Levi’s Stadium
Setting new standards in venue design
Project Facts
| Location | Santa Clara, California |
| Owner | San Francisco 49ers & Santa Clara Stadium Authority |
| Size | 1.9 million SF |
| Cost | $1.2 billion |
| Status | Completed 2014 |
| Capacity | 75,000 seats |
| Certifications | LEED Gold® |
Overview
Levi’s Stadium is the crown jewel of Santa Clara, California. As one of the world’s most technologically advanced and environmentally sustainable stadiums, it is a testament to innovation and modern design. Home to the San Francisco 49ers and host to numerous major events, this state-of-the-art venue seamlessly blends cutting-edge technology, luxurious amenities, and a commitment to sustainability, offering visitors an unparalleled experience in sports and entertainment.
Services
About the Project
Our team provided structural engineering services for the Buckling Restrained Seismic Braces (BRB) and design-assist engineering to the structural steel fabricator for the $1.2 billion, 68,500-seats (expandable to 75,000-seats) stadium. The stadium provides one of the largest lower-seating bowls in the NFL, bringing more seats closer to the field. The suite tower features 170 luxury suites, club areas, and a 27,000 SF living roof shaded by 20,000 SF of solar panels. Influenced by the technological innovations of Silicon Valley, this outdoor entertainment venue also includes stadium-wide WiFi capability, mobile connectivity, and two large HD video boards measuring more than 19,000 SF.
We engineered the seismic bracing connections for the over 500 BRBs in the stadium’s seismic resisting system. Used extensively on hospital buildings where post-earthquake operation is essential, this innovative seismic system is designed to provide a more reliable and predictable performance in a major earthquake than conventional bracing. It is the first application on an NFL stadium.
As a structural consultant to the steel fabricator, our team engineered 73 sets of stairs, cable handrails, and other miscellaneous steel features. The featured stair, dubbed the “wedding stair,” is an elegant architectural steel structure suspended from above that gracefully descends and turns to the center of the club-level restaurant and bar. We worked closely with the fabricator to optimize the design for economy and control vibration while preserving the architectural design intent and the owner’s goal of hosting a wide variety of events in this space.
