HOK to helm Jordan-Hare Stadium design

Article posted by Coliseum, April 23^rd, 2026

Image: Auburn University and HOK

Kansas City (US) architecture practice – the HOK Architects – will lead the design of a $323 million expansion of a Southeastern Conference (SEC) team’s football stadium.

‘KANSAS CITY BUSINESS JOURNAL’ stated that the Auburn University Board of Trustees recently approved plans calling for the HOK Architects of Kansas City to be the architect for a major expansion at the school’s Jordan-Hare Stadium. The project includes a seven-story addition and an elevated plaza aimed at expanding the stadium area’s use beyond football Saturdays.

New York (US)-based HOK is a global design, architecture, engineering, and planning firm. Its 1,750 people collaborate across a network of 27 offices on three continents. HOK is a collective of future-forward thinkers and designers who are driven to face the critical challenges of our time. They are dedicated to improving people’s lives, serving their clients and healing the planet. Together, they cultivate a culture of design excellence at the confluence of Art and Science blending the power of creative expression with a clear sense of purpose.

The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate athletic Conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 Members include the flagship public universities of 12 States, three additional public land-grant universities and one private research university. The conference is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, US.

The Auburn University is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 27,900 undergraduate students, over 6,200 graduate students and a total enrollment of more than 34,100 students with 1,435 faculty members, Auburn is the second-largest university in Alabama.

The 88,043-capacity Pat Dye Field at the Jordan-Hare Stadium is an American football stadium in Auburn, Alabama (US) on the campus of the Auburn University. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Auburn Tigers football team.

The Auburn Tigers football program represents the Auburn University in the sport of American college football. Auburn competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS – the highest level of college football in the United States) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States and 1 in Canada. It also organizes the athletic programs of the colleges and helps over 500,000 college student athletes who compete annually in college sports. The headquarters is located in Indianapolis, Indiana (US).

‘KANSAS CITY BUSINESS JOURNAL’ further stated that HOK has a major office in Kansas City. It has 81 full-time-equivalent employees in the area.

The HOK’s Sports + Recreation + Entertainment practice has won a host of major projects including a stadium for the Major League Soccer (MLS) team St. Louis City SC in downtown St. Louis (US) and a 2,000-seat stadium and performance center for the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team Kansas City Current in Riverside.

The university-funded project calls for a roughly 300,000-square-foot addition on the stadium’s North end. The new structure will include a multipurpose hall and ballroom, flexible event space designed for year-round use and commercial kitchens and dining areas. The club and premium areas will also be available for use during the football games.

The project is expected to cost a total of $323 million with the new multipurpose facility at a price tag of $305 million and the additional plaza space surrounding it projected to cost $18 million.

Doug Barraza returned to HOK last year as a regional leader of its sports, recreation and entertainment practice. He is based in Kansas City. The firm also promoted Amy Chase of its Kansas City office to Director of Strategic Development for the practice.

The Auburn University officials said the Alabama school’s project is meant to accommodate both daily campus activity and large-scale events allowing Auburn to host celebrations, meetings and major university functions in a centralized location.

Averred Bobby Woodard, Auburn University Senior Vice-President (SVP), Student Affairs, “This project significantly expands student life space in a central area of the campus. It responds to the growing demand for places where the students can gather and take part in the campus traditions.”

In addition to the building the trustees also approved the construction of an elevated North Plaza above the Heisman Drive connecting the Jordan-Hare Stadium and the Petrie Hall. The plaza will include additional green space and pedestrian walkways designed to improve connectivity and the traffic flow in one of the campus’s busiest areas.

The operational spaces supporting the new multipurpose facility will be located underneath the plaza, according to the project plans.

Together, the two projects are intended to reshape the area between the Jordan-Hare Stadium and the Haley Center (classroom facility) into a more accessible and functional campus hub.

The Auburn University President Christopher B. Roberts said the development is designed to serve needs beyond athletics – “Not only on a game day but throughout the life of the university these spaces will support the daily student engagement and major university milestones.”

Zeke Smith, who Chairs the Trustees’ Facilities Committee, said the design prioritizes adaptability and long-term use – “The goal is to support a wide range of academic, event and operational needs while strengthening the campus framework for decades.”

Construction is expected to begin soon with part of the project to be ready by fall 2028 and full completion by 2029.

Robins & Morton of Birmingham will serve as the Construction Manager.

Robins & Morton is a privately-held construction firm headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama (US). The firm specializes in the construction of healthcare, hospitality, higher education, entertainment, sports, and Government buildings.

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