Design Firm Populous Acquires Fentress Architects

Populous is designer on the 1.35-million-sq-ft Buffalo Bills football stadium project in Buffalo, N.Y., which broke ground in May 2023.
*Rendering courtesy of Buffalo Bills*

Sports and entertainment design firm Populous announced on June 6 that it has acquired Denver-based Fentress Architects. Terms and price were not disclosed for the acquisition that will add to the Kansas City-based parent a specialist in engineering of aviation, civil and cultural projects.

Current Populous projects include a new stadium for the National Football League's Buffalo Bills in Buffalo, N.Y. and redesign of Belmont Park equestrian racetrack on Long Island, N.Y., home of the Belmont Stakes, with the Sphere in Las Vegas and Yankee Stadium in New York City among its high-profile past projects.

Fentress was lead design firm for the visitor's center at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. Other key projects include Denver International Airport, South Korea’s Incheon International Airport and Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.

Bruce Miller, Populous global chair and CEO, said in a statement that the acquisition will enable the firm to expand its global aviation portfolio. In a statement, Fentress founding principal Curt Fentress noted that "Populous shares our values of design excellence and people-centric thinking. Together, we will continue to redefine great architecture and its capacity to ignite social and economic change through inspired design for people."

Populous has more than 1,500 employees in 32 global offices on four continents with regional centers in Kansas City, London and Brisbane. Fentress Architects will rebrand as Fentress Studios, a Populous company and will continue working from offices in Denver and Washington, D.C.

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ENR Senior Editor Jennifer Seward covers the Mountain States & Southwest region, which includes Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. She has more than two decades of experience writing for the AEC industry and reports from Denver.

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