Rogers Place

Rogers Place, the new home of the Edmonton Oilers hockey team, is Canada’s second LEED certified NHL facility. This entertainment venue and arena is the anchor of a major redevelopment of the Albertan capital’s core, and features almost 19,000 seats as well as ice surface, seating bowl, concessions, premium suites and club seating. The project also includes elements aimed at serving the surrounding neighbourhood such as a community ice rink and a winter garden with space for events.

The facility was awarded a LEED Silver certification in October 2017. Jack Ashton, the City of Edmonton’s program manager for the Rogers Place Arena project, shared with CaGBC about the municipality’s vision for the development and some of the ways it is making a difference in the local community.

Making the local community a priority

With both its sustainable building policy in mind as well as a goal of giving the downtown district a significant boost, the City of Edmonton set out to develop an efficient facility that would connect to the surrounding community and contribute to its health.

Along with housing the Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club and its operations, the arena provides a central venue for concerts, sports and other events. In addition, the overall project includes community elements such as:

• Gathering and meeting spaces within the 24,000 sq. ft. Ford Hall (also known as the Winter Garden)
• Public light rail connections to Edmonton’s Metro Line on the north side of the building
• Separate Downtown Community Arena that includes ice rentals, seating for 1,000 spectators and supporting facilities
• Pedway connecting the arena, LRT, Winter Garden and adjacent buildings
• 350-space underground parkade
• Free bicycle parking surrounding the exterior of the Rogers Place Arena

Embracing a green strategy

The facility’s sustainable approach got a push from its primary tenant, the Edmonton Oilers, as the team is a member of the Green Sports Alliance. The Oilers have embraced the Alliance’s philosophy of employing environmentally preferable practices for sporting events, and have incorporated green operations into its cleaning, education and food waste handling strategies.

As a result, Rogers Place features an energy-efficient design that helped the facility attain energy cost savings of more than 20 per cent over ASHRAE 90.1-2007. The use of low-flow plumbing fixtures is expected to reduce water consumption by more than 5,000 m3 annually, notes Ashton, adding that another highlight was the project’s success in exceeding its goal of recycling at least 80 per cent of the waste generated during construction.

With extensive glazing as part of the exterior envelope, the facility offers better access to daylighting, Ashton says. Occupants will also benefit from improved air quality due to the building materials selected and the management of construction activity to optimize for this attribute.

“The indoor air quality is much better when compared to other local area facilities used for similar entertainment purposes, as all the systems are new, modern and more efficient,” says Ashton.