SPONSORED FEATURE
GOLDEN 1 CENTER
USHERS IN A NEW ERA FOR SACRAMENTO
AND THE KINGS
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STREET & SMITH’S SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL
OCTOBER 24 -30, 2016
GOLDEN 1 CENTER | SPECIAL SECTION
Golden 1 Center is a welcoming space, graciously melding inside and outside space and serving as a world-class stage for the NBA and top entertainment.
Owner Vivek Ranadive’ and the Kings
Give Back to Sacramento in a Big Way
With its commitment to the environment, downtown
Sacramento and fans, Golden 1 Center is as much a
labor of love as it is a monument to the intersection of
world-class basketball and stunning technology.
In a conversation about the new arena, Sacramento
Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé lovingly discusses the gleaming
new center of downtown more as an exercise in social
responsibility than as a professional, money-generating
sports enterprise.
“I’m an immigrant. I came to this country from India with
nothing,” Ranadivé said. “Everything I have, I owe to this
country and to the state of California. Something clicked in
me. This was a way to give back.”
So, three years ago, Ranadivé stepped in to keep the
Sacramento Kings in the state capital and to fulfill an NBA
mandate to build them a venue by 2017.
Golden 1 Center officially opens to NBA basketball on
Oct. 27 with the Sacramento Kings taking on the San Antonio Spurs in the Kings’ first regular season home game, a
year ahead of the NBA mandate.
In early October, the arena opened its doors with two
sold-out Paul McCartney concerts.
After hearing countless design proposals and ideas,
Ranadivé boiled his vision into five far-reaching goals:
•Meld the outdoors and the indoors into one
•Eliminate any point of friction for fans, players, staff and
anyone who may interact with the team and the
building
•Build an environmentally conscious, socially responsible
venue
•Enhance the local economy
•Create a 21st-century communal fireplace for fans and
OCTOBER 24 - 30, 2016
downtown that holistically expresses the idea of “uniquely
Sacramento.”
Golden 1 Center is the result of each of those goals
overlaying every other goal in ways that are physical, digital
and figurative with the overarching vision threaded in and
out and through every detail of the arena and its surrounding plaza and through its real relationship with every person
who comes in contact with the building.
Phrases such as “Arena 3.0,” “technological marvel,”
“inside out,” “sustainability” and “village plaza” pop up over
Before the first tip off, or the first concert, the Kings welcomed
Sacramento fans to an Open House designed to show off the new
state-of-the-art environment.
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
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and over when talking with anyone involved in the project
from architects to food purveyors.
And they’re not hyperbole.
The best advice Ranadivé received for making fans the
happiest possible: “Find the points of friction and eliminate
them.”
Friction can mean anything that potentially makes a fan
unhappy — long lines, traffic frustrations, keeping track of
paperwork, wireless systems that are slow to load a photo,
cold pizza.
“We’ve flipped the notion of a fan checking into an
arena — the arena checks into the fan,” said Ranadivé.
“Your phone becomes your remote control for Golden 1
Center.”
For example, for Golden 1 Center, AECOM, the arena’s
design firm, invented a new climate control technology that
installs the system under the individual seats, a system that is
environmentally conscious by keeping cooling and heating
where it’s needed — at the seat level instead of the ceiling
— and an enormous boon in operational savings.
Using their phone app, fans can place wager with
points— a first for the NBA. Fans can also participate in
gaming, connect with friends, eliminate parking issues, find
their way through the arena, use their phone for ticketing
and order food and beverages.
“But what if I don’t even want to get my phone out of my
pocket at the gate?” Ranadivé said. “We want to process
everything faster and faster so that a fan never has to wait.”
From Day 1, he said, the arena will use facial recognition
software for the Sacramento Kings players in an effort to
make the arena more frictionless for them too.
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Over the five years of the project, Icon Venue Group expertly managed the construction of Golden 1 Center to fit the design, environmental,
technical and community vision of the Sacramento Kings.
Icon Venue Group’s Expertise Key
to Making the Vision a Reality
ICON Venue Group served as the bridge between the
Sacramento Kings’ vision for Golden 1 Center and the reality
of bringing the wide-ranging, ambitious, first-of-its-kind venue
to life.
“Our job, simply put, was to manage on behalf of the
ownership the design and construction of the arena, from
start to finish,” said George Messina, the senior vice president
for ICON who oversaw the project. “That means we hired the
architects and the engineers, worked with all of the Sacramento city departments, helped create the design and
vision and, just as importantly, communicated the impacts
of every decision with our clients.”
The process began for ICON Venue Group five years ago,
when the firm led a feasibility study for the city of Sacramento to figure out how to keep the Kings in town.
When Vivek Ranadivé took ownership of the Kings in 2013,
he brought on ICON Venue Group to ensure that his technology- and sustainability-driven vision came to fruition.
“No one would ever guess the level of detail it takes to
bring a venture like this to life,” Messina said. “I think of our
role as an overarching communications facilitator. ICON’s
job is to make sure every single person involved understands
his or her role and how it relates to everyone else’s, so that
everyone is working smoothly toward a single goal. Our job is
to look at the big picture to see the problems, then solve
them, while keeping the project on time and on budget. We
must then interface with everyone from the owner to the
electrician with the same understanding and effective communication.”
At Golden 1 Center, that vision fell into the parameters of
“uniquely Sacramento,” an idea that drove most of the decisions about the venue, from aiming for — and achieving —
LEED platinum certification to bringing in the freshest local
fare to serving as a catalyst for the revitalization of downtown
Sacramento.
ICON Venue Group, founded in 2004, is the leading owner’s representative firm in the sports and entertainment industry and offers the sports industry a full range of expertise
essential for developing and creating world-class venues.
“Congratulations are in order to the Kings’ management
team for maintaining the high bar that was set by the owners,” Messina said. “ICON Venue Group was honored to play
a role in bringing such an extraordinary venue to life.” ■
As time goes on, the building will become smarter and
smarter. The software involved, whether it’s for building operations or the app, is designed to continually learn through
use and become more intuitive over time.
“We have AI (artificial intelligence) programmed into the
app, for example. You can ask questions, say, about the players, or the arena, and the app will answer you,” said Ranadivé. “As everyone chats with the app, it will become smarter
and smarter to anticipate more and better answers.”
The arena, which is 100% powered by the solar energy, is
loaded with two 100-gigabit ethernet-dedicated internet circuits, enough to provide service to an entire city. For fans,
that means an internet connection 17,000 times faster than
the average home connection.
Fans could simultaneously post 500,000 Snapchats a
second and upload 225,000 photos per second to Instagram. Again, an overarching design that eliminates a friction — slow service —that fans may never have noticed.
More than 1,000 Wi-Fi access points are spread throughout the arena, the outdoor plaza and the surrounding Downtown Commons, creating more than 1 million square feet of
Wi-Fi and cell phone coverage.
Golden 1 Center hired a Disney Imagineer to design the
world’s largest — and the NBA’s very first — 4K video board,
the highest resolution the human eye can see, to ensure
that every fan in the arena has not only the best screen
experience possible but the video board is strategically positioned at a level and angle so that fans barely need to turn
their heads to see.
The 17,500-seat capacity, with all seats pushed as far
toward the court as possible, gives fans one of the most intimate experiences in the NBA.
“Every seat in the house is a great seat for viewing,
whether it’s at the top of the arena or down on the floor,”
Ranadivé said. “What’s the biggest difference between my
seat on the floor and someone’s seat at the top? I can hear
the squeak of shoes on the court. It’s sound.”
To eliminate that particular friction, the designers installed
a 360-degree sound ¬-system, so that no matter where the
seat, every fan experiences the sound exactly as if he were
seated on the floor.
“We’ve paid attention to the smallest detail,” said
Ranadivé. “If you tweet from your seat that your pizza is
cold, we can pick up on that tweet and bring you a fresh
pizza. We want to anticipate and fix anything that would
make you unhappy before you have had a chance to realize you’re unhappy.”
The design team worked tirelessly to remove friction in
every aspect of the arena, and not exclusively for fans,
down to including smoothly operating load-outs for performers, such as make it easy for the arena to accommodate
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6A
Congratulations to the Sacramento
Kings ownership and management,
the City of Sacramento, AECOM
and Turner Construction for
delivering the smartest
and most green arena in
the world. ICON Venue
Group was honored
to be a part of this
transformational
project.
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STREET & SMITH’S SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL
OCTOBER 24 -30, 2016
GOLDEN 1 CENTER | SPECIAL SECTION
Legends Brings a Uniquely Sacramento Menu to Golden 1 Center
Sacramento, located in the heart of the nation’s best
agricultural growing region, is the birthplace of America’s
farm-to-fork movement. The Sacramento Kings needed a
forward-thinking hospitality partner that could tap into the
region’s zeitgeist in a comprehensive way.
“We came to the Golden 1 Center with what we call ‘the
90/150’ plan,” said Angela Tassie, Vice President of Marketing
and Business Development for Legends. “That means that we
are committed to sourcing 90 percent of all the food and
beverages from within 150 miles of Sacramento.”
Legends committed to hiring a chef to participate in the
design and construction process of the arena. Well-known
chef Michael Tuohy has been on the ground for the last two
years, building a network of vendors committed to the Kings’
vision and creating a uniquely Sacramento menu throughout the facility.
“It was a wonderful opportunity for our chefs,” said Tassie
“Sacramento is situated so that we have access to farmers
and ranchers producing wonderful fruits, vegetables, nuts,
cheese, olive oil, poultry, & meats. We have local access to
the top wine producing AVA’s in the country along with 53
Craft brewers located within 30 miles of Sacramento. We
also enjoy locally raised sturgeon, trout and catfish from
nearby Passmore ranch just 20minutes away and coastal
seafood from Monterey Bay north to Fort Bragg. All within a
150-mile radius.” About the only things that don’t actually
grow here are Coffee & Choc. But, we have great local
roasters and chocolatiers.
Legends established a Golden 1 Center Food & Sustainability Charter Advisory Board, made up of farmers, local restaurateurs and executives, “to keep us aligned with the charter,” said Tassie, and a connection with the local food community, long after opening day.
The company also created a Food and Sustainability
Charter to serve as an overarching guide to all its Golden 1
Center operations, incorporating standards for vendors, food
quality, sustainability and environmental efforts.
Legends’ commitment played a key role in Golden 1
achieving LEED Platinum certification.
Legends diverse menu planned for Golden 1 Center will take full
advantage of Sacramento’s location in the center of one of the most
bountiful agricultural regions in the country.
Concession designs reflect both the goal of creating the “frictionless”
fan experience and the use of locally source foods and regional
flavors.
“We collaborated with the Kings’ on sustainability efforts,”
said Tassie. “From ordering kitchen equipment with low carbon footprint to hiring vendors that were equally committed
to our goal.”
Food waste is separated into two categories: Prepared
Food; excess that will be accepted by Sacramento Community Food Bank & Family Services, reaching more than
200 agencies in our region; Green Waste in partnership with
California Safe Soil will retrieve our kitchen scraps, and return
to farmers for use as feed as well as an input back into the
soil to help reduce water usage and increase crop yields.
A highlight of the concourses will be, appropriately
enough, “Local Eats,” to showcase area brands and to
emphasize the 90/150 concept.
Anticipated fan favorites include the Porchetta House,
which spit-roasts meats over fire on the spot, then carves, for
delicious sandwiches. Featuring a Porchetta sandwich,
savory slices of Italian-style pork roast loaded onto a locally
made bun and slathered with a sauce of local herbs and
spices.
Another favorite concession is a venture from Sacramento’s LowBrau sausage company. In addition to its housemade sausages, the LowBrau will serve up such offerings as
the Dirty Duck Fries, French fries fried in duck fat, then presented topped with cheese, peppers & onions.
The arena team is also dedicated to meeting the diverse
needs of its fans, offering vegan and gluten-free options
throughout the building.
In all, nine local partners are represented in the Local Eats
section with a total of 15 food and beverage points of sale
throughout the main and upper concourses.
Menus will change seasonally, based on what farmers are
producing at any given time, which will give fans a chance
to taste the best of the region all year.
“Golden 1 Center is a testament to how we do things at
Legends,” said Tassie. “We are honored to work with the entire
leadership at Golden 1 Center, who are committed to creating the best hospitality in the industry.”■
CONGRATULATIONS
We’re proud to partner with Golden 1 Center to
revolutionize the in-arena food experience. With 90%
of our ingredients locally sourced from a 150-mile
radius of Sacramento, we believe farm-to-court
is the future of live entertainment.
#SACRAMENTOPROUD
www.legends.net
OCTOBER 24 - 30, 2016
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STREET & SMITH’S SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL
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SPONSORED FEATURE
A technical footprint that includes two 100-gigabit ethernet-dedicated internet circuits, the NBA’s first 4-K Video Board, seat-by-seat climate controls are key to providing the King’s vision of a “frictionless” fan experience.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4A
the 24 18-wheelers necessary to truck in Paul McCartney’s stage.
Ranadivé’s favorite part of the design isn’t the technology, awe inspiring as it is. For Ranadivé, it’s the idea of unifying the indoors and outdoors.
The inside-out concept is another overarching goal that
comes to life in myriad ways. In a more figurative sense, the
design of arena fits the human scale of its surroundings and
becomes a natural part of the downtown landscape. Anyone
standing outside the arena has perspectives into the interior
through the glass panels encircling the building. Golden 1 Center is open, from a design perspective, to the world, rather than
a traditional arena that focuses attention only to the indoors
and turns its windowless, concrete back to its surrounding. It’s
designed to draw people in, rather than push them away.
The plaza outdoors, with its welcoming shade cast by the
arena and walnut trees, along with its green wall to lower
temperatures, is a year-round haven for pedestrians.
The plaza leads to five five-story glass hangar doors,
150-feet-wide together.
“With a push of the button, those doors go up and you
are both inside and outside. If I have to pick only one thing,
that is my favorite part of the whole building,” said Ranadivé.
Soaring above the hangar doors are bridges and the
Sierra Nevada Bar, where fans can grab a beer and enjoy
the game, while simultaneously experiencing the outdoors
and the Delta Breeze.
The concourses are wide and open with views from
every vantage point down into the arena and out to the
landscape, creating a warm, welcoming ambiance.
Premium Seating
The Sacramento Kings boast the youngest fan base in
the NBA. To accommodate the millennial aesthetic, Golden
1 Center invented a proprietary premium seating concept,
The Lofts. The Lofts are a reimagined family room with
lounge seating and access to private suite-level clubs.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 9A
Golden 1 Center’s league-first 4K scoreboard, open design and technical innovations ensure that no fan is far away from the sights and sounds of center court.
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STREET & SMITH’S SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL
OCTOBER 24 -30, 2016
GOLDEN 1 CENTER | SPECIAL SECTION
Asked to Create “Arena 3.0” AECOM Delivers
When the Sacramento Kings looked for a sports architecture firm to create “Arena 3.0,” they turned to AECOM to
deliver a vision never before seen.
What AECOM designed was the world’s most sustainable
arena, an indoor-outdoor venue that reflects the region,
revives the downtown and offers fans an unparalleled experience.
“Our approach is that every venue and its environs offer a
unique opportunity,” said Jon Niemuth, director of AECOM
Sports, Americas. “Sacramento never would have fit into a
cookie-cutter mold. Our task was to take the Kings’ wideranging goals and create a phenomenal venue that met
their ambitions.”
Golden 1 Center had to mend the heart of the city, Niemuth said, both physically and figuratively, by rebuilding a
neglected part of downtown to catalyze economic development, and by reaffirming the Kings’ commitment to Sacramento fans.
In addition, the venue had to encapsulate the concept
of “uniquely Sacramento,” an encompassing vision that takes
into account sustainability, geography, the diverse community, the local weather phenomenon known as the Delta
Breeze, Sacramento’s role at the center of the nation’s food
production and farm-to-fork movement, and residents’ love
of the outdoors.
“It never could have been just about seat counts,” Niemuth said. “Mark Friedman, one of the Kings’ owners, told us,
‘This is our hometown. From top to bottom, we want this to be
not only an exciting and comfortable building, but a civic
building.’ We were determined to give Sacramento and the
Kings a place for everyone to gather, a place that makes the
city proud.”
AECOM took on every aspect of the design, from architecture to engineering to landscape architecture. The firm’s
depth of in-house expertise gave AECOM the ability to build
a holistic vision for the Kings. And the Kings’ technological
ambitions demanded one-of-a-kind solutions, such as an
AECOM displacement ventilation system that delivers conditioned air directly at seat level, saving energy and increasing
comfort. Fans can influence the temperature through the
To create what the Sacramento Kings termed “Arena 3.O” the franchise turned to AECOM who came through delivering a fully-solar powered,
locally sourced, maximally efficient facility boasting a design that will define the city of Sacramento for years to come.
arena app.
“AECOM fit well with the Kings and Sacramento because
we have the expertise for urban design, architecture, city
planning, landscape architecture,” Niemuth said. “These
experts worked together from the start, viewing the challenge
from a broad perspective and sharing ideas to create a
design that fits the city. Everything the leadership team challenged us to do, we’ve delivered.”
The venue design harnesses a unique “inside-out” concept that reverses the typical introverted nature of arenas,
said Rob Rothblatt, AECOM’s exterior design lead. “We’ve
opened the arena to the city, providing views in and out, and
engaging the community with a design that reflects the
region and Sacramento residents’ love of the outdoors.”
Five aircraft-hangar doors, 150 feet wide in total, open to
the breeze and views of downtown and serve as a gathering
point for fans. Near the giant doors are elevated lounges and
bridges that feel half in, half out of the building, Rothblatt
said. “These spaces give fans an incredible way to experience events and enjoy the indoor-outdoor lifestyle that is
such a part of this climate.”
Inside the arena, the theme of “bringing the outside in”
continues, said Mike Wekesser, the sports and interior design
lead for AECOM. “The main concourse has 360-degree views
down to the court and offers views out to the city, so fans
always feel connected to the action and downtown,”
Wekesser said. The wide concourses, with their unimpeded
views to the floor and array of local food and beverage
options, create a street fair or a farmers market-type atmosphere.
To add to the unique fan experience, the lower bowl contains 61 percent of the seats, resulting in unparalleled views
— and an intimidating wall of sound for the visiting team.
AECOM CONTINUED ON PAGE 10A
Congratulations and best of luck
this season in your new arena.
We designed
the Golden 1 Center
for fans, city and planet.
AECOM offers a new approach to
planning, designing and building
successful sports destinations. It’s about
the bigger picture and the finer grain.
It’s about connections and transport, the
environment and sustainability.
It’s about planning and landscape, local
traditions and culture. From long before the
seats have been filled to long after they have
emptied, we understand that sports and their
built environment is about much more than a
game.
For more information on how we can help you elevate
your game contact:
Jon Niemuth, AIA, NCARB
Director of AECOM Sports, Americas
M +816.674.6784
[email protected]
Drew Berst
Director of Business Development, Sports
M +913.991.0361
[email protected]
www.aecom.com/golden1center
OCTOBER 24 - 30, 2016
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STREET & SMITH’S SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL
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SPONSORED FEATURE
Ticketmaster Adds To Fan Experience in Golden 1 App
In building Golden 1 Center, the Sacramento Kings
brought on board their longtime partner Ticketmaster
to bring its technology-driven platforms to the most
tech-savvy arena in the world.
“We’ve been in lockstep with the Golden 1 Center
technologically throughout the entire process,” said
Kurt Schwartzkopf, senior vice president of NBA and
NHL arenas for Ticketmaster. “When you open a brandnew building and want to forge lifelong relationships
with fans, it’s important that you choose partners who
are committed to that same mission just as Ticketmaster has been. The Kings really nailed it from a tech perspective, and we’re proud to have been a part of
bringing that to life.”
At Golden 1 Center, Ticketmaster serves as the ticketing platform and fan engagement engine that
translates into an easy, intuitive ticketing and entry
experience for fans.
The company’s mobile ticketing platform is
embedded in the Golden 1 Center app, for example.
Fans can manage their account through their phones,
starting at the entrance gate. Ticketmaster’s software
development kit allows Kings fans to also buy and
resell tickets and upgrade their seating through the
app.
“We’re dedicated to our open ticketing platform; it
introduces ticket solutions that give our clients the
broadest range of options to reach their fans through
our own partner integrations or through third-party ticketing platforms,” Schwartzkopf said.
Ticketmaster has 50 certified open platform partners representing more than 500 API (application program interface) integrations launched from more than
2,000 developers.
“We provide both the primary and resale ticketing,
as a single integrated platform, for Golden 1 Center,
making it easy and transparent for fans,” Schwartzkopf
said. “Ticketmaster is the only platform that offers a
verified ticket. Every fan can be assured their Ticketmaster ticket is the real deal.”
Ticketmaster has made it easy to manage all of
Golden 1’s event content in one place. By building
one integrated interface for the arena, Ticketmaster
has made it possible for the venue to publish across its
website and app, through email, Facebook and other
social channels, plus give the Kings access to Ticketmaster’s massive marketing network.
Through its BlueDigital platform, clients can create
tracking codes through FanBuilder for real-time feedback on fan activity. Through Ticketmaster’s data tools,
clients can see what’s working, make immediate
adjustments and build powerful, segmented lists to
guide event marketing.
The Nexus Partner Program, built on Ticketmaster’s
open platform, gives clients an easy way to connect
directly with fans through their mobile devices and
provide them with once-in-a-lifetime VIP experiences.
The platform also helps clients improve attendance
and season-ticket retention through targeted communications and rewards programs. Clients are supported
with analytics tools that help achieve efficiencies with
dynamic pricing and setting industry benchmarks.
Earlier this month, Ticketmaster announced a partnership with warehouse club Costco to launch costcotickets.com, providing clients with an avenue to
market their tickets to Costco’s 83 million members.
Golden 1 Center event-goers will have access to
these ticketing options and more personalized invenue experiences through Ticketmaster, providing an
array of convenient options for Sacramento-based
fans.
“The leadership team at Golden 1 Center deserves
so much credit,” Schwartzkopf said. “Kings owner Vivek
Ranadivé has built something the sports world has
never seen. We’re glad to have been part of building
the world’s premier technology arena.”■
Ticketmaster’s custom app for Golden 1 Center is a complete package of
interactive features for Kings fans. Keep up with NBA scores, get updated
and graphic stats, find friends, order food and merchandise, vote on in-area
contests, even cheer by turning your phone into a cowbell or lighter.
High tech. Data driven.
Incredible fan experience.
CONGRATULATIONS
on Golden 1 Center!
Proud Partners of the Sacramento Kings and Golden 1 Center
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STREET & SMITH’S SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL
OCTOBER 24 -30, 2016
GOLDEN 1 CENTER | SPECIAL SECTION
Design features such as the five five-story glass hangar doors, outdoor/indoor areas, individual seat air vents, solar power, and industry-leading reclamation technology make Golden 1 Center a showcase for
environmentally responsible design.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6A
Indeed, all the premium seating, including the 34 suites,
is sold out at Golden 1 Center, due at least in part, to the virtual reality goggles at the sales center, which buyers could
use to “walk” through the arena and “see” their seats before
the building was ever constructed.
“By using virtual reality, people could really see what they
were buying into and be more comfortable with it,” said
Ranadivé. “Another detail to eliminate friction.”
LEED Platinum
Golden 1 Center is the only indoor arena to ever achieve
LEED Platinum status. From the very beginning, Ranadivé
was dedicated to constructing an environmentally conscious space. To do that required conscientious, detailed
planning and constant attention from Day 1 on the part of
everyone involved, from designers to contractors to food
and beverage service.
For starters, Golden 1 Center is the only arena fully powered
by the sun. In fact, the designers are anticipating the building
will generate excess electricity to put back in the grid.
Cooling is enhanced by the siting of the five massive
hangar doors to take advantage of the Delta Breeze, the
local weather phenomenon that can make 100-degree
days comfortable. Outdoors, a living wall of plants at the
base of the arena creates a cooler microclimate on the
plaza. The building is sited to cast shade over the plaza dur-
ing the hottest part of the day, making the plaza a yearround gathering spot.
Water is recaptured, using 700,000 fewer gallons than the
average arena its size. Ninety-five percent of construction
waste was diverted and 98 percent of demolition material was
recycled. All wood in the building is FSC-certified, an international standard of responsible forest management. A third of
the construction materials were drawn from recycled sources.
In January, the Kings collected thousands of old sneakers
from fans and turned them into a special foam that lies
under the court’s wood floor. Fans were encouraged to write
a special message on their shoes before donating them,
and then tweet about why their shoes should be included.
The arena sits blocks from a massive transit hub for bus
and light rail and will feature a bicycle valet service at large
events, making it simple for fans to use environmentally
responsible transportation.
The arena’s central location, energy-efficient design
and sustainable operations will slash 2,000 tons from the
building’s annual carbon footprint.
The Economy
Golden 1 Center’s location in downtown Sacramento is spurring economic growth including an entertainment district that is reviving the life of
city center.
OCTOBER 24 - 30, 2016
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Since the Golden 1 Center design process began three
years ago, nearly 1.5 million square feet of additional development is in the works for this formerly neglected section of
Sacramento. The Downtown Commons, or DoCo, as the
four-block area is now known, is undergoing a renaissance
that will bring online world-class shopping, dining and entertainment, as well as hotels, condominiums and office
space.
The Kings were committed to awarding contracts to
local businesses and hiring local contractors. The team also
set a goal to hire priority apprentices, from laborers to engineers, from disadvantaged backgrounds or communities in
the area, an unprecedented program in Sacramento. In
total, the Kings created 4,000 permanent jobs and about
11,700 construction jobs.
For Ranadivé, all the keys to creating Golden 1 Center’s
success are open for anyone who wants them. He said he
plans to share everything the leadership team has learned
so that the next arena built can be boosted even higher.
“In the end, we know that Golden 1 Center is about
much more than basketball,” said Ranadivé. “It’s the
cathedral in the center of the village square, the community
campfire where everyone can gather and tell their stories.”■
STREET & SMITH’S SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL
9A
SPONSORED FEATURE
Henderson Engineers Integrates Sustainability, Aesthetics,
Fan Experience at Golden 1 Center
The word “revolutionary” should not be tossed around
haphazardly, but in the case of the Sacramento Kings’
brand-new downtown arena, Golden 1 Center, it certainly
fits.
The arena is the first indoor sports venue to achieve LEED
Platinum Certification, a level of recognition placing it in the
top three percent of buildings worldwide in terms of sustainability and resource efficiency. It is also the first arena in the
world to be fully powered by solar energy, and the first newconstruction NBA arena with LED sports lighting.
A project with such ambition requires the right engineers,
and the Kings tabbed Henderson Engineers, a national
multi-disciplinary engineering firm based in Kansas City, to
do the job.
Henderson worked with the rest of the project team to
ensure the sustainability and efficiency goals did not come
at the expense of aesthetics or the fan experience. To the
contrary, in fact, as the engineers at Henderson found winwin solutions, including designing a first-of-its-kind under-seat
air distribution system to help keep fans comfortable. The
unique air-distribution system is one of several design elements that helped the Golden 1 Center achieve LEED Platinum status.
The design also features five aircraft hangar doors that
allow the delta breeze to flow into the arena, as well as photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof that help produce more
energy than the building uses.
“We knew the Kings had high aspirations for this job –
they wanted to build the future of NBA arenas,” said Kevin
Lewis, vice president and director of Henderson’s sports
practice. “We knew from Day 1 that the Kings were committed to sustainability. You have to have an owner who is committed to the goals.”
In Vivek Ranadivé, that’s exactly what Henderson found.
“We are an innovative engineering firm, and we’re willing
to work with owners to execute their vision,” Lewis said. “We
are also aesthetically-minded. It’s not about trying to drive
an engineering solution that doesn’t fit well with the architecture. We try to marry great design with the building systems
needed to bring it to life. We feel like we helped achieve
that at the Golden 1 Center and are proud to be part of
such an iconic structure.”■
From its solar roof panels to its climate moderating aircraft hangar doors to its individual seat climate controls, Henderson Engineering worked with the Kings to make Golden 1 Center the most environmentally friendly
facility possible.
AECOM CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7A
Premium seating options were tailored to the Sacramento
market, including Lofts, a “reimagined living room” with movable furniture.
Already the arena is turning the downtown into a vibrant
community space. The outdoor public plaza designed by
AECOM is active year-round, and features native plantings,
seating, art and a grove of walnut shade trees that honors
Sacramento’s moniker of the “city of a million trees.”
At the base of the arena is an 8-foot green wall filled with
local plants, which helps lower the temperatures of the plaza
and humanizes the scale of the building. Above the green
wall rise steel panels, evoking the grandeur and striated
granite of the Sierra Nevada. The panels are etched in leaf
patterns and capture and reflect light and the changing col-
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ors of the day.
The roof of the arena is covered with solar panels, which,
combined with a nearby solar generating plant, enable the
venue to run on 100 percent solar electricity.
It took an upfront planning approach for Golden 1 Center
to achieve the world’s first LEED platinum certification for an
indoor sports venue, Wekesser said. “We were only able to
achieve this through our connected design approach, and
everyone involved applying integrated, sustainable thinking
into every step of planning from day one.”
The approach began with selecting a downtown location
easily accessible by walking, bus, light rail and Amtrak. Careful orientation of the building protects the hangar door opening from direct sun.
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
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In addition to innovations like the displacement ventilation
system, the arena incorporates technology such as the best
heat-insulated windows in the industry for the south-facing
practice facility.
The arena achieved the highest LEED point total ever for a
sports venue.
“People in the industry were surprised that Golden 1 Center was aiming for LEED platinum because of the perceived
difficulty and cost,” Wekesser said. In the end, the upfront
costs will pay off, he said, in lower operating costs and utility
bills, one of the biggest expenses for any venue.
“It was important for the Kings that this arena be bigger
than basketball,” Wekesser said. “This is an arena that was
designed for fans, city and planet.”■
STREET & SMITH’S SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL
OCTOBER 24 -30, 2016
GOLDEN 1 CENTER | SPECIAL SECTION
Inside and Out
At every angle and in every segment, Golden 1 Center is a showcase
for the city of Sacramento and the Kings organization
OCTOBER 24 - 30, 2016
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
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STREET & SMITH’S SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL
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THANK YOU PARTNERS
Golden 1 Center is forever a reflection of the ambition, the identity, and the spirit
of Sacramento. This is a place where we embrace local farms with forks. Where
technology and sustainability practices make the world a better place. and where
art, entertainment, food and drink bring diverse people together to make life long
memories. To those who made this possible, we thank you. This movement began
long before we broke ground, and it will continue long after.
Thank you to the following Legacy Partners, without whom
Golden 1 Center would not be possible.
Sacramento, CA • Golden1Center.com