Creating a new home for the Kraken-Paper

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The Climate Pledge Arena project transformed Seattle’s 1962 World’s Fair Pavilion into a modern, 17,000-seat venue while preserving its iconic 22,000-ton roof and historic exterior. Because the expansion had to occur largely below street level, the team excavated about 680,000 cubic yards of soil, creating a multi-level arena and parking facilities beneath the existing roof.<br /><br />Construction required temporarily transferring the roof loads from its original supports to drilled shafts and steel framing before demolishing the old foundations. The project also installed permanent drilled-shaft foundations for the renovated arena. Excavation support combined soldier piles and lagging with permanent tiebacks, supplemented by temporary bracing where anchors were impractical. Specialized systems addressed particularly complex areas, including corner “snorkels” for ventilation and emergency access, existing roof pylons, a south buttress whose foundation had to be removed, and a portal for a future access tunnel.<br /><br />Design and construction were complicated by interbedded soils, nearby utilities and streets, high seismic demands, restricted work space beneath the roof, and a demanding schedule. Virtual-reality modeling and custom anchor-layout tools helped coordinate tieback placement and avoid conflicts. Low-headroom drilling equipment was used where needed.<br /><br />The work included approximately 67 temporary roof-support shafts, 117 permanent roof-support shafts, and additional shafts for the south pylon, alongside thousands of temporary and permanent tiebacks. Monitoring and testing confirmed that the foundation and shoring systems generally performed as predicted. Although some localized wall movement exceeded the one-inch target, it did not affect overall system performance. The arena opened in time for the 2021–22 NHL season.

Keywords

Climate Pledge Arena

Seattle renovation

World's Fair Pavilion

below-grade excavation

drilled shaft foundations

roof load transfer

soldier piles and lagging

tiebacks and shoring

seismic design

sports venue construction