WENATCHEE — For the folks at the Town Toyota Center, being green means being ready for the future.

While the Wenatchee arena was being constructed, Town Toyota Center director of sales Linda Haglund worked with Port of Chelan County economic development director Ron Johnson-Rodriguez in plans to wire the parking lot so that electric and hybrid vehicles could charge while their owners attended events at the arena or participated in community sports like figure skating or hockey.

It’s not much of a concern that it’s not yet operational — without many commercial electric cars on the market, the demand isn’t exactly high, and a sponsor will be needed to eventually get it running.

“The groundwork is in place and could be operational, but Detroit is going to be involved before we are,” said Town Toyota Center general manager Mark Miller.

But the arena was looking to a time when electric cars will be a common occurrence on the roads of the Wenatchee Valley when it installed the 120-volt AC outlet, which currently has the capacity for four cars.

“They hadn’t even broken ground yet, but I think there was an interest in looking down the road for ideas that were green,” said Johnson-Rodriguez.

“There was a push to get (the wiring) in there before we laid cement. Otherwise we never would have got it in there,” said Haglund.

Johnson-Rodriguez, who is a member of the Advance Vehicle Innovation group at Wenatchee Valley College that makes projects out of converting vehicles to electricity, said that the arena will be in good shape as electric vehicles become more viable options — like when GM launches its line of electric cars next year.

“It’s pretty progressive for the center to have those outlets available, and they did it all without government assistance,” he said. “Meanwhile, Seattle just got millions of dollars to install charging stations.”

The Town Toyota Center isn’t the only place in the Valley with these plug-ins. Both WVC and the Port of Chelan County have outlets, and Johnson-Rodriguez there are talks with the cities of Wenatchee and Leavenworth about installation.

Miller said he looks at the outlets as a starting point for more green projects for the arena.

“Looking ahead, I think that’s where the world is headed, so it’s nice to be on top of it,” he said.

Brent Stecker: 661-5222

stecker@wenworld.com