DALLAS — As the world watches the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams compete in the Super Bowl on Sunday, the biggest celebrations might be reserved for the headquarters of HKS, Inc. in downtown Dallas.
Because it's their work that is really the biggest multi-billion dollar star on display.
HKS Architects is the designer of SoFi Stadium. The open-air venue is the first indoor-outdoor stadium to be constructed and the largest stadium in the NFL at 3.1 million square feet.
HKS says it has a seating capacity of approximately 70,000, is expandable up to 100,000 and has 260 luxury suites and more than 13,000 premium seats.
It debuted last year with mostly empty seats during the pandemic. Sunday will be standing room only as SoFi Stadium hosts its first Super Bowl.
"I can remember the very first conversation that HKS and I had with Mr. Kroenke," the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Rams. "And we talked about a global stage, we talked about things like Olympics and Super Bowl and now here we are," said Mark A. Williams, who leads the Sports & Entertainment, Aviation, Performance, Convention and Urban Design groups at HKS.
SoFi is the fourth HKS project to host a Super Bowl. The company also designed Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, U.S. Bank Stadium and its Viking ship design in Minneapolis, and, of course, AT&T Stadium in Arlington. That's their baby, too.
"One of the greatest joys that I have working on these buildings is watching people walk in to our designs and our creations," Williams said from Los Angeles, where he and other members of the HKS team will hold their own celebrations this weekend. "And I just can't wait for people to come in, really the world to come in, to our building on Sunday."
When it was built in 2009, AT&T Stadium's massive video board was state of the art - the first and biggest of its kind.
Williams' favorite part of SoFi Stadium is the "infinity" video ring that immerses every fan in the game. It is the largest videoboard ever created in sports at 2.2. million pounds and 70,000 square feet of digital LED.
"Yes, SoFi is a magical place," Williams said of the 300-acre Hollywood Park development that HKS touts as 3.5 times the size of Disneyland in nearby Anaheim.
"We are just soaking it in, every day. It was emotional for me being there last night watching people walk through SoFi Stadium," he said of the NFL Honors program that broadcasted on ABC from the adjacent 6,000 seat YouTube Theater. "It's going to be even more powerful when I'm there on Sunday."
And then, of course, on Monday it'll be time to figure out what even bigger and better project might come next.