Blazers try to live up to Rip City's cred

The remodeled arena scored LEED Gold certification.

When a major league sports team undergoes a green building remodel, it usually gets about as much attention from fans as the commercials during halftime.


But for the Portland Trail Blazers, which is the only major sports team in the city, upgrading its arena could go a long way in expanding its Rip City Uprise, so the marketing team hopes. 
This spring the 700,000-square-foot Rose Garden Arena achieved Gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design for Existing Buildings program (LEED-EB)—the highest level of green building certification of any major league sports franchise in the nation. 


But the Blazers are not stopping there, according to Chris Oxley, the Rose Garden’s general manager. The team hopes to involve visiting fans with facilities for composting and recyling, as well as to encourage their already high rates of non-automobile travel to games and concerts there.


“It started with our employees, who make up a great cross section of Portlanders,” says Sarah Mensah, the team’s chief marketing officer. “We began to realize that with the efforts Portland has made in sustainability, the Trail Blazers should play a significant role.” Mensah says. So the franchise set out to reinforce everything the city of Portland wants to achieve. 


Achieving the LEED certification required more than a year of study with consultants such as Green Building Services of Portland and nonprofit Energy Trust of Oregon. “The Portland Trail Blazers have taken real strides in making changes to the Rose Garden Arena to positively impact their organization and fans,” says Elaine Aye, a principal with of Green Building Services. “ … their goal is to improve their organization’s environmental performance as well as focus on guest awareness and education.”


Oxley declined to divulge the Trail Blazers’ budget for the Rose Garden’s upgrades, but he said most all of the energy-efficient technologies come with a return on investment (through accrued energy savings) of three years or less. 
Looking ahead, the franchise is working to bring sustainability measures to a larger Rose Quarter development, particularly if the Trail Blazers are awarded the development contract for the area, being decided by City Council, for its Jumptown proposal to add restaurants, hotels and entertainment to the complex.