The Hockey Stop

Many NHL franchises and sports venues are getting on board the green bandwagon by taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint.

This trend encompasses all of professsional sports, as The New York Times noted in a recent article titled "Getting Sports Events to Go Green," which focused mostly on Major League Baseball's efforts to green the game. For example, the Boston Red Sox use solar panels to heat water at Fenway Park.

So what has hockey done to lessen waste and pollution when thousands of fans pack arenas across North America? One initiative is called NHL Green -- a partnership between the league and GreenLife with technical guidance from the Natural Resources Defense Council. The NHL will use this alliance to develop a league "Green Plan." But what are individual teams doing right now to reduce their carbon footprint?

Here are the greenest NHL arenas based on factors such as easy access to public transportation, energy efficiency, eco-friendly construction materials, recycling options and other environmentally friendly aspects.



Arena: Consol Energy Center
Team: Pittsburgh Penguins
City: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Neighborhood: Downtown
The Stanley Cup champs are moving into a shiny new venue after waddling in the decrepit Mellon Arena -- the oldest and lowest capacity arena in the NHL. And what an arena it will be! The Consol Energy Center will not only help the Penguins in Pittsburgh, but the real penguins in the rapidly melting polar ice caps. When the arena opens for the 2010-11 season it aims to be the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certified NHL arena. The Consol Energy Center will feature a gigantic glass atrium facing downtown that will bring in more natural light, lots of green space around the building, environmentally friendly paints, alternative energy sources and locally purchased construction materials. Plus easy access to public transportation allows fans to take the subway or bus to the game instead of driving.





Arena: General Motors Place
Team: Vancouver Canucks
City: Vancouver, Canada
Neighborhood: Downtown
Vancouver aims to be the greenest host city ever when the 21st Winter Olympic Games head to British Columbia in February, 2010. In June of 2006 the Vancouver Organizing Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation announced that the hockey games would be played on NHL-sized rinks so there would be no environmental impact by expanding the ice size at GM Place (to be called Canada Hockey Place for the Olympics) and UBC Thunderbird Arena. GM Place is serviced by the SkyTrain "Stadium-Chinatown" station. SkyTrain is Vancouver's elevated rapid transit system.





Arena: Madison Square Garden
Team: New York Rangers
City: New York City, New York
Neighborhood: Chelsea
It's hard not to be green when garden is in your name and you are situated atop the busiest train station in North America -- Penn Station. Thus, "the world's most famous arena" makes the list for being so damn accessible without a car.





Arena: Pepsi Center
Team: Colorado Avalanche
City: Denver, Colorado
Neighborhood: Downtown
The Pepsi Center is not only retrofitting their building to make it more environmentally friendly, but also is taking the initiative to educate visitors about the importance of energy conservation. The arena teamed with Xcel Energy to launch a website with tips on how Colorado residents and businesses can save money and energy by going green. The Pepsi Center also features the Power Zone where kids and adults alike can play interactive trivia games, learn about wind and solar power, and more. The venue has also installed solar panels and designated hybrid-only parking spaces and a no-idling zone. The Pepsi Center is serviced by bus and Denver's light rail system. The closest station is Pepsi Center/Elitch Gardens on the C and E lines.





Arena: Philips Arena
Team: Atlanta Thrashers
City: Atlanta, Georgia
Neighborhood: Downtown
The 2008 Atlanta tornado outbreak caused minor exterior damage to the Philips Arena. Since then it has been only good news. The arena not only survived the tornado but is thriving -- Pollstar recently named Philips Arena the No. 1 U.S. venue for the first half of 2009 and earlier this year the arena became the first existing NBA or NHL arena to achieve LEED certification. The arena is also served by mass transit. The Philips Arena/CNN Center subway stop is an easy walk to the venue.





Arena: Staples Center
Team: Los Angeles Kings
City: Los Angeles, California
Neighborhood: Downtown
The Staples Center makes the list simply for trying to get car-centric Angelenos out of their leased luxury SUVs and onto the subway to see a game. The L.A. Metro recently released the above video advertisement to encourage fans to take the Blue Line light rail to the Staples Center. The Kings offer ticket discounts to metro riders and the venue provides secure bike racks. Other green initiatives include a dynamic recycling program, low-energy lighting, green cleaning chemicals, waterfree urinals and 1,727 solar panels installed on its rooftop.





Arena: TD Garden
Team: Boston Bruins
City: Boston, Massachusetts
Neighborhood: Downtown North section
The future just got brighter for Boston and the planet because TD Garden recently installed an energy-saving LED lighting system that will light up the arena's exterior at night. According to the website GreenSportsVenues.com: "The project provides a 60% decrease in kilowatt consumption over the previous equipment." The lighting system also automatically shuts off at 2 a.m. to save energy. The lighting changes colors depending on the team playing, so for example when the Bruins hit the ice the color will be yellow. And to celebrate a victory the lights can even do the wave with special effects.





Arena: Verizon Center
Team: Washington Capitals
City: Washington, D.C.
Neighborhood: Gallery Place/Chinatown
The "Phone Booth" has turned Gallery Place/Chinatown into the hottest neighborhood in the nation's capital while doing its part to cool down the planet. When former Caps owner Abe Pollin decided to replace the U.S. Air Arena in Landover, Maryland he significantly reduced the carbon footprint by locating the new arena above the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro Station -- making the arena easily accessible via subway for fans in the Virginia and Maryland suburbs. The Verizon Center was also the first indoor venue to install a high-definition LED scoreboard. Light-emitting diodes are significantly more energy efficient than traditional incandescent bulbs.

Honorable Mentions:

Honda Center -- Anaheim Ducks
Large recycling program and locally grown produce used in restaurant.

Air Canada Centre -- Toronto Maple Leafs
Located next to Union Station so easy access to public transit.

Bell Centre -- Montreal Canadians
Located in the heart of downtown, the arena provides easy access to public transit.

Xcel Energy Center -- Minnesota Wild
Recycling program, green cleaning products, low-energy lighting, low-flow water in restrooms, bike racks and bus vouchers for employees, education zone display with info on renewable and alternative energy.

Prudential Center -- New Jersey Devils
The newest arena in the NHL is also one of the most accessible via public transit -- the facility is located two blocks from Newark Penn Station.