Sports stadiums use an enormous amount of energy and other natural resources in order to give teams and fans the best experience possible. From refrigerated concessions to flashing video boards to giant lights used during night games, there is no mistaking how much effort goes into making events larger-than-life at LEED ) Gold certification!1
Sustainability as a Priority
The San Francisco 49ers played at Candlestick Park in San Francisco from 1971 to 2013. The idea to build a new stadium for the 49ers began gaining momentum back in 1997. Many felt that Candlestick Park had become outdated and that the Bay Area needed a new multi-purpose facility to host not just football games but other events as well, such as concerts, soccer games, and international sporting events.2 Building a new stadium in the city had numerous issues, including exacerbating the traffic and parking problems that San Francisco already suffered from. Instead, the new stadium would be located in Santa Clara, 43.3 miles south of San Francisco.3
Making record time—just two years of construction—Levi’s Stadium opened to the public on July 17, 2014.4 Since the stadium is LEED Gold certified, it differs in many ways from its predecessor Candlestick Park. The LEED Gold certification, which is granted by the United States Green Building Council, is the second highest level of LEED certification available.5 The Gold certification means that a building has accrued between 60-79 credits based on whether or not it has certain features from five green design categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.6
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Levi’s Stadium has exciting and innovative sustainability features in all of the LEED green design categories. First, reducing the use of solar panels at peak power is enough to meet the electricity demand during every 49ers home game, meaning the stadium does not have to rely heavily on non-renewable sources of energy.9 There is also an emphasis on reusing materials and resources. For instance, all of the wood used to build the Citrix Owners Suites was reclaimed from an airplane hangar in nearby Mountain View, CA.10
Water efficiency—a major issue in California and around the world—is also a main feature of the building’s design. Levi’s Stadium uses recycled water to irrigate the field instead of valuable clean drinking water that instead is reserved for the community’s supply.11 Adding to that impressive feature is the fact that 85% of the water used in the entire stadium is recycled water. The field was also planted with Bermuda Bandera grass, which helps Levi’s field consume 50% less water than the average football stadium field.12 Furthermore, to prevent rainwater runoff, the suite tower has a 27,000-foot-long living roof planted with native California vegetation! This roof is also an awesome location for watching the game while enjoying some green space, such a cool an innovative feature for any event space, but particularly so for a sports arena ☺ In terms of concessions, the stadium’s concessionaire is aiming to provide local, farm-to-table options for fans. There will also be compost and recycling available throughout the stadium.13
To showcase these green features, there is a live video display that shows fans up-to-date information about the stadiums daily operations, such as energy measurements and water and air monitoring data.14 It is very exciting to see mainstream construction head in a sustainable direction. Hopefully Levi’s Stadium can serve as a model and inspiration to other sports teams that are planning to build new stadiums.
