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Best Western International plans to add 235 new properties in the Middle East and Asia by the end of 2011. Best Western has 40 hotels planned for the region and intends to develop further hotels in Africa, South America and New Zealand. The chain has more than 160 propertie

UK-based Virgin Group has unveiled plans to launch its four-star hotel brand, Virgin Hotels, in the US. The group is seeking hotel sites in North American cities such as New York and San Francisco, with plans to increase its portfolio across the globe to 25 within the next decade.

French hotel chain Accor has launched its first Pullman brand hotel in Dubai, UAE. The Pullman Dubai Mall will feature 481 rooms, food and beverage outlets and a roof-top spa, as well as executive facilities with nine meeting rooms. The hotel is expected to cater to the dema

Langham Hotels International will open a new property in China on 1 October 2010. The 24-storey hotel, located in Xintiandi, Shanghai, will have 357 rooms, including 23 suites. This is the second property that the hotel chain has opened in the city. Langham Hotel

Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) has sold the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston, US, for $100m. The hotel will remain under the management of Fairmont Raffles, which is part of KHC's hotel portfolio. KHC also announced an $847m transaction with Qatari Diar involving Fairmont Raf

Russian entrepreneur Telman Ismailov has unveiled plans to build the largest hotel complex in Sochi, southern Russia. The RUR31mn ($1bn) hotel will be built ahead of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. The 5,500-room project will be built on a 24.6ha site and is being delivered b

Russian entrepreneur Telman Ismailov has unveiled plans to build the largest hotel complex in Sochi, southern Russia. The $1bn hotel will be built ahead of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. The 5,500-room project will be built on a 24.6ha site and is being delivered by Ismailov

The NFL Rams will be soon moving to a new 80,000-seat capacity stadium being built in Inglewood, California, US. Designed by HKS Architects, the $2.6bn project will become the most expensive sports facility in North America.

The stadium is the centrepiece of a 298-acre mixed-use project called City of Champions revitalisation project.

The project is being developed by Hollywood Park Land Company, a joint venture of Stockbridge Capital Group and The Kroenke Group.

The project broke ground in November 2016 and is scheduled for completion in 2019 to host the 2020 Super Bowl. It is expected to generate millions of dollars in tax revenue, and thousands of jobs during construction and after completion.

City of Champions revitalisation project master plan

The City of Champions revitalisation project is a mixed-use project being developed by Wilson Meany and Stockbridge Capital Group. The NFL stadium is a recent addition to the mixed-use development.

Apart from the 80,000-seat stadium, the mixed-use project will include a 6,000-seat capacity performance venue, 890,000ft² of retail space, 780,000ft² of office space, a 300-room hotel, a casino, and 2,500 new residential units.

It also includes 25 acres of interconnected open space featuring a ten-acre central park, playgrounds, public parks, and pedestrian and bicycle access. A part of the stormwater management of the project, a five-acre man-made lake will be a highlight of the central park.

The developers acquired the site, which was home to the former Hollywood Park Racetrack, in 2005. The project was stalled due to a downturn in the housing market, until breaking ground in June 2014.

New NFL Rams stadium design

The climatic conditions and culture of Southern California and Los Angeles were taken into consideration while designing the stadium. The stadium roof features a sail-shaped transparent ETFE canopy spread over 19 acres, ensuring no disruption to the events due to weather.

The shape of the canopy was influenced by a number of factors, including air movement, local geographic characteristics and overall integration into the mixed-use development.

The canopy covers the stadium as well as the outdoor areas. It creates an outdoor feeling as all the sides remain open-air allowing a natural breeze to pass through. The open design of the canopy also enables the integration of indoor and outdoor environments.

Construction of the new NFL Rams stadium

Infrastructure works on the site started one year prior to the ground-breaking ceremony. Since the stadium is situated near the Los Angeles International Airport, concerns regarding the project posing a hazard to navigation of aeroplanes were raised.

The project still awaits design approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as it does not conform to the FAA’s height restrictions. Although construction has already commenced, the developers have taken steps to address the concerns by pushing the playing field 90ft below the ground.

The FAA initially objected to allowing large cranes to be used at the site as the design approval is pending, but the developers signed an agreement with the FAA in January 2017 to pay $29m to install a secondary aircraft tracking system at the airport. The new system will address the concerns regarding the height of the stadium posing a danger to air traffic.

Facilities at the new NFL Rams stadium

The new stadium will be flexible to accommodate major events such as the Super Bowl, Final Four tournaments and award shows as well as smaller events such as high school football games, motorsports, extreme sports and concerts.

The building will have 70,000 fixed seats, which can be expanded to 100,000 with standing-room-only locations. It will also offer 275 luxury suites, 16,000 premium seats, and three million square feet of free space.

Other facilities of the stadium include large video boards, concession stands and a food hall, which will be open year-round to take advantage of the customer traffic from the mixed-use development.

Contractors involved

The master plan for the mixed-use project was designed by architects Hart Howerton, EDAW, Baldauf Catton Von Eckartsberg, Quatro Design Group, and Mia Lehrer & Associates.

A joint venture (JV) of Turner Construction Co. and AECOM was awarded the contract to build the new stadium in July 2016.

Project management services are being provided by Legends Project Development. Wilson Meany is responsible for infrastructure management services.