Don Dethlefs
FAIA Principal, Sports, Recreation and Entertainment Practice Leader | Perkins & Will
Honoring Don Dethlefs as a VenuesNow All-Star is more akin to recognizing the longtime sports architect with a lifetime achievement award.
It’s fair to rank Dethlefs among the first generation of architects specializing in the planning of arenas and stadiums.
The principal with Perkins & Will and leader of the firm’s sports, recreation and entertainment practice has designed arenas since the late 1970s. Thomas and Mack Center, his first sports project, opened in 1983 at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
Before Dethlefs joined the company, Sink & Associates had designed McNichols Arena, the Denver Nuggets’ old NBA venue. UNLV officials took note and called the firm out of the blue, saying they heard good things about it and asked them to plan their new building.
Dethlefs, just a few years out of college, got involved in the project, at the time not knowing much about arena design. It came during the tenure of legendary college hoops coach Jerry “The Shark” Tarkanian, who spent 20 years at UNLV, capturing an NCAA title in 1990.
“I drew it from scratch,” Dethlefs said. “It was 18,000 seats and became one of the first college arenas to have suites, even though they were rudimentary and small for the time, compared to now.”
At age 29, Dethlefs became a partner at Sink Combs Dethlefs, six years after he turned pro as an architect. It came “crazy quick,” he said, due in part to his strong footing in the sports discipline, winning work and making money for the firm.
There was no grand plan to map out a sports practice, he said. It just evolved over time, hastened by the oil/gas depression in the 1980s, which dried up the firm’s office building work in Denver, Houston and Calgary, forcing the company to look elsewhere to diversify its portfolio.
“More sports projects came along, and it slowly expanded,” Dethlefs said. “Before we sold to Perkins & Will seven years ago, it was 95% of our business. In the old days, it was about how to create a lot of seats and great sightlines. Then came suites, clubs and hospitality, and we’ve tried to be at the forefront of that (trend).”
Over the past 45 years, Dethlefs has designed 67 arenas, plus many studies that never came to fruition. Along the way, his firm has carved a niche developing midsize arenas, college venues and big-league arena renovations, such as Target Center, Ball Arena, and most recently, Spectrum Center.
Under Dethlefs’ leadership, Perkins & Will has expanded its reach to designing youth sports and recreation complexes, United Soccer League stadiums and master plans for outdoor music venues, such as renovating the famed Red Rocks in Colorado and others in California, Oregon and South Dakota.
The firm designed Weidner Field, an 8,000-seat USL facility that opened three years ago for the Colorado Switchbacks in Colorado Springs. At a cost of $42 million, it serves as the model for other minor league soccer teams as the league expands to other markets across the country.
“It’s a cost-effective building and they’re starting to build housing around it, overlooking the field,” Dethlefs said. “The question is can it be reproduced elsewhere? It’s been a good project for us to call attention to our work. If you have mixed-use around it, that (doesn’t mean) you’re going to be successful, but if you do it right and take advantage, it’s a great thing.”
For youth sports, the tournament-type facilities are booming for Perkins & Will, especially in Colorado. The complexes, mostly suburban, have the flexibility for recreational use during the week before converting to weekend regional and national competitions soccer, basketball and volleyball.
“They bring a lot of people from out of town, which fills up the hotels,” Dethlefs said. “It appears parents have no lack of appetite for taking their kids on the road to these tournaments. It’s a good growth industry for us.”
Some experienced architects turn to marketing and business development as they wind down their careers. That’s not the case with Dethlefs. After about six decades in the business, he still enjoys working hands-on and doesn’t plan to retire anytime soon.
“That’s what I like; even at Perkins & Will, I’ve been allowed to concentrate on design and less of the office management stuff,” he said. “We like to mix it up and go after a lot of different projects. Hopefully, it keeps rolling.” — Don Muret
