Kettler Capitals Iceplex: Arlington, Virginia

The Washington Capitals’ new training center facility in Arlington, Virginia isn’t a stadium at all (it only seats 1,000 people), but I think it’s important to track the green building efforts of our professional sports teams. As I’ve written about before, green stadiums and arenas present unique design issues that aren’t sufficiently contemplated by LEED as it exists in its present form (though efforts are underway to address this).

In any event, 145,000 square foot Kettler Capitals Iceplex, which opened last November, offers two NHL-size ice rinks and offices and a training and conditioning center for the Capitals, who lease the $42 million facility from Arlington County. Built on top of an existing seven-story parking garage in Arlington, the complex was designed to a LEED Certified level but never registered with USGBC in order to pursue the rating. The roof of the structure is a white EPDM membrane, the building incorporates a variety of recycled materials, including rubber skate tile and carpet backing, and natural light penetrates into a full ninety percent of spaces that are regularly occupied within the interior. The project, which appears among eco-structure magazine’s “Innovative Green Projects” feature in its July/August 2007 issue, was designed by Architecture, Inc. of Reston, Virginia with general contractor Sigal Construction Corp. of Arlington.

• Caps' New Facility Gets a Name (Wash. Post)
• HOK and USGBC Look to Extend LEED (gbNYC)
• eco-structure