The Seattle Kraken will join the National Hockey League this fall. When the puck drops on their home ice, it’ll be inside a stadium that’s designed with more than hockey goals in mind.
Seattle’s old Key Arena was recently renovated, and it’s been renamed “Climate Pledge Arena” by Amazon, which acquired the naming rights.
The name highlights a goal set by Amazon and more than 50 other companies: becoming carbon neutral by 2040.
The arena itself will be carbon neutral much sooner.
“There’s a lot of great momentum and opportunity to have meaningful impact here,” says Logan Gerken of Mortenson, the firm renovating the arena.
His team improved the building’s energy efficiency and replaced systems that ran on natural gas with electric.
“And so, this encompassed changes in all of the kitchen cooking facilities, boilers and hot water heaters, air handling units,” he says.
Even the Zamboni that smooths the ice is now electric.
As a result, the arena can be completely powered by renewable energy. To compensate for any emissions that remain, the arena will purchase carbon offsets.
And while hockey fans may hate to see zero points on the scoreboard, zero carbon is a goal worth shooting for.
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy/ChavoBart Digital Media