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Developers of a proposed 11,000-seat, $250 million arena that could break ground in the Coachella Valley as soon as this spring are touting new plans for the facility ultimately to be powered with solar energy and have a plan to generate zero waste and be entirely carbon neutral by 2025.
But Oak View Group — the arena’s developer — stipulates that achieving those goals will require cooperation with the local power utility, something that they say is proving challenging. The Riverside County Planning Commission unanimously voted to approve an array of environmental and zoning changes associated with the arena on Wednesday.
One of the company’s missions is to “operate the most progressive, responsive, sustainable venues in the world.” OGV has a portfolio that includes Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, which is under construction.
OVG hired architect Jason McLennan and his Seattle-based design firm, which focuses on “deep green, regenerative design solutions,” and has consulted with OVG on sustainability strategy as it has built the $900 million Climate Pledge Arena. The arena touts itself as the country’s first carbon-neutral sports venue, where Key Arena was once located in downtown Seattle.
“We work on building projects all over the world,” McLennan said, “but we only work on projects that have a deep sustainability ethic associated with them. So, we do sports and entertainment and higher education and K-12 (facilities). Pretty much any building type, as long as the focus is on sustainability and helping to raise the bar.”
More:Editorial: Arena would be good for our valley. Some final tweaks would make it great.
More:What impact would the new Coachella Valley hockey arena have on the environment?
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Desert Sun is partnering with Oak View Group for an informational webinar series called “Valley Arena Project.” The arena series will focus on various aspects of the new sports and entertainment facility that, pending approval by Riverside County, could begin construction this month, including design, construction, sustainability and the various sports and music tenants.
Not everybody is convinced
In the Coachella Valley, residents have raised concerns about the environmental impact of the arena project, noting the area already has poor air quality due to a confluence of smog blowing in from Los Angeles, the continued decay of the Salton Sea, agricultural dust, wildfires, climate change and increasing local traffic.
There is no plan for public transit to the venue, which will sit next to the Classic Club golf course on unincorporated land near Palm Desert; critics say adopting a public transit plan would cut down on traffic and air pollution. OVG has acknowledged public concern about the use of water and energy, as well as waste disposal and the kind of materials that will be used during construction.
McLennan and his team say they are working with architects at Populous, the company that designed the proposed Coachella Valley arena, to address those concerns.
“There’s an overall strategic objective for all of the arenas that we are building to have a high vision in terms of sustainability, and Climate Pledge Arena sets the bar, best in class worldwide,” said John Bolton, a senior vice president at OVG and general manager of the proposed Coachella Valley arena. “So, we want to do whatever we can here to follow in the footsteps in that kind of groundbreaking arena.”
Becoming carbon neutral by 2025?
OVG chief executive Tim Leiweke’s pledged to The Desert Sun’s editorial board last month to “double down” on solar, use less water and release detailed plans to “green” the arena. OVG says its goal is to have the Coachella Valley area become completely carbon neutral by 2025.
Upon opening, the developer says 25% of the arena’s overall energy demand will be met with on-site solar photovoltaic cells, which convert sunlight directly into electricity. Solar-covered parking canopies will supply power to the arena and provide shading for vehicles during the daytime, a change from the original site plan that did not call for widespread canopies.
The strategy of bringing solar energy to an arena is not new; it’s something developers have implemented at Climate Pledge Arena. The difference, of course, is that the Coachella Valley receives much more sunlight than the Seattle area.
“We can do a lot more with solar energy in your part of the world, as you might imagine,” McLennan said. “What I love about this is that every visitor who comes is going to be able to see this expression of sustainability on the project and really understand that this is a new day.”
More:Coachella Valley arena traffic, parking plans on agenda for county Planning Commission meeting
More:Watch: Coachella Valley entertainment and hockey arena planned for Palm Desert area
To achieve full carbon neutrality, arena developers say they will eventually expand on-site solar photovoltaic cells and maximize renewable energy on-site once net metering is established.
Under net metering, when solar cells produce more electricity than a facility needs, that energy is sent to the grid in exchange for credits.
Achieving that would require the cooperation of Imperial Irrigation District, the power company that has jurisdiction at the site. IID has resisted working in full cooperation with OVG on its renewable energy plan and Leiweke said that without net metering the arena could not meet those ambitious goals.
Bolton said that the two companies will continue to work together to take the right steps to achieve those goals and that he believes the county will be an powerful advocate on that regard. County Supervisor V. Manuel Pérez has said that he is “100% fully behind this project.”
“It would be thrilling to me to have something like that, we’re he can say that we’re the first (arena) to be 100% powered by solar,” Bolton said. “That’s still possible. …out here it makes so much sense to make all projects eventually headed toward that direction.”
In an effort to offset the climate impacts of the electric power the arena gets from non-renewable sources, developers say they intend to plant trees and implement reforestation and other green initiatives that they anticipate will move the site toward carbon neutrality within three years of its planned 2022 opening.
Part of that effort includes the goal of having zero waste on the site. Arenas notoriously generate a significant amount of waste, specifically from concessions. Arena developers say they intend to divert at least 97% of waste from landfills on a weight basis, simplifying its supply chain and on-site sorting. The arena will also compost some waste and implement recycling throughout the venue.
Leiweke has committed to being 100% free of single-use plastics within the first year of the building’s opening.
Limited water usage
Russell Brady, the lead county planner assigned to evaluate the arena project, said the Coachella Valley Water District estimated demand for the buildings and exterior landscaping would be 20.5 acre-feet per year, or around 6.7 million gallons. Brady said that the figure was significantly below the water needs of a proposed business park on the site that had been approved by the country in 2006, which could have required nearly 80 acre-feet more per year, or about 26 million additional gallons.
For the arena, developers are including a storm runoff system in the design of the arena to avoid wasting water at the site. It will dramatically reduce the amount of water going to the stormwater system, Benke said.
A third of the project will utilize infiltration trenches that will capture and infiltrate the storm water runoff, recharging the groundwater supply.
The remainder of the site will feature vegetated swales that will be incorporated into the site landscape. Those swales will recharge the groundwater supply and provide irrigation to the planting and landscaping within them, using recycled water.
All landscaping on the 43-acres site will be native to the habitat, which will minimize the need for water to irrigate.
All plumbing fixtures throughout the facility will be low flow to meet industry standards.
“Water use is of course really important, especially in the desert,” said Brad Benke, an architect working on the arena with McLennan Design. “Similarly, the energy on the first step is reducing as much as possible.”
Transportation improvements to site plan
Leiweke heard local traffic concerns during a Palm Desert town hall last month. Expanding public transit to the arena is one way OVG is now working to address that anxiety.
OVG has begun to work with local transportation authorities in an effort to expand transit options with Sunline bus agency and plans to promote alternative transportation by providing bicycle racks and pathways, as well as on-site areas designated for ride-shares and drop-off and pick-up zones.
There also will be infrastructure for electric vehicle charging.
“Hopefully we’re providing incentives and the best possible way to get to the site without having a large carbon impact,” Benke said.
Indoor air quality at the arena
Developers say they are also conscientious about the inside of the arena and it being a safe, modern facility that will boast quality air flowing throughout the facility. A ventilation system will monitor carbon dioxide levels of offgassing from construction materials and all other products used inside will have met the standard requirements of South Coast Air Quality Management District.
“There’s no (volatile organic compounds), no harmful chemicals,” Benke said. “so that you’re positive that the air that you’re breathing in this facility is just as clean as the air outside.
“It’s a rapidly developing part of sustainable design industry and what’s really great about this is it’s starting to change the way products are manufactured. It starts to give incentives for manufacturers to make cleaner products and remove harmful chemicals from them.
“This is something we’re very passionate about and are really looking forward to see implemented on this project.”
Desert Sun environment reporter Janet Wilson contributed reporting to this story.
Andrew John is a reporter for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Find him on Twitter: @Andrew_L_John. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.
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