Amazon secures naming rights to new Seattle stadium

(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc has secured the naming rights to the new home stadium for the National Hockey League’s Seattle franchise and pledged to make it the first ever net-zero carbon certified arena, the online retailer said on Thursday.

The company, which delivers about 10 billion items a year, has faced protests from environmental activists and pressure from employees to reduce its carbon footprint and take action on climate change. It has vowed to be net carbon neutral by 2040.

The 18,100-seat multi-purpose venue, to be named “Climate Pledge Arena”, located at Seattle Center is expected to host 200 events each year, the company said.

The venue is also the home stadium for national women’s basketball team Seattle Storm.

(Reporting by Ayanti Bera in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)