Golden 1 Center the ‘greenest’ arena in U.S.
The Sacramento BeeBy Ryan LillisGolden 1 Center is officially the “greenest” arena in the country.The Sacramento Kings announced Thursday that their new downtown arena had been certified LEED Platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council, “the highest level of global recognition for environmentally conscious buildings and organizations.” The team said Golden 1 will be the first indoor arena to achieve that status.“Our hope in creating Golden 1 Center was to help drive meaningful change in our community – which includes working to curb climate change and promote renewable energy,” Kings Chairman Vivek Ranadive said in a statement.LEED Platinum is given to projects that meet strict standards in energy use, water efficiency, transportation impacts and the materials used in construction.Golden 1 Center will be powered during the day by solar panels on the building’s roof. A new 11-megawatt solar farm built by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District on its Rancho Seco property in partnership with the Kings will generate the power to offset electricity used at the facility during evening events. Hangar doors above the arena’s main entrance can open, allowing cool Delta breezes to fill the building.The LEED stamp of approval also takes into account how the arena was constructed. Nearly all of the construction materials from the former Downtown Plaza were recycled when the mall was demolished, and more than a third of the materials used to build the arena were from recycled sources.The Kings also plan to source 90 percent of the food and drink concessions from businesses and farms within 150 miles of the arena.The arena will also host next year’s Green Sports Alliance, a prestigious meeting of sports executives focused on environmental standards for sports facilities.