摘要: |
It was a challenge nearly 60 years in the making and filled with the highest of hurdles. Yet, the team charged with renovating and expanding what is now known as the Climate Pledge Arena passed with flying colors, earning top honors in this year's Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Awards. Beginning its life as the Washington State Pavilion, a key part of the 1962 world's fair in Seattle, the venue underwent a series of renovations and name changes over the decades. Numerous college and professional sports teams have called the arena home, most notably the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics, a basketball expansion team that launched in 1967 and spent the bulk of its stay at the arena before relocating to Oklahoma City after the 2007-08 season. While the SuperSonics' departure left a void in Seattle's sports scene, the city struck gold again in late 2018 when it was awarded an NHL expansion team that would begin play in 2021. With this came the challenge of preparing the venue, then known as KeyArena, for hockey in time for the first drop of the puck. |