Celebrating 2009 as an independently-owned design practice, HOK Sport Venue Event today announced it has rebranded as Populous. The brand reflects the practice’s recently completed buyout and separation from HOK Group in St. Louis, Missouri.

“Populous allows us to enthusiastically embrace the expertise we uniquely claim – drawing people together,” said Populous Senior Principal Joe Spear. “With a clarity of vision and purpose, all of the people, portfolio, capabilities and expertise formerly known as HOK Sport Venue Event continue today as Populous.”

Populous, which means full of people or abounding in people, was chosen because it points to the practice’s particular expertise of drawing people together around teams, athletes, events, places, commerce, industry and ideas that are embraced and adored.

“As the world becomes more populous, and ever-advancing technology separates us into audiences of one, our expertise becomes more relevant,” said Spear. “Our singular focus is to design containers of emotion for the collective energy of lots of passionate people.”

To launch the new brand, Populous has launched a new web site to capture views on the question of ‘What draws people together?’ People from around the world have answered the question in a video that can be viewed from the site. Fans around the world are invited to answer the question themselves at the web site, www.populous.com.

The rebrand comes at a time of celebration for many of the practice’s current projects:

• Both the new Yankee Stadium and the New York Mets’ new Citi Field ballpark open with preseason games on April 3;
• The test event for the new roof on Wimbledon’s Centre Court in London is scheduled for May 17, and tickets for the event sold out in five minutes;
• The Michael Jackson concert series to be held this summer at the Populous-designed O2 Arena in London were the fastest selling tickets ever in the city;
• Construction on the Populous-designed London 2012 Olympic Stadium has just reached the halfway milestone mark;
• The largest project in the history of US collegiate sports – TCF Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota campus – opens in September;
• And the Phoenix Convention Center in Arizona has booked a record number of events for the coming year.

“These projects are both emotionally satisfying and aesthetically accomplished, but our focus goes beyond the built environment,” said Spear. “We transform spaces to produce lasting social and economic returns while fostering human connection around shared passions.”

For further information please contact
Gina Leo Stingley, USA t: 001 816 329 4409
Sophie Therouanne, UK/Europe t: +44 208 877 8262
Bindi Perkins/ Michele Fleming, Australia/ Far East t: +61 07 3839 9155
Brunswick Catherine Hicks/Alison Poole/Charlotte Kenyon t: +44 207 396 7457

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About Populous

As one of the world's leading design practices, Populous creates exceptional spaces and venues that draw people together and serve as a point of reference for entire communities. Our buildings range from iconic stadia and arenas, to convention centers and amphitheaters, with recent projects including the new Yankee Stadium and Citi Field in New York; the Olympic Stadium for the London 2012 Olympics; Nanjing Sports Park in China; Suncorp Stadium in Australia; the Phoenix Convention Center in Arizona and the Florida Marlins' new baseball stadium under development in Miami. We used to be known as HOK Sport Venue Event and are celebrating a rebranding to Populous following our successful management buyout in 2008 from HOK Group.

Populous’ architects and event managers are some of the world's most experienced designers, drawing from the combined expertise of more than 1,000 projects with construction value exceeding $20 billion. The company’s client list is diverse and comprehensive; it includes 24 Major League Baseball franchises, 30 NFL franchises, 80 professional and civic arena clients, 40 soccer and rugby teams, 120 colleges and universities, 40 convention and performing arts center clients and 30 major events. With 500 employees in offices in Kansas City, London, Brisbane, Singapore, Hong Kong, Auckland, Denver, Nashville, Knoxville and New York, we share and drive global best practice in our fields of expertise and most importantly, we use the power of design to draw people together and become a point of reference and rejuvenation for communities.

www.populous.com

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