Kings to open new state-of-the-art Golden 1 Center

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — After years of searching for a new home, the Sacramento Kings are set to open a new venue that raises the bar of what an arena can be.

Along with some of the modern accouterments that have become commonplace like smartphone apps that allow fans to order food or watch replays from their seats, giant screens to watch the game and high-speed connections that let fans post photos almost instantaneously, the Golden 1 Center also has many first-of-its-kind features.

There are the airplane hangar doors that can open to turn the venue into an indoor-outdoor arena and the “smart turnstiles” that will allow fans to enter at more than triple the usual speed. But perhaps most important to Kings owner Vivek Ranadive are the environmental features that make it the first indoor venue to receive LEED Platinum certification – the highest level of recognition for environmentally conscious buildings.

The 17,500-seat arena will be the first professional sports venue powered completely by solar energy, will save about 1 million gallons of water a year compared to a typical venue of its size, was built with recycled material from the mall that stood at the site before construction began and will get 90 percent of its food and beverages from within 150 miles.

“We felt we had to set a new bar,” Ranadive said. “We have to be cognizant of the kind of planet we want to leave our kids and next generations. This had to be the greenest arena ever built. … I fully expect that arenas in the future will be even better, be even more sustainable. Hopefully what we have here is an example of how to build a great arena and still be responsible to the environment.”

Ranadive bought the team in 2013 for …

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