NBA Arenas

In April 2022, the home of the Atlanta Hawks became the world’s first sports and live entertainment venue to achieve TRUE Platinum Certification for zero waste. In March 2021, the Hawks diverted 97% of fan-generated waste at the 2021 NBA All-Star Game and since May 2021, the venue has consistently diverted a minimum of 90% of all waste from landfills and maintained re-certification for consistently operating zero waste. In 2023, over 3 million pounds were diverted from landfills through reductions, reuse, recycling and composting.

During technology upgrades throughout the Brooklyn Nets’ Barclays Center during the summer of 2023, the arena donated approximately 9,000 pounds of e-waste – diverting it from the landfill, repurposing it to empower communities underrepresented in technology education and ultimately shrinking the digital divide to provide new opportunities for individuals. 

Since 2013, the Boston Celtics’ TD Garden has worked in partnership with Eversource to reduce the amount of energy used by the arena. LED lighting and advanced HVAC controls were installed, annually saving nearly 10 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and eliminating 4,705 tons of CO₂ emissions – the equivalent of taking approximately 1,064 cars off the road for a year. 

Hornets Sports & Entertainment hosted their second annual Green-E certified Zero Carbon Sustainability Event to educate staff and local partners on Spectrum Center’s sustainability efforts and goals. Lunch was provided using only local ingredients and served on all compostable service ware. Attendees were encouraged to bring e-waste or other recycled items, helping to divert over 3,500 pounds of waste. 

The United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls, continuously works to incorporate more sustainable, industry-certified products in their building upgrades and operations. Energy-efficient Energy Star equipment and LED fixtures have been installed throughout their concourses, club and suite levels. FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Certified, Green Seal Certified, and ECOLOGO Certified products are also used daily for their game and event operations to ensure a healthy and sustainable building environment for all those who visit the arena.

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse has nearly doubled its waste diversion metrics through the implementation of waste diversion, composting and recycling programs. In 2023, Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse diverted 77,762 pounds of food waste for compost with our local composting partner to be turned into soil that will be used in the community. RMFH also collected over 7,500 pounds of e-waste for recycling on America Recycles Day. 

The Dallas Mavericks and American Airlines Center have significantly enhanced the arena’s energy efficiency and reduced costs through their partnership with TXU Energy. Leveraging close to $20,000 in TXU Energy Greenback Rebate funds, American Airlines Center implemented new LED lighting, helping save more than 930,00 kWh annually.  

Starting in January 2021, the Denver Nuggets initiated a transition to single use Ball Aluminum cups, cans, and bottles at the Ball Arena through a partnership with Ball Corporation. Through this partnership, Ball Arena became the first major professional sports arena to use Ball Aluminum cups.

The Detroit Pistons’ Little Caesars Arena received LEED Silver in Building Design and Construction in 2019. As part of the arena’s sustainability features, its infrastructure includes 25% recycled content and over 13% locally sourced materials. Water-efficient fixtures, LED lighting, and energy controls also reduced their water and energy consumption by 40% and 17% respectively. Additionally, the roof of its exterior concourse is made of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), a heat resistant and transparent material that allows for temperature control and natural daylight, reducing the energy needed for heat and artificial lighting.

The Golden State Warriors’ Chase Center consistently educates fans on the importance of reforestation and habitat restoration through in-game activations. In 2023 and 2024, the Warriors partnered with Johnson Controls to give fans the opportunity to vote on where to plant thousands of trees. Over the past two years, fans have voted to have 10,000 trees distributed across four projects that have been affected by wildfires: Klamath Forest Restoration, Moonlight Fire Area Restoration, Coffee Creek Restoration, and Rim Wildfire Restoration. 

The Houston Rocket’s Toyota Center diligently monitors and records energy usage on an hourly and daily basis, ensuring accountability among its engineering staff for effective energy management. 

Since Pacers Sports & Entertainment started Gainbridge Fieldhouse’s “Fieldhouse of the Future” renovation in 2020, they have been committed to prioritizing environmental sustainability. Through their renovation project, approximately 80% or 2,928 tons of all materials were recycled, including all of the old seats. In addition, PS&E further cut its electricity consumption by upgrading or replacing all of the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing with energy efficient systems.     

Intuit Dome, future home of the LA Clippers, has been built to exceed the most stringent environmental standards and is targeting LEED BD+C Platinum certification. The venue will be fully electric and feature solar panels that feed a battery energy storage system with a capacity of 11.5MWh, allowing Intuit Dome to sustain itself off the Los Angeles electric grid for an entire NBA game. These features, along with a zero-waste sorting room, reclaimed water deployment, and over 300 EV charging stations, will allow events to operate at Intuit Dome more sustainably and support the ambition of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. 

In 2022, Crypto.com Arena installed a new LED sport lighting system that reduced approximately 4,200 kilowatts of energy during the NBA season. Additionally, with a 364 kilowatt, 1,727 solar panel system installed at its roof since 2008 and a 500 kilowatt bank of electricity-generating fuel cells since 2015, Crypto.com Arena has been committed to operating at the highest standard of environmental sustainability since opening in 1999.    

The Memphis Grizzlies and FedExForum strive to purchase products that have a more sustainable impact on health and the environment. All paper products used in the arena are FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Certified and contain 100% recycled fiber. The arena also uses non-toxic, Green Seal Certified products and reusable microfiber cloths, reducing waste while ensuring a clean and healthy environment for all guests and staff of the arena. 

Over the past 12 months, the Kaseya Center, home of the Miami HEAT, has expanded their number of waste diversion streams from 9 to 20. These efforts have allowed the Kaseya Center to increase their diversion numbers by more than 6x, reducing impact on the local landfills. With eyes set on the future, Kaseya Center is committed to continuing to increase their waste diversion percentages for upcoming seasons.  

For the second consecutive year, in partnership with SC Johnson, Milwaukee Bucks’ Fiserv Forum staff hand-sorted and upcycled 100% of the 10.33 tons of PET plastic cups sold by concessionaire Levy during the 2022-2023 NBA season. In addition, in 2021 Fiserv Forum was awarded the prestigious LEED Gold Certification in Operations and Maintenance. 

Minnesota Timberwolves’ Target Center staff participated in two City of Minneapolis initiatives—Adopt-A-Street and Adopt-A-(Storm) Drain. The street adoption included trash and recycling clean-ups of six blocks directly in front of Target Center, while the storm drain adoption included cleaning storm drains to ensure less contamination in rainwater runoff to local waterways.  

The New Orleans Pelicans’ Smoothie King Center supports their environment and community through multiple local partnerships. Working with their food and beverage provider, Sodexo Live!, all leftover food from games and events is donated to Second Harvest and Bethel Colony food banks. Discontinued courts are also repurposed within local schools, universities, and other venues. Smoothie King Center additionally acts as a staging and support venue for the city’s hurricane response plan, marking their environmental leadership in the community in the face of imminent weather and climate change. 

The New York Knicks’ Madison Square Garden partnered with The Best Bees Company to combat the declining bee population in New York City by installing two hives at the arena. Each hive is home to a queen bee and approximately 40,000 worker bees who produce honey. During the 2022-23 season, honey produced from the hives was first introduced into Madison Square Garden’s food offerings. 

Paycom Center, home of the Oklahoma City Thunder, has strived to create a healthy environment for their local community. As a GBAC (Global Biorisk Advisory Council) STAR certified facility, they have upheld a standard and commitment to their community’s health and well-being, part of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Through these efforts, the arena also uses reusable mops, cloths, and environmentally-friendly cleaning products to reduce waste and any negative chemical impacts on the environment.    

In partnership with PureCycle, the Orlando Magic and Kia Center implemented the PureCycle PureZero Program to help end plastic waste pollution in the region. In addition to Kia Center’s LEED Gold Certification, this partnership further underscores the Magic’s commitment to sustainability and to helping change the culture of single-use plastic.

Since 2018, the Philadelphia 76er’s Wells Fargo Center has used renewable energy to match 100% of the facility’s electricity consumption in a long-term power purchase agreement with Constellation NewEnergy. This agreement has supported the development of 9 megawatts of wind energy at the Hilltopper wind farm in collaboration with Enel Green Power. Through this commitment, Wells Fargo Center was recognized in 2023 as a Net Zero Energy Champion in the Green Sports Alliance’s Play to Zero Awards.  

In celebration of Earth Month, the Phoenix Suns hosted their second annual Sustainability Night presented by Footprint on April 5. The first 5,000 fans to arrive at Footprint Center received a free reusable tote bag and in-game sustainability-themed trivia helped educate fans on the arena’s mission to reduce single-use plastic.

The Portland Trail Blazers and Moda Center partnered with Bold Reuse, a small local women-owned business, to launch the first full-venue reuse program within U.S. professional sports at the start of the 2023-24 season. The program – Rip City Reuse – has eliminated more than 320,000 single-use cups equating to over 15,000 pounds of waste from Moda Center’s waste stream since the start of the season.  

The Sacramento Kings Golden 1 Center achieved LEED Platinum for Building Design and Construction when opening in 2016. Its many sustainable features include a 1.2-megawatt solar array mounted on the arena’s roof. Combined with the use of solar energy from a 11-megawatt solar farm, Golden 1 Center is a 100% solar-powered venue and also provides 100% solar-powered EV charging stations for fans. As part of the arena’s food charter, 90% of the culinary ingredients are sourced from a 150-mile radius of the venue which helps build a one-of-a-kind, hyper-local food and sustainability program. The arena was also designed to use 45% less water and 30% less energy than required by California code, and successfully recycled or diverted 99% of its construction waste, setting an example in sustainability for newly built sports facilities. 

The San Antonio Spurs and Frost Bank Center have continuously worked to reduce their energy and water consumption. The arena uses recycled water for their landscaping irrigation system, and all fixtures in the arena are energy and water efficient, including a complete LED lighting system at the interior and exterior of the building, automated fixture sensors, and high-efficiency / low-flow toilets and urinals. The arena has also performed commissioning of their building systems and energy audits consistently since 2015 to optimize their energy use.   

During the 2023-24 NBA season, the Toronto Raptors’ Scotiabank Arena transitioned from single-use plastic cups to infinitely recyclable aluminum cups throughout the arena. In addition, Scotiabank Arena utilizes deep-lake cooling, eco-friendly cleaning supplies, recycled paper products to continue making strides in reducing its footprint. 

Since undergoing a major renovation in 2017, Delta Center has continuously implemented new technologies and programs to improve operational efficiencies and sustainability. The arena’s irrigation system and internal plumbing were upgraded, saving 4.5 million gallons of water per year compared to pre-renovation usage. In addition, all lighting was replaced with LED fixtures, resulting in a 75% reduction in power usage. Delta Center also installed nearly 6, 000 solar panels, and its composting and recycling programs were expanded, resulting in nearly 200, 000 pounds of cardboard being recycled annually. 

The Washington Wizards and Capital One Arena have committed to lowering their carbon footprint through multiple renewable energy and energy saving measures. 30% of their electricity comes from renewable energy through a power purchase agreement with their utility provider. The arena also converted 85% of their interior lighting and 100% of their exterior lighting to LED fixtures. Energy use has also been monitored since 2011 to optimize and reduce their energy consumption.