LOCAL NEWS
Climate Pledge Arena lays out plan to become world’s first carbon neutral arena
May 1, 2021, 7:49 AM
(Climate Pledge Arena, Twitter)
(Climate Pledge Arena, Twitter)
With Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena set to open this fall, it kicked off a new series this last week designed to explain its plans to become the world’s first net zero carbon certified arena.
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“We’re innovating to dramatically reduce our carbon emissions, and investing in nature based solutions to make up for any emissions we can’t eliminate,” the arena said in a two-minute video posted to Twitter.
Introducing: πΎπ‘ππ’ππ©π ππ‘ππππ πΌπ§ππ£π πππ₯π‘πππ£π¨!
W/the help of our friends at @climatepledge, we're excited to announce #CPAExplains, a new monthly video series aimed at simplifying our sustainability efforts + sharing how you can help us reach our goals πͺ pic.twitter.com/i1pRGGkTRF
— Climate Pledge Arena (@ClimateArena) April 30, 2021
As part of that effort, an estimated 22,000 tons of steel were saved by keeping the venue’s 44-million-pound roof in place, originally built for the 1962’s Seattle World’s Fair. That roof will be used to harvest nearly 50,000 gallons of water a year to maintain the ice used for the Kraken rink.
Food service will reflect the arena’s carbon neutral goals as well, with kitchens using electric appliances, while bringing in 75% of food ingredients from within 300 miles. And by 2024, the arena has “committed to eliminating 100% of our single-use plastic.”
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For exterior elements, the venue’s design team “is working with regional nurseries to hand-select nearly 200 trees of 15 varieties to be planted as part of the arena’s redevelopment.”
Climate Pledge Arena β named by Amazon last August β is expected to open by October 2021.
In addition to Seattle Kraken hockey and Seattle Storm WNBA basketball, the arena will host concerts and could also house a future Seattle NBA team. Capacity for NHL games sits at 17,100; concert capacity is up to 17,200, while basketball games could draw up to 18,100.
OVG signed a 39-year lease with the City of Seattle for the land the arena sits on. The group hopes to eventually get the building listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
