Dive Brief:
- Trane and sports team and stadium owner Kroenke Sports & Entertainment on Tuesday announced a multi-year agreement that will make Trane KSE’s official HVAC and thermal management partner and climate innovation partner at its stadiums.
- KSE’s real estate portfolio includes SoFi Stadium, YouTube Theater and Hollywood Park in Los Angeles and Ball Arena in Denver. Trane’s climate systems will help KSE reduce energy use and emissions through low-emission heating and cooling systems and intelligent digital services, per the release.
- The agreement will focus on advancing building performance and sustainability in critical, complex environments, said Holly Paeper, president of commercial HVAC for the Americas at Trane.
Dive Insight:
Venues across Los Angeles are preparing for the 2028 Olympics Games and Paralympics while the city tries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The city’s emissions-reduction road map includes accelerating building electrification, deploying distributed clean energy generation and developing local grid resilience.
SoFi Stadium will co-host opening ceremonies for the games with the Coliseum and host swimming events. The stadium field will be converted into the largest Olympic swimming venue in history to hold over 40,000 spectators.
“In sports and entertainment venues, where occupancy patterns shift quickly and operating demands remain high, driving progress toward decarbonization goals without compromising operational excellence is a central challenge,” Trane said in its release.
Designed by architecture firm HKS, Hollywood Park is a mixed-use development that includes 70,000-seat SoFi Stadium and 6,000-seat YouTube Theater. SoFi Stadium features a number of interesting heating and cooling considerations, including cooling fans and cooling zones it can deploy on hot days, and the ability to open its roof panels to create an updraft that cools the stadium’s interior, which is not air-conditioned, the Clean Energy Wire reported.
KSE owns a large handful of professional sports teams, including the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche and Arsenal F.C., many of which play in its stadiums.
The agreement is KSE’s first cross-property agreement with a technology, it said in its release. Trane and KSE say they will work to advance a shared commitment to sustainable venue operations and exceptional experiences for every guest.
“Across our portfolio, we are focused on delivering world-class experiences while continuing to invest in innovation, operational performance and sustainability,” Mike Neary, executive vice president of business operations and real estate at KSE, said in a statement. “Trane’s expertise, technology and shared commitment to progress make them an ideal collaborator as we continue to raise the bar across our venues.”
In addition to SoFi, KSE has implemented other sustainability and resiliency-focused upgrades in recent years at Ball Arena in Denver, which is about to undergo a $135 million expansion.
Last year, the stadium launched the largest electric vehicle charging station in Denver through a partnership with Flash Parking, providing public access to 60 Level 2 charging ports during the 250 or so events the arena hosts throughout the year.
In September, KSE announced a $135 million renovation for the arena — home to the Denver NBA’s Nuggets and NHL’s Colorado Avalanche — to expand its entrances; add an “expansive” glass façade and new escalators; widen ingress, egress and concourses to eliminate congestion in the busiest areas; and add three new clubs.
KSE is also redeveloping the 55-acre property into a downtown district with plans to build a hotel, midsize entertainment venue and central park as well as retail, residential and office space, it said.
