Digging Deeper and Reaching Higher: Coho Films Documents the Transformation of Climate Pledge Arena with Mortenson Construction

When Mortenson Construction set out to transform Seattle’s historic KeyArena into the world’s most sustainable sports and entertainment venue, they faced one of the most ambitious—and delicate—engineering challenges in recent memory. Coho Films was brought on by Blue Pixel Creates to document this massive project from start to finish, capturing the physical evolution of the structure as well as the human ingenuity behind it.

The result is more than just a construction story—it’s a visual archive of vision, resilience, and reinvention.

Preserving the Past While Building the Future

One of the core mandates of the Climate Pledge Arena redevelopment was to preserve the original 1962 roof and glass curtain wall, both iconic elements of the Seattle skyline. But the new arena needed to be deeper, larger, and more technologically advanced—all without altering those historic features.

To accomplish this, Mortenson’s team executed a feat of precision engineering:

• The entire roof was jacked up and temporarily suspended, allowing excavation crews to dig over 50 feet below.

• Every single pane of custom-sized, untempered curtain wall glass was carefully cataloged, removed, and stored—so it could be reinstalled in its exact original location.

• A brand-new subterranean arena was constructed beneath the preserved elements, expanding the venue’s capacity and functionality without altering its historic identity.

Capturing this required not just video coverage, but storytelling that conveyed the scale, stakes, and sensitivity of the work.

A Pandemic, a Pledge, and a Pivot to Sustainability

Midway through the project, two major shifts reshaped the scope and urgency of the story:

1. COVID-19 shut down the world, forcing Mortenson’s teams to reimagine construction workflows under strict safety protocols while maintaining momentum on a high-pressure timeline.

2. Amazon acquired the naming rights, pledging to make the venue the first net-zero carbon-certified arena in the world. This meant retrofitting the project with:

   • Solar panels mounted on the preserved roof

   • A rain-to-ice water retention system for making the ice rink more sustainably

   • Conversion to electric power systems, eliminating fossil fuels from core operations

This wasn’t just construction—it was climate-conscious reinvention on a global stage.

Cinematic Storytelling for an Engineering Epic

Our role was to visually chronicle this once-in-a-generation transformation, weaving together engineering, architecture, sustainability, and perseverance into a compelling narrative. With Blue Pixel Creates leading the creative, Coho Films executed:

• Long-term time-lapse setups for capturing progress over months and seasons

• On-site interviews with engineers, designers, and project leads

• Cinematic b-roll of key construction milestones and historic preservation efforts

• COVID-safe filming practices to protect crews and clients alike

We weren’t just filming a job site—we were telling the story of a new arena rising beneath the old, one detail at a time.

Looking to tell complex, technical stories with cinematic impact?
Coho Films helps turn infrastructure into inspiration with bold documentary-style video production.