ELMONT, NY – Kim Stone needed something “really great” to leave Miami and become president of UBS Arena, home of the New York Islanders.
Oak View Group opened the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle in October 2021 and the Belmont Park facility the following month with state-of-the-art sustainability ambitions and offered Stone the opportunity to oversee UBS Arena to support its carbon neutrality efforts for all known Scopes 1 and 2 emissions to be achieved by 2024.
All one would have to do is leave the tropics to face the bitter wind chill that life in the Northeast brings.
Stone accepted the position of arena president on July 11 and took over on August 1. The UBS Arena exceeded its self-imposed deadline by running on 100 percent renewable energy in October, and in February announced LEED certification from the US Green Building Council, a globally recognized symbol of sustainability in green building design .
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UBS Arena is also a founding member of GOAL (Green Operations & Advanced Leadership), a sustainability movement recognized in the sports and entertainment industry, started by the Oak View Group.
“I saw New York as the Mecca,” Stone said. “This is where it will be the biggest challenge. We’re in a crowded market, which forces you to innovate. It forces you to be creative and step out of your comfort zone. It’s a challenge and I love challenges. It’s probably a hallmark of my career.”
It’s the perfect time for the NHL to celebrate Green Month and raise awareness of sustainability and environmental issues in the hockey ecosystem as the UBS Arena potentially hosts the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time. The Islanders (39-30-9) hold the first Eastern Conference wild card and have a two-point lead over the Florida Panthers, the first team outside of the postseason bubble, with four games remaining in the regular season.
Visitors see the big picture. According to UBS Arena:
* All arena lights are energy-saving LED lights.
* Olympia ice resurfacing machines are used, which are powered by renewable electricity and produce no exhaust fumes.
*Electric shuttles provide round-trip transportation to Emerald car park, half a mile away.
* Water usage has been reduced by 40 percent compared to similar venues with low-flow plumbing to LEED standards.
* Sustainable, local and healthy food is used by sourcing 75 percent of most ingredients within a 300 mile radius depending on seasonality.
“You basically have very little material that’s going anywhere other than recycling and composting,” said Kristen Fulmer, sustainability expert at Oak View Group and lead of the OVG Goal 360 program. “They continuously track their carbon footprint through the GOAL portal. They have a great team that prioritizes sustainability.”
Growing up in Durham, North Carolina, Fulmer’s appreciation for the environment came from some unique sources.
“My parents are basically hippies,” she said. “Growing up, I had to open the blinds in my room at just the right angle to let the sun in. And if I didn’t do it right, I was grounded. I’m not exaggerating.
“I was always so frustrated that doing the right thing for the environment felt like such a challenge. In my career I realized that sustainability in buildings has to be easy for people.”
This challenge led her to study architecture at Virginia Tech and earn her Masters in Sustainable Design from the University of Texas.
Like many women with career advancement plans, however, Fulmer was told “no.”
Stone had similar bumps in her path and said she was often mistaken for serving coffee rather than chairing the meeting, despite having 25 years of experience overseeing green initiatives for the Miami Heat and two at the Chase Center, home of the Golden State Warriors, had San Francisco. She then returned to Heat as Executive Vice President, Human Capital and Special Projects. Heat President Pat Riley, an NBA Hall of Fame coach, helped her learn best practices for dealing with obstacles that might stand in her way.
“I had the microaggressions,” she said. “I had people who took my ideas. But you have a choice at that moment, to either really let it set you back and throw you off course, or just keep going and just keep going and prove over time what you can bring to the table because sometimes some people take longer than others to understand.”
UBS Arena’s green initiatives raise the bar for what former arena president Hank Abate said in May 2021 it should be “like no other building in the country.” OVG is exploring on-site solar generation for renewable energy, and a goal by the end of the year is a zero-waste site, diverting at least 90 percent of its waste from landfill. The Islanders in March enticed fans to take the 31-minute Long Island Rail Road ride from New York Penn Station to Elmont with “31 Days of 31 Giveaways” and a chance to win a signed jersey or a hockey bobblehead Hall of Famer goaltender Billy to promote Smith.
There are also plans to make learning about sustainability fun and get to what Stone calls “that moment of truth.” When you’re about to throw out your trash, you’re not making an easy choice. Take those five extra seconds and make the right choice.”
Fulmer added: “Call it maternal instinct, call it what you will, but I just think we’re generally proactive about the health and well-being of the next generation. That is why we are committed to sustainability. We want to protect the planet.”
