On January 19, AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami will relaunch its 23,000-sf East Plaza, which has been retrofitted into a solar pavilion whose canopy includes 14 circular translucent panels that utilize Building Integrated Photovoltaic solar technology.
This transformation is the result of a business partnership between The Miami Heat professional basketball team, which plays at the Arena, and NRG Energy. Last year, AmericanAirlines Arena became the first sports and entertainment facility in the world to be recertified as LEED Gold.
The Heat Group manages this 16-year-old arena, which is county owned and sits on city-owned property. The Heat Group purchased the canopy from NRG, which hired Skanska as the retrofit project’s general contractor. DLR was the architect and structural and MEP engineer.
Jim Spencer, AmericanAirlines Arena’s Vice President of Operations, tells BD+C that the solar pavilion provides a practical answer to the question of how to get more bang out of the open-air East Plaza, which looks onto Biscayne Bay but was being used sparingly because of Miami’s hot, humid, rainy weather conditions.
John Vidalin, The Heat Group’s Chief Revenue Officer, adds that these conditions severely limited the facility’s ability to attract sponsoring partners to that area. (Levy Restaurants is the pavilion’s food and beverage partner, and Barcardi, which is already an arena sponsor, will host a horseshoe-shaped bar in the pavilion’s atrium.)
The canopy offers shade and cover to the East Plaza, and the solar panels, which are 16 to 24 ft in diameter each and take up 5,000 sq ft of cover space, will provide an offset to the arena’s energy consumption. Vidalin and Spencer say the pavilion extends the stadium’s footprint and reinforces the building’s certification story. (All of the furniture in the Plaza are made from recycled milk jugs.)
The canopy, says Spencer, is supported by 12 columns, five of which feature 360-degree nanolumen LED displays. The Heat Group has sold the entitlement rights for the Plaza to Xfinity, Comcast’s high-speed Internet and on-demand service, which will deploy full WiFi for the Plaza and has built an 8x12-ft X-1video wall, where visitors can engage with an activation team and a variety of sports and music streaming events.
The pavilion will be open for all of the arena’s sports and concerts. Vidalin says the canopy now makes the Plaza more attractive for conducting other revenue-generating functions like corporate and charity events, group sales, and post-game parties. “It’s really going to be an elegant space,” he says. He adds that the Arena’s ongoing energy efficiency improvement—which included upgrading its building management and HVAC systems to achieve LEED Gold—is a strong selling point for sponsors.
Vidalin had previously worked with NRG when he was with the Houston Texans and San Francisco 49ers football teams. He notes that the East Plaza pavilion allows the energy company, which hadn’t operated in Miami before this, to “plant its flag” in the city, which is a gateway to Caribbean and South American markets.
“We are in the midst of a social movement that demands attention to clean energy,” says David Crane, NRG’s former chief executive. “As the world’s perspective on energy continues to evolve, it will be critically important for business leaders—foreign and domestic—to see and invest in the incredible potential [of] renewable energy, especially built with a design aesthetic in mind.”
Related Stories
| May 20, 2013
Jones Lang LaSalle: All U.S. real estate sectors to post gains in 2013—even retail
With healthier job growth numbers and construction volumes at near-historic lows, real estate experts at Jones Lang LaSalle see a rosy year for U.S. commercial construction.
| May 17, 2013
First look: HKS' multipurpose stadium for Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority (MSFA), the Minnesota Vikings and HKS Sports & Entertainment Group have unveiled the design of the State’s new multi? purpose stadium in Minneapolis, a major milestone in getting the $975 million stadium built on time and on budget.
| May 16, 2013
Chicago unveils $1.1 billion plan for DePaul arena, Navy Pier upgrades
Hoping to send a loud message that Chicago is serious about luring tourism and entertainment spending, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has released details of two initiatives that have been developing for more than a year and that it says will mean $1.1 billion in investment in the McCormick Place and Navy Pier areas.
| May 7, 2013
First look: Golden State Warriors stadium by Snøhetta, AECOM
Architects Snøhetta and AECOM have revealed their latest renderings of a new stadium for NBA basketball team the Golden State Warriors on the waterfront in San Francisco.
| May 2, 2013
Holl-designed Campbell Sports Center completed at Columbia
Steven Holl Architects celebrates the completion of the Campbell Sports Center, Columbia University’s new training and teaching facility.
| Apr 30, 2013
Tips for designing with fire rated glass - AIA/CES course
Kate Steel of Steel Consulting Services offers tips and advice for choosing the correct code-compliant glazing product for every fire-rated application. This BD+C University class is worth 1.0 AIA LU/HSW.
| Apr 26, 2013
BIG tapped to design Europa City in suburban Paris
Danish architecture firm, BIG - led by Bjarke Ingels – has been announced as the winner of an international invited competition for the design of Europa City, a 800,000 square meter cultural, recreational and retail development in Triangle de Gonesse, France.
| Apr 24, 2013
Los Angeles may add cool roofs to its building code
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants cool roofs added to the city’s building code. He is also asking the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to create incentives that make it financially attractive for homeowners to install cool roofs.
| Apr 12, 2013
Chicago rail conversion puts local twist on High Line strategy
Plans are moving forward to convert an unused, century-old Chicago rail artery to a 2.7 mile, 13 acre recreational facility and transit corridor.