Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena: Ticket to a Greener Future

Tim Leiweke reviewed how his development group and partners had completely rebuilt an aging Seattle landmark into the world’s greenest arena, carrying the visible name Climate Pledge Arena. It had attracted a new National Hockey League franchise, the Kraken, and featured major entertainers concerned about sustainability, such as singer Billie Eilish. Challenges included politics around the bidding process, the need for construction innovations, working during COVID-19, and meeting rising sustainability standards. Amazon bought the naming rights through its Climate Pledge Alliance, with founder Jeff Bezos insisting on a carbon zero plan, which added electricity uncertainties and further cost escalations. Leiweke had to manage his investors and find the resources and innovations to complete the project without public funding and then deal with further challenges of operating at carbon zero, including waste management, food, cooking, packaging, and community benefits such as free public transportation included with a ticket. Was the venture successful, and, given the multiplicity of stakeholders, from whose perspective? Leiweke wanted to inspire many similar projects. What kind of leadership and partnerships were required for a project with this climate impact?