Updated: date

Published: APRIL 2025

A sports lineage stretching back more than a century

Seattle Kraken hockey: an exciting spectacle played in the world’s most ecologically sustainable arena

By STUART NULMAN

Writing from Seattle, Washington

I’ve been holding onto this story since a visit to Seattle in November 2024 when I was lucky enough to land a personal tour of the state-of-the-art Climate Pledge Arena, home to the National Hockey League’s Seattle Kraken.

Now with hockey fever upon us and my beloved Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in four years, I figured it was time to share details of my recent journey.

Unfortunately for Kraken players and fans, their team did not make it into the 2025 playoffs. But with Earth Day being celebrated on April 22, 2025, I figure that it was an especially appropriate time to recount the story of their arena and the amazing, behind-the-scenes tour I was treated to by my childhood friend Brian Sloan, Hospitality Manager of Climate Pledge Arena.

The name, Climate Pledge Arena, emanates from an Amazon initiative bringing together 554 companies in 46 countries around the world to accelerate joint action to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. It is the only NHL arena committed to environmental sustainability. Oak View Group is the majority owner and operator of the arena’s public-private ownership group that includes Seattle Kraken Hockey and Seattle Center. Their stated goal is “to be the most progressive, responsible, and sustainable” arena in the world.

In his capacity as Manager of Hospitality and Arena Tours, ex-Montrealer Brian Sloan is in charge of a staff of 65 employees who oversee the arena's premium areas including 19 Tunnel Clubs, 40 Luxury Suites, the Verizon Lounge, and the Moet Lounge which resembles a 1920s secret, speakeasy bar.

It’s all about the fun

Brian’s staff ensures that guests have enjoyable experiences visiting the venue during hockey games, as well as during tour programs that include the WNBA's Seattle Storm, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Cirque de Soleil, as well as concerts and private corporate events.

Before and during the Kraken-New York Islanders game I attended in November 2024, Brian gave me a VIP tour of every square inch of the Climate Pledge Arena, regaling me with interesting tidbits involving the arena and its short history.

Climate Pledge Arena initiatives are dedicated to renewable energy, green features, zero-waste technology and water conservation. They include being powered 100% by renewable energy, the elimination of single-use plastics, and a state-of-the-art system that captures rainwater on the arena roof to fill a 15,000-gallon cistern used to make the ice surface.

By operating a functionally zero-waste facility, the Climate Pledge Arena achieved the highest waste diversion rate of any sports venue in the world last year and was awarded platinum certification by TRUE (Total Resource Use and Efficiency), which is administered by an organization called the Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI).

Construction of the 16,000-seat arena was a glowing example of renewability and sustainability. It originally opened as the Seattle Center Coliseum in1962 near the city's iconic Space Needle and was the main venue for the World Fair that year. In 2017, the arena underwent a $1.15 billion (USD) redevelopment: the original roof was kept, but a number of environmentally friendly additions were made such as solar panels, as well as recycled steel and concrete to reduce carbon release. Mass timber-engineered wood products were used in order to conserve forests.

I had an opportunity to experience a number of standout venue features such as The Lair which is the team’s merchandise shop. It affords both a bird's eye view of the sports merchandise as well as the large crowd of fans who visit there before each game and during intermissions. I also saw up close the twin state-of-the-art scoreboards that are suspended above the ice.

The Kraken's popular mascot, Buoy the Sea-Troll, made nice with me during my visit to the Climate Pledge Wall that includes authentic greenery exclusive to the Pacific Northwest region and is maintained by an arborist: it’s a popular spot for guests to take pictures.

Whenever I travel to a different city in North America, I always make it a point to try to attend a home game by one of its professional sports teams, whether it be baseball, football, basketball or hockey.

Sports world success

So, of course, during my November 2024 visit to Seattle, I had my sights set upon the Seattle Kraken franchise that has been part of the NHL since 2021. Meeting up with my buddy in Seattle was akin to a summer camp reunion. I have known Brian Sloan for nearly 50 years – going back to when he lived around the block from my home in the Montreal suburb of Ville St. Laurent. To say that the world of professional sports is Brian's life is an understatement.

Growing up, he was a big fan of all sports, especially the Montreal Expos, attending as many as 40 National League home games per season. So how did a local Montreal boy end up in a big-time sports position with an NHL team? We pick up the story in the late 1980s when he was pursuing a degree in social work, but decided to combine his two passions – social work and sports – by earning a graduate degree in Sports Management from Concordia University. From there, he set his sights on a career in professional baseball.

"I travelled to the 1990 Baseball Winter Meetings in L.A. with a stack of resumes and my suit, and met as many people as possible to break into the game," he recalled in an interview with me. "I secured a position as a sales representative for the Welland (Ontario) Pirates, the Single A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates."

During his time with the Pirates organization in Welland, he organized events at local libraries where players did live readings with children and at summer camps for disabled children. Brian also got involved with the local Welland community, serving as a board member of the Niagara region chapter of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters and Vice President of the Welland Kiwanis Club.

"I absolutely loved being an integral part of the community and promoting our team," he said. "My motto was 'without a strong community you cannot have a strong baseball club'. The rest of my career was based on this methodology."

From that launching pad, Brian's career in sports management took him to many front offices in minor league baseball: he held executive positions with the Erie SeaWolves, the Everett AquaSox, the Northwest League, and the West Coast League. He later served as Director of Business for the Alexander Global Promotion Development and Evergreen Speedway Development organizations before he joined the Climate Pledge Arena team in 2021. Despite his busy schedule, he still finds time to serve as an off-ice official for the Western Hockey League!

Been there, done that!

Some hockey fans might be surprised to learn of Seattle’s long and storied history with professional hockey. In 1917, the Seattle Metropolitans became the first U.S.-based team to win the Stanley Cup by defeating the Montreal Canadiens. Two years later, the Metropolitans and the Canadiens made hockey history when they once again faced off in the Stanley Cup finals, but had their series cancelled due the Spanish Flu pandemic that ravaged the world between 1918 and 1920.

With the series tied at two wins apiece and one tie in the spring of 1919 – and with the deciding game coming up – several players on both teams caught the flu. Unfortunately, the virus killed Montreal enforcer ‘Bad Joe’ Hall, forcing cancellation of the rest of the series between the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) champion Seattle Metropolitans and the National Hockey League (NHL) champion Montreal Canadiens. As a result, the Stanley Cup was not awarded for the 1918-19 season – the only time in history that the Stanley Cup was not awarded after playoffs had started.

During my recent game-time visit with Brian, I relived the Seattle hockey enthusiasm of yesteryear with a modern twist as I watched the cheering Kraken fans wearing with pride the dark blue, teal and white colors of their home team which came into the NHL in 2021 – and still conjures memories of Seattle’s historical PCHA heritage of a century ago. Before the starting lineup was announced on the PA system, the twin scoreboards displayed an impressive, breathtaking video about the myth and legend of the Kraken sea monster and its pride of spiritual connection with the current team.

Whenever the Kraken score a goal, the arena fills with a loud, light show that blares briefly the rally motto: ‘Light the Lamp’. During the game, the organization salutes individuals for their contributions to the community at large as – each one is dubbed a "Hero of the Sea".

Brian likes to point out that two of the team’s very special Canadian connections: defenseman Jamie Oleksiak is the brother of swimmer Penny Oleksiak, Canada’s most decorated Olympian with seven Olympic medals. And goalie Joey Daccord is the grandson of legendary Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster Dick Irvin Jr. and the great-grandson of Dick Irvin Sr., who was GM and coach of the Montreal Canadiens during periods in the 1940s and 1950s.

Both players starred in the fast-paced, nail-biter match that I watched between the Kraken and the New York Islanders on Saturday, November 16, 2024. Jamie Oleksiak scored the tie-breaking goal with 3:13 left in the game, and Joey Daccord stopped 22 shots to give the Kraken their fourth straight win. With all the excitement of my visit to Climate Pledge Arena, I almost forgot to report the final score: 3-2!