Honeywell and NHL Forge Global Partnership for Smarter, Sustainable Hockey Venues
In a landmark multi-year global partnership, industrial giant Honeywell has been named the Official Building Automation and Energy Management Partner of the National Hockey League (NHL). This collaboration is set to usher in a new era of intelligent, digitally enabled venues, transforming everything from professional arenas to local community rinks across North America.
Revolutionizing Arena Operations with Advanced Technology
Under the terms of the agreement, Honeywell will lend its expertise to modernize and enhance the resilience and energy efficiency of facilities throughout the NHL ecosystem. The company is renowned for its advanced, scalable, and AI-enabled building automation technologies, which are crucial for managing the escalating power and cooling demands of modern sports venues. These solutions aim to improve uptime for revenue-critical operations and ensure seamless, uninterrupted events for millions of fans.
Honeywell’s integrated approach will encompass fire and life safety, robust security systems, frictionless access, and comprehensive energy management. This holistic strategy is designed to safeguard fans, players, and staff, while simultaneously boosting operational performance and elevating the overall gameday experience. Beyond the professional stage, the partnership also extends its benefits to community rinks, helping them operate more efficiently and maintain secure, well-managed environments that make hockey more accessible at the local level.
Leadership Voices on the Future of Hockey Facilities
Juan Picon, President, Americas for Honeywell Building Automation, emphasized the critical nature of this alliance. “Today’s hockey venues are highly complex, dynamic environments where efficiency and reliability directly impact performance and business outcomes,” Picon stated. “By optimizing building automation and energy management, Honeywell is well-positioned to help the League, its teams and local communities create more resilient, digitally enabled facilities that reduce operating costs, protect revenue streams and deliver seamless, secure and high‑quality fan experiences.”
Echoing this sentiment, David Lehanski, NHL Executive Vice President, Business Development & Innovation, highlighted the partnership’s strategic importance. “Our business requires an unprecedented level of interconnectivity and flexibility to deliver best-in-class experiences vital to the game on the ice and the fan experience off the ice,” Lehanski remarked. “The partnership with Honeywell unlocks proven technology and expertise that can help our Clubs expand efficiencies, intelligence and optimization, while creating a blueprint for strategic, long-term investments to support community rinks that are essential to the future of our great game.”
Meeting Growing Demands with Smart Solutions
This timely partnership arrives as hockey continues its impressive growth trajectory across North America. The NHL recently celebrated a fourth consecutive year of record attendance, with over 23 million fans gracing regular-season games this season. Concurrently, participation in hockey programs affiliated with the National Hockey League Players’ Association, NHL, and its 32 Member Clubs has also seen record growth, placing increased demands on both professional and grassroots facilities.
Honeywell’s cutting-edge technologies offer venue operators the ability to optimize core systems, monitor performance in real-time, and translate insights into actionable strategies. Platforms such as Honeywell Forge empower the NHL and facility operators to significantly improve energy efficiency, proactively anticipate maintenance needs, protect critical systems, and minimize costly downtime. This ensures reliable performance across both physical infrastructure and the sophisticated digital experiences fans now expect.
Pioneering the “Rink of the Future”
Looking ahead, this collaboration lays a vital foundation for long-term innovation throughout the entire hockey ecosystem. It presents an unprecedented opportunity to modernize building systems while simultaneously fortifying the data infrastructure that underpins fan engagement and digital operations. Honeywell and the NHL are poised to explore how advanced building automation, data-driven insights, and integrated energy management can bring to life concepts like the “Rink of the Future”—facilities that are not only more efficient and connected but also inherently more secure and resilient. By reimagining the very design and operation of arenas and rinks, this groundbreaking partnership aims to shape the next generation of hockey facilities for years to come.