Greener Pastures

As the Pittsburgh Penguins prepare to take flight at the CONSOL Energy Center, the team’s new home holds a title of its own.

The $321 million CONSOL Energy Center is not just the NHL’s newest arena; the 720,000-square-foot facility also claims the title of being the most environmentally friendly venue in professional sports. Two months ago, the arena earned a Gold LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, becoming the first newly built major sports arena in the nation to receive the honor. Let’s take a look at the building by the numbers:

300,000+ square feet larger in area than Mellon Arena.

18,087 seating capacity for hockey games—in honor of No. 87, Sidney Crosby (2,000 more seats than in Mellon Arena).

7,200 tons of steel used in construction.

2,300+ people worked on the project.

800 HD-TV monitors throughout the arena.

150+ events on tap at CONSOL per year.

40% less water consumption by volume, thanks to low-flow plumbing fixtures (which could save an estimated 1.2 million gallons of water per year).

31% reduction in energy consumption, thanks in part to natural lighting and high-efficiency ventilation and air conditioning (which could save an estimated $260,000 per year).

29 foot, high-definition LED video screen on the new Jumbotron. (That new plasma TV in your den is futile.)

12 escalators (10 more than in Mellon Arena).

10 miles of piping under the ice.

Five inches of additional width per seat cushion compared to the Igloo.

Zero open-air troughs in the men’s rooms, replaced (thankfully) with urinals