The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has recognized the new home of the University of St. Thomas hockey and basketball for its environmentally sustainable design.
The organization has awarded LEED Silver certification to the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena on the university’s St. Paul campus. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the world’s most widely used green building rating system. Since 2008, the university has committed to obtaining a minimum of LEED Silver certification for all new facilities larger than 25,000 square feet.
The Lee & Penny Anderson Arena is the fifth LEED Certified building on St. Thomas’ St. Paul campus. The others include the Anderson Student Center (Gold), Schoenecker North Residence Hall (Silver), Frey Residence Hall (Platinum) and Schoenecker Center (Gold). All told, St. Thomas – ranked No. 21 in the 2026 edition of the Princeton Review’s Top 50 Green Colleges – has 1 million square feet of LEED Certified space on its campuses.
John Silva, director of construction at St. Thomas, said the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena’s certification is especially notable for the 250,000-square-foot multipurpose complex. It is home to Division I men’s and women’s hockey and basketball programs, contains two ice arenas, multiple practice areas and can hold up to 6,000 guests. The facility is among at least five prominent collegiate ice arenas in the U.S. to be LEED certified.
The arena earned points for, among other things, its water conservation efforts. Outdoor water efficiency of 64% was achieved by connecting the north arena landscaping to the Schoenecker Center rainwater retention system. Inside, low-flow fixtures and waterless urinals helped the building achieve 35.7% indoor water efficiency.
The arena also achieved 11.9% energy cost savings. Enhanced commissioning of the building’s mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, along with the exterior envelope, helped support long-term efficiency and performance.
Materials and construction practices also played an important role. Construction waste was sorted to reduce the amount of material sent to landfills, while project teams selected materials that met environmental product declaration requirements, were locally sourced where possible and were low emitting. St. Thomas’ Green Cleaning Policy and Integrated Pest Management Plan also contributed to the award of five Innovation Credits.
Ryan Companies served as the design-build contractor, architect and engineer for the arena, with Crawford Architects also contributing to the project. A LEED plaque will be displayed in the arena’s main entrance.
