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Firm That Made Cowboys Stadium Will Work on Austin's F1 Track

Cowboys Stadium
Image courtesy Cliff Baise http://www.flickr.com/photos/cliffbaise/
Dallas-based HKS, which designed and built this structure, among other sports complexes, will work on Austin's F1 track, scheduled to open in 2012.

HKS, an architectural firm in Dallas, announced this morning that it will lead the team assembled to build a new Formula One track in Austin. HKS designed and built the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington and the Dell Diamond in Round Rock. (You can see draft layouts of the F1 track hereand here.)

HKS also designed sports venues for the Indianapolis Colts, the Minnesota Vikings, the Washington Redskins, the Atlanta Braves, the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers.

HKS will be working with Tilke Engineers & Architects, a German company.  Tilke has designed race tracks in places like Bahrain, Korea, China, and Turkey.

Developers will break ground on the project next month, and it's supposed to be completed in time for a race in the summer of 2012.

Last week, Austin City Council set aside $13.5 million to build water pipeline to the track. KUT's Mose Buchele reported that there is now talk of a possible taxpayer-funded $40 million incentive package, a suggestion that is already prompting a bewildered response from some local groups.

Listen to Mose's story about that here:

http://media.kut.org/sounds/news_00023274/web_track.mp3

Nathan Bernier is the transportation reporter at KUT. He covers the big projects that are reshaping how we get around Austin, like the I-35 overhaul, the airport's rapid growth and the multibillion dollar transit expansion Project Connect. He also focuses on the daily changes that affect how we walk, bike and drive around the city. Got a tip? Email him at nbernier@kut.org. Follow him on Twitter @KUTnathan.