A More Sustainable Super Bowl XLIX

This week, I've been anxiously awaiting the Super Bowl, as many other fans have. Since I couldn't get the game off my mind, I found an article written by SustainableBusiness.com talking about the sustainable practices going into this year’s big show!

While University of Phoenix Stadium doesn't have any solar (c’mon, it’s Arizona! Utilize that big, beautiful sun!), the stadium is touting energy efficiency in a number of places. This is the first stadium to switch over to 100% LED lights, where 312 LEDs will only draw 310 kW, which will cut the demand for lighting by 75% (“What’s”)! Not only are LED lights more efficient, but they also provide better lighting for fans as they’re much brighter and remove shadows on the playing field. There will also be 500 motion sensors in place to cut energy use, and the stadium will reduce the load of air conditioners as well.

The sustainability doesn't stop there. Fans have been swarming in from all over to Arizona for the week leading up to the Super Bowl and events took place all week long. In considering food waste, this year the goal was to create a zero-waste area of up to 12 blocks outside the Phoenix stadium (“What’s”). Composting and recycling of food waste has been implemented, and – this is personally my favorite idea – the leftover “food will be donated to Waste Not, which will distribute it to facilities that feed people in need” (“What’s”).

So this year, I get to watch the Super Bowl knowing that there are efforts moving towards more sustainable enjoyment of sports. In addition to this, the two teams that are playing on Sunday (the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks) are among the “greenest football teams” (“What’s”). While the Patriots and Seahawks rank 5^th and 6^th, respectively, in terms of solar use in their stadiums, they boast the 3^rd and 4^th most ‘solar-powered’ football stadiums. Check out the chart below, provided by the SEIA (Solar Energy Industries Association), depicting the use of solar energy throughout sports stadiums:

Provided by SEIA ("Solar")

The article even gives a special nod to the Green Sports Alliance for growing and encouraging the use of solar energy in powering our sports fields and raceways!

Oh yea, and... Go Hawks!

Works Cited

"Solar For The Win: A Study on Solar in U.S. Professional Sports." SEIA. Solar Energy Industries Association, n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2015. <http://www.seia.org/research-resources/solar-win-study-solar-us-professional-sports>.

"What's Green About This Year's Super Bowl?" SustainableBusiness.com. N.p., 30 Jan. 2015. Web. 30 Jan. 2015. 

<http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26128>.