I bet Jonathan Toews is already making a PowerPoint about why the United Center needs to do this.
Amazon has bought the naming rights to the NHL’s newest arena. For Seattle’s new team they’ll be playing in the brand new “Climate Pledge Arena” (4/10 name). Bought by Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, the arena will be taking steps to help the environment- which I love.
It’s pretty cool some of the initiatives they have in place. The ice will be made from rainwater that is collected on the roof and filtered to a tank under the facility. They’ll aim to make events “zero waste” both with less single-use plastic and locally grown food and donating the leftovers. Lastly, the arena will run on electric energy. (via here)
These procedures and plans are not cheap but they go a hell of a way to help the planet and actually secure a future for people who are like my age. Apparently, tickets to the games will also be free public transit tickets which will help cut down on traffic and carbon emissions (via here). So if they can actually do it, not like Amazon which has a green pledge but saw a 15% increase in their carbon footprint last year, it will be amazing.
I’m 20 and I freak out every day about climate change and that impending doom that the generations before me have depleted resources to the point that our generation won’t have a chance to grow old and have kids. (I’m fine.) But with this announcement, I feel a bit better.
Am I happy it was Jeff Bezos, who has enough money to pay his workers livable wages and improve their safety on the job but doesn’t? No, I’m not happy it’s him. But I am happy that the name isn’t a big Amazon advert and it is actually making changes in the world. Should this plan of being eco-friendly actually work, then we can see a change for all stadiums around the continent- hell, even the world. So bottom line, I’m on board with it.
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Featured Image: Jeff Bezos IG
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