Beyond game day: How connected workflows are modernizing sports and entertainment venues

 Sports venues are some of the most complex buildings to design, build, and operate. Through partnerships with the Cleveland Browns and the New England Patriots, Autodesk is showing how connected data can carry a project from early design through construction and into operations.  That complexity makes them a powerful example of what Autodesk’s Design and Make Platform is built to support: connecting people, data, and workflows from early design and construction through operations. Together, these partnerships demonstrate how technology can help teams and venue owners deliver ambitious capital projects, modernize facilities, make more informed decisions, and create better experiences for the people who use these spaces every day.

Cleveland Browns: Building a new Huntington Bank Field

Autodesk is the Official Design and Make Platform for the Cleveland Browns as the organization builds the new Huntington Bank Field in Brook Park, Ohio.  The new enclosed stadium is designed as a year-round sports and entertainment destination and the centerpiece of a larger mixed-use development. Groundbreaking took place in April 2026, with the stadium expected to open in 2029.  The project brings together an extensive design and construction ecosystem. HKS is the architect, while AECOM Hunt and Turner Construction Company are leading construction management through a joint venture.  

Discover how fan vision, design ambition, and connected data are shaping the next-generation stadium for the Cleveland Browns.

A defining aspect of the Browns’ project is the use of BIM as a contractual deliverable. HKS has made the digital model part of the Contract Documents across the stadium, giving the project team an authoritative digital source of truth for design and construction. For a project of this scale, that helps owners, architects, engineers, contractors, and construction managers to align around design intent and project expectations, improve coordination, and carry critical project context from design through construction and delivery.  Autodesk technology provides the digital foundation for that collaboration. The Browns are using Autodesk Forma to help connect project information and teams across the delivery process. With stakeholders working from connected data, teams can identify issues earlier, improve coordination, make decisions with greater context, and preserve valuable project information for future operations. Together, that approach reflects a full-lifecycle view of the project, connecting the information created during design and construction with what teams will need through delivery and into operations.

New England Patriots and Kraft Group: Connecting teams, workflows, and data

In New England, Autodesk is the Official Design and Make Platform for the Patriots, and the partnership extends across the Kraft Group’s portfolio, which spans sports, entertainment, construction, and real estate.  At Gillette Stadium, that means supporting an environment that rarely stands still. Football, concerts, soccer, ongoing renovations, event changeovers, and day-to-day operations all place different demands on the venue. Using Autodesk Forma, the Kraft Group teams work from current project information to coordinate detailed work and move the stadium from one event configuration to the next. In practice, that means information that once lived in hard-copy plans or on an individual computer can now be accessed from a phone or tablet, helping teams stay aligned while the venue is constantly changing.  The partnership also comes to life in the recently completed New Balance Athletics Center, the Patriots’ 160,000-square-foot training and performance facility adjacent to Gillette Stadium.  

Behind the build of the New Balance Athletics Center

Populous served as the architect and Suffolk as the general contractor, working closely with the Kraft Group’s internal construction team. The building was designed around the daily experience of players and staff, bringing training, recovery, nutrition, meeting spaces, football operations, and direct practice-field access together in one purpose-built facility.  Digital workflows were an important part of delivering that vision. Populous used Autodesk technology during design, while Suffolk used Autodesk Forma during design and preconstruction to support coordination. Detailed digital models helped the project team visualize the facility, coordinate building systems, resolve potential conflicts, and bring ownership into decisions as the design evolved.  Those models also create value beyond construction. The Kraft Group is exploring how building information and digital twins can support operations and maintenance by giving facility teams a clearer record of the finished building and easier access to the information they need to operate and maintain it over time.  It is an example of the larger opportunity behind the Autodesk partnership: connecting design, construction, and operations rather than treating them as separate stages.

A bigger opportunity for sports and entertainment venues

The Browns and Patriots projects are very different, but the challenge underneath both is similar: major venues depend on large ecosystems of owners, architects, engineers, contractors, operators, and specialized teams. Keeping those groups connected and keeping information useful as a project moves from one phase to the next is increasingly critical to delivering projects with confidence.  Ultimately, it’s the people behind these venues who bring them to life. Autodesk is helping teams stay connected around the information they need, so they can make better decisions, keep projects moving, and continue improving the venues long after construction is complete. The result is better experiences for the athletes, fans, staff, and communities who use these spaces every day.  Explore the Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots partnerships and see how Autodesk is helping shape the future of sports and entertainment venues at https://www.autodesk.com/partnerships/sports-and-venues