After years of planning, several false starts and some unexpected lack of support from state officials, the new $80-million Duluth Entertainment Convention Center is on track for a December 31, 2010 opening date following more than two years of construction.

The complex's showcase will be a 6,600-seat arena slated to host home games for the University of Minnesota-Duluth hockey teams.

But what makes the arena notable is the emphasis on sustainability and green practices. Architects and designers say they're going for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification -- and if this is achieved, the new DECC arena will be one of the first in the United States to achieve such a designation.

The route to achieving certification is pretty basic on an arena. First, arena construction will use recycled materials as often as possible, and waste materials from the construction project will be recycled as much as possible. The arena's electrical, HVAC and plumbing systems will be designed as efficiently as possible; you can expect low-flow toilets and low-energy lighting systems that use motion detectors to shut down when not in use. The water-management system will be designed to minimize runoff into neighboring Lake Superior.

The end goal, according to Sen. Yvonne Prettner Solon, chair of the Minnesota Senate’s Energy, Utilities, Technology and Communications Committee and a DECC board member, is to reduce energy usage by 60 percent over comparable arenas.

Construction on the project has already begun with the erection of a 475-vehicle ramp on what was previously a parking lot in the DECC complex. Work on the actual arena will begin next April. The new arena will not actually displace the existing arena; it will be built away from the waterfront to the northwest of the existing arena in the DECC complex, closer to the Great Lakes Aquarium.