Cali’s Capital City Strikes Gold with New Arena in DoCo

The Sacramento Kings have a new castle in Downtown Commons, A.K.A. “DoCo,” and it is not short on accolades.

The new Golden 1 Center, named after Golden 1 Credit Union, is the nation’s only indoor arena to claim LEED Platinum certification, and the first NBA arena to be completely solar powered, making it the greenest of its kind in the country.

It was also crowned the “highest-tech stadium” by Wired magazine for its high-bandwidth Wi-Fi infrastructure.

But the crown jewel is the nearly three miles (2.75 miles; 14,500 feet) of sturdy, decorative railing snaking throughout the arena.

Crafted by Minneapolis-based SC Railing Company, a national leader in the design, engineering and manufacturing of ornamental railing systems for commercial building applications, a half-dozen styles of railing composed of mainly recyclable aluminum and glass can be found  at the north bridges, grand stairs, players practice facility, concourse areas and, of course, the upper and lower bowls, suites and lofts.

Several custom specialty railings were used to accommodate the modern design of the arena and ensure safety of the guests. For example, at the section of the lower bowl where the players enter from the locker rooms (and hence, where fans tend to lean heavily on the railing), the aisles adjacent to the tunnel are lined with picket railings affixed with special “Halfen Channel” supports.

To increase sturdiness, a steel channel is embedded into the concrete. A “T-bolt” is then slid into the embedded channel and turned so the “T” section catches on the channel. The guardrail bases are then placed onto the attached T-bolts and a nut is used to tighten the guardrail into place.

Similar engineering was used to attach the glass-topped picket guardrails lining the upper bowl overlooking the plaza level.

Another example of sturdy alignment can be found at the front of the lower bowl seating area, where the posts are secured using steel cup inserts.

To ensure durability, steel cups are placed into concrete, the guardrail is placed within the cup, then a bolt is inserted through the side of the concrete into the steel cup and guardrail to hold in place.

More practical applications include the use of custom “spill angles” along the lower portion of railings traversing the various bridges in the concourse.

Designed to protect any fallen items (cups for example) from falling under the guardrail and onto the grand entrance area located below, a 2-inch high by 4-inch wide “spill angle” was added just below the custom Gridguard railing.

Some purely aesthetic additions include Point Series glass railing at the front of the control room. This clean, minimalistic, baluster-free railing system features fascia-mounted stainless steel nodes providing a sleek look that complements the venue.

The strategic use of glass railings, including more than 3,100 feet inside the seating area and more than 600 feet in the practice facility and grand stairs outside, add an additional touch of elegance throughout the arena. Another unique design feature – found on the bridges – includes the custom extruded borders that attach aluminum perforated metal infill panels to their aluminum frames.

Projected to host 189 events a year, including an average of 47 Kings games, 20 graduation ceremonies and 27 concerts, the new Golden 1 Center will be a buzzing center of activity in downtown Sacramento for decades to come, and SC Railing is glad to have offered something all fans can hold onto.

SC Railing was proud to work with AECOM and Turner Construction to provide railing for Golden 1 Center.