge, with more diverse food options, social spaces and opportunities for memorable moments.
“Our Scotia Place design is an example of this evolution. The design creates seamless connections between the street-level concourse and public plazas, with restaurants and gathering spaces that make it a community hub beyond game days. We’re designing for the emerging socialization of sport, where venues also serve as catalysts for vibrant urban districts.
“Today’s venues also need to be designed not just for the seating, socialization, food and beverage trends of today but also in the future. We do this by incorporating greater flexibility in premium club, suite and loge spaces depending on each event’s demands.”
I’m hoping this can be a series we do from time to time, as new buildings are built or existing ones are redesigned, so if you have more questions, leave them in the comments here.
(Top photo of Scotia Place’s exterior design in Calgary: Courtesy of HOK Group)