The puck has dropped on the home debut of the NHL’s newest franchise. Seattle’s Kraken professional hockey team is settling into its new digs after the Populous-designed Climate Pledge Arena officially opened on Friday in the Emerald City.

The 17,400-seat arena is the risen corpse of the building known formerly as KeyArena, the original Paul Thiry structure from 1962 that was once home to the beloved world champion SuperSonics.

In the past, the city has been plagued by its inability to successfully find public funds for a replacement arena that would have kept the erstwhile NBA franchise from moving to Oklahoma (the city can also thank Howard Schultz for that) but was able to secure the private funding necessary to construct the arena, which came with a steep $1.15 billion price tag.

Now, the expanded 740,000-square-foot arena can bill itself as the world’s first net-zero carbon professional sports facility thanks to a solar roof that also features the ability to harvest rainwater, EV charging stations, and a pedestrian-centric program. The complicated construction process actually involved suspending the roof while renovations on the existing structure continued below. 

A historic glass curtain wall was kept in place on the north side of the arena in homage to the original look and feel that welcomed Sonics fans for over four decades. The arena will also be surrounded by a new landscaped public park featuring eight installations from local artists along with 67 witness trees that have stood on the site since it hosted the 1962 World’s Fair.

“Creating the world’s best live entertainment building while celebrating an important and cherished landmark is what sets Climate Pledge Arena apart,” Populous’ Chris Carver said in a statement. “We are proud to have created an industry-leading design that fits with the vision of our partners at Oak View Group and the City of Seattle to be a benchmark for venues to come.”