Whether you’re headed to the new Climate Pledge Arena at Seattle Center for basketball, concerts, hockey, or other events, transit is a great way to get there.
“The new Climate Pledge Arena was built with sustainability in mind,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “Taking green transit to see concerts or support our sports teams like the Kraken not only cuts down on congestion, but also honors the arena’s—and our region’s—commitment to tackle climate change.”
The Kraken are the first professional sports franchise in North America to provide fans with digital tickets for public transit. The team is offering free public transit as part of both season ticket packages and single-game tickets. The Kraken is offering free public transit via the Kraken + Climate Pledge Arena app as part of both season ticket packages and single-game tickets. The passes can be used throughout your entire journey—across buses, light rail, the Seattle Center Monorail, and other transit. Bytemark, which makes apps for paying transit fares, integrated transit tickets into the Seattle Kraken mobile app.
“We’re thrilled to be able to partner with our transit agencies and Bytemark to offer this transit subsidy for our home Kraken games,” said Rob Johnson, Vice President of Sustainability and Transportation for the Seattle Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena. “Taking transit will be the fastest and greenest way to get to Climate Pledge Arena and we’re grateful to our transit agency partners for their hard work to make this dream a reality.”
“The partnership with the Kraken has been customer-centric since the very beginning,” said Stephanie Schrauth, Vice President of Product Strategy & Marketing at Bytemark. “Fans can access free transit tickets in an app they are already using for their game ticket and concessions.”
“Using Transit GO Ticket on the Kraken + Climate Change Arena app makes it easy for fans to take Link to the rink,” said Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff. “With the opening of Northgate Link, fans can now get from the Kraken headquarters in Northgate to downtown Seattle in just 14 minutes. Then it’s just a short ride on the Seattle Center Monorail to enjoy the game.”
For other events—such as concerts and other sports, free transit is not included as part of your ticket and it’s quickest to pay with your ORCA card or a Transit GO Ticket.
To make your trip to Climate Pledge Arena run smoothly, here are some tips:
1. Plan your trip in advance. Visit TripPlanner.kingcounty.gov, check out the Puget Sound Trip Planner app, or use a third-party app like “One Bus Away” or Google Maps (using transit mode). Another way to find the best routes is by calling Metro Customer Service at 206-553-3000 weekdays, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Press 1 for an interpreter.
2. If you’re traveling from downtown Seattle to Climate Pledge Arena, here are some great travel options:
- Catch the bus at Third Avenue and Pike Street. Ride either Route 3 or 4 to Fifth Avenue and Broad Street. After the game, you can head downtown for entertainment or other travel connections by boarding Route 3 or 4 at Fifth Ave and Broad St. (Outside of MoPOP) and riding to Third Avenue and Pike Street downtown.
- Routes 1, 2, 8 and the RapidRide D Line are also very close to the arena.
- The Seattle Center Monorail is another way to move between downtown Seattle and Climate Pledge Arena. Link light rail riders can make an easy transfer to the Seattle Monorail at Westlake Station. Your ORCA card is also good on the Monorail!
- To keep things moving, have your payment method ready each time you board.
3. Don’t forget masks are required on public transit. All Metro coaches have mask dispensers if you need one.
We hope you enjoy watching the action at Climate Pledge Arena and skipping traffic by taking transit!
Relevant Resources:
- “Bytemark provides NHL fans with mobile ticketing solution,” Bytemark, Oct. 22, 2021.
- “New travel options: walk, bike, roll, or take transit to the new Climate Pledge Arena in Uptown!” Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) Blog, Oct, 20, 2021.
- “Route your way to Seattle Center,” Seattle.gov, Oct. 14, 2021.
- “Seattle Kraken transportation,” NHL.com.