Populous-designed UBS Arena earns LEED certification

Populous-designed UBS Arena has been awarded LEED Certified status, a culmination of sustainable efforts including thoughtful site development, material selection, design and operation in its first year of use. An arena that was made for music and built for hockey, the Oak View Group (OVG) owned and operated UBS Arena now also serves as a benchmark of sustainability in the sports and entertainment industry.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is the most widely used green building rating system in the world and an international symbol of excellence. Through design, construction and operations practices that improve environmental and human health, LEED-certified buildings are helping to make the world more sustainable.

“We designed UBS Arena to set a standard for the future of sports and entertainment venues, and key to this approach was an emphasis on sustainable and thoughtful design,” said Populous senior principal Jason Carmello. “We are thrilled to see the efforts of Oak View Group and the entire project team recognized as UBS Arena achieves LEED certification.”

Key strategies employed by the project team to achieve the certification include:

• UBS Arena’s high performance is specifically designed to reduce energy costs. UBS Arena uses heat recovery technology, LED lighting, high-performance glass and other efficient design practices to reduce energy by over 15%.
• The building provides air quality exceeding the ASHRAE 62.1-2010 standard to provide comfort and well-being for occupants, including the use of MERV13 air filters.
• UBS Arena’s location and proximity to local transit services for guests and visitors helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.
• Native plants and high efficiency irrigation strategies help reduce the arena’s outdoor water consumption by over 50%, saving water and promoting healthy ecosystems with local habitat restoration.
• The venue provides dedicated recycling stations to minimize the building’s operation waste stream by diverting glass, metal, paper, cardboard and plastic from landfills.
• The venue is designed to reduce indoor potable water use by over 40% with the installation of low-flow flush and flow fixtures.
• UBS Arena uses all environmentally-friendly cleaning products. This puts less stress on the local water system and promotes a healthy ecosystem.
• The shade trees and site landscape provide multiple benefits like combating the urban heat island effect, reducing rainwater runoff, promoting habitats through healthy ecosystems and creating opportunities to connect with nature.

“We are excited that UBS Arena was awarded LEED certification. This acknowledgement highlights the dedication we put forth in its efforts to be environmentally conscious when designing and constructing our venue,” said Kim Stone, President of UBS Arena and Executive Vice President of OVG East Coast. “As a founding member of GOAL (Green Operations & Advanced Leadership) and the first OVG Owned & Operated venue to achieve this prestigious certification, we’re proud that UBS Arena is at the forefront of sustainability.”

Populous and OVG worked with variety of industry partners to achieve LEED Certification, including France Sustainable Solutions, ME Engineers, Thornton Tomasetti, Bohler Engineering, Hollander Design, Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company, Duray/JF Duncan Industries, and many others.