Excitement is building in Washington, D.C., over the new Washington Commanders’ Stadium. The Commanders envision a stadium that will bring fans together, boost the local community, drive economic growth, and mark their return to their spiritual home base. The project will anchor a 180-acre redevelopment of the historic RFK site.
The RFK site is situated along the Anacostia River, a diverse and complex ecosystem supporting aquatic plants and providing important habitat for many species. Historically, the river has been contaminated with pollution from trash, toxins, sewage, runoff, heavy metals, and more due to adjacent agricultural, industrial, and urban land uses. Redevelopment of the site should incorporate sustainability, community health, and eco-friendly practices.
Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. was the first professional sports stadium in the U.S. to incorporate significant sustainability features, earning the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification in 2008. The U.S. Green Building Council awards the LEED certification to building projects that meet requirements for energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, and healthy environments. Among other features, Nationals Park includes water-conserving plumbing, drought-tolerant landscaping, and energy-efficient lighting. Because the site is in close proximity to the Anacostia River, developers were careful to treat storm and ground water runoff. The stadium has a water filtration system that treats both cleaning and rainwater before release into sanitary and stormwater systems.
Today, over 50 professional sports venues in North America have attained some level of LEED certification. That figure represents a third of all major league (NFL, MLB, etc.) sports venues. Seven earned LEED Platinum certification, the highest sustainability score, with many others reaching Gold.
Beyond LEED certification, there are many compelling reasons for sports sites to incorporate sustainability features. Awareness about the climate crisis is increasing, and large sports venues tend to have a significant environmental impact. Team owners and municipalities can demonstrate environmental responsibility, reduce operating costs through efficient energy and water use, strengthen the team’s brand, and enhance the fan experience.
Some prominent examples of stadiums with sustainability features include:
- Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta). This Platinum-certified stadium achieved the highest LEED score of any major sports venue. It is located at the headwaters of the Proctor Creek watershed, which flows to the Chattahoochee River. Green features of the stadium include advanced stormwater management, including an on-site 2.1 million-gallon stormwater vault, bioswales, and a 680,000-gallon cistern for collecting and reusing rainwater for irrigation. This combined with water-efficient fixtures resulted in a 47 percent reduction in domestic water use. The stadium has 4,000 solar panels that generate enough energy to power nine Atlanta Falcons games. Energy-efficient design reduces electricity usage by 29 percent. It is also a certified zero-waste facility, reducing consumption, reusing materials, and recycling or composting what remains to minimize or eliminate waste across its entire life cycle, from construction to demolition.
- U.S. Bank Stadium (Minneapolis). This LEED Platinum stadium is located in the Mississippi River watershed, about one mile from the river. A stormwater collection system keeps site runoff from flooding the surrounding area while also helping to charge the local groundwater. Waste is diverted from the landfill, and either recycled, composted, donated, or reused. The remaining waste is taken to a trash-to-energy facility where it is converted to steam used to heat buildings in the downtown Minneapolis area. In February 2018, U.S. Bank Stadium hosted a Zero Waste Super Bowl, with 91 percent of waste diverted from landfills through the stadium’s investment in top-of-the-line infrastructure and efforts in building a sustainable, environmentally friendly operation.
- SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles). This stadium and the surrounding Hollywood Park incorporated many sustainability features. The landscape is 16.65 acres of total planting area with over 5,000 native trees and plants that promote the regeneration of habitats and encourage the return of native wildlife. A six-acre constructed lake onsite functions as a water recycling system by collecting 70-80 percent of stormwater runoff that irrigates the surrounding parkland and landscape. Hollywood Park utilizes approximately 26 million gallons of recycled water per year, which saves an equal amount of drinking water for the region. It has an onsite Organic Refuse Conversion Alternative (ORCA) Digester that utilizes a natural biological process to efficiently break down food waste prior to it being discharged into the plumbing infrastructure.
There are many other examples. Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium is completely powered by Nevada-sourced renewable energy. The Kansas City Chiefs became the first NFL team to roll out a stadium-wide reusable cup system at Arrowhead Stadium. They eliminated single-use plastics through a closed-loop system for all games, keeping several hundred thousand cups out of landfills. Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia was the first NFL stadium to recycle beverage containers using reverse vending machines, and installed water filtration fountains that eliminated over one million plastic water bottles. All of these sustainability efforts preserve and protect the environment, public health, and surrounding communities.
HKS, the architecture firm leading the Commanders’ Stadium project, also designed SoFi and U.S. Bank Stadiums. With guidance from the Commanders’ leadership and DC government, HKS has the high-end design expertise and capabilities to deliver the blueprint for a state-of-the-art, sustainable stadium.
Honoring the legacy of RFK Stadium, and the trend-setting Nats Park, the Commanders have a responsibility to the DC community, as well as the NFL and sports public, to deliver a Commanders’ Stadium that is not only an economically beneficial and vibrant sports venue, but one that preserves and protects the health, environment, and climate of Washington, D.C., residents and the larger community.
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Written by: John Haecker