Rossetti Architects was a Detroit-based architecture firm founded in 1969 by Gino Rossetti, initially focused on healthcare, corporate and retail work before pivoting toward large-scale sports and entertainment design. The firm’s breakthrough came in 1984, when it was hired to design The Palace of Auburn Hills for the Detroit Pistons, launching a decades-long specialty in arenas, stadiums and tennis venues.
Under Gino’s son Matt Rossetti, who took over ownership in 1999, the firm expanded its stadium portfolio to include Ford Field for the Detroit Lions, a concourse renovation at TD Garden for the Boston Celtics and Bruins, and major work for the USTA’s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, including Arthur Ashe Stadium. In April 2026, global design firm HOK announced it had acquired Rossetti, folding the storied Detroit practice into its own sports and entertainment studio.
Stats at a Glance
- Founded: 1969
- Founder: Gino Rossetti
- Headquarters: Detroit, Michigan
- Sports Debut: 1984, The Palace of Auburn Hills
- Signature Project: Ford Field (2002)
- Notable Works: Ford Field, TD Garden, Arthur Ashe Stadium
- Status: Acquired by HOK, April 2026
Ford Field: A Signature Stadium
Rossetti’s most celebrated stadium design was Ford Field, which opened in 2002 as the new home of the Detroit Lions. The firm won the commission in the mid-1990s with a plan that folded a seven-story, 1920s-era Hudson’s Department Store warehouse directly into the roughly $500 million stadium, repurposing the historic brick structure for suites and club space and tying the new building into the surrounding downtown streets.
The project was delivered in partnership with Hamilton Anderson Associates and Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz Architects, and its integration of a preserved historic building became one of the design’s most-cited features in the years after it opened.
Arenas, Tennis Courts and a Motor Speedway
Beyond Ford Field, Rossetti’s sports résumé spanned multiple leagues and venue types. The firm designed The Palace of Auburn Hills in 1988, led a two-phase, $70 million concourse renovation of TD Garden that began with a Level 4 concourse overhaul completed in October 2014 and continued through a Level 7 balcony concourse phase finished in 2015, and worked on the roughly $400 million redevelopment of Daytona International Speedway completed in 2016.
Its long relationship with the U.S. Tennis Association included designing Arthur Ashe Stadium in 1994 and later Louis Armstrong Stadium at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York.
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Rossetti Architects FAQs
When was Rossetti Architects founded?
Rossetti was founded in 1969 in Detroit, Michigan, by architect Gino Rossetti.
What is Rossetti’s most famous stadium project?
Rossetti is best known for designing Ford Field, the Detroit Lions’ roughly $500 million stadium that opened in 2002 and incorporated a historic 1920s warehouse into its design.
Is Rossetti Architects still an independent firm?
No. In April 2026, global design firm HOK announced it had acquired Rossetti, ending its run as an independent Detroit practice after more than five decades.
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Photo: Ian121289S / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.