Eco-friendly Stadium for Super Bowl 50
Emilio Lopez
This year's Super Bowl will be played at Levi's Stadium, which is one of the NFL's most eco-friendly stadiums. The facility boasts a LEED Gold Certification and features include a massive green roof, solar panels, and use of recycled water.
As with many large projects, there are supporters and critics; so, here are some videos and articles to learn more about the stadium and what others have said:
Associated Press
CBS Local - San Francisco
This 2014 article highlights several point and points out that, "the turf is tough, but not too thirsty. It requires about 50% less water than traditional football field grass. Special sensors monitor the soil’s moisture, salinity, and temperature."
Levi's Stadium Website
Several of the main points about the stadium's environmental features are highlighted on it's website, but there aren't many details. One of the highlights is that "100% of the wood used in the Citrix Owners Suites is reclaimed wood from a local airplane hangar at Moffett Field in Mountain View, CA."
49ers.com
If you're a numbers person, 49ers.com wrote an article in 2014, during the stadium's construction, at it has many facts, including this one:
San Jose Mercury News
Paul Rogers' article provides a more balanced view about the environmental efforts, and includes comments from critics. For example, the article says that, "other NFL stadiums have larger solar arrays. Lincoln Financial Field, where the Philadelphia Eagles play, has 11,000 solar panels, generating eight times as much electricity as the 49ers' solar panels will. Similarly, the Washington Redskins stadium, FedEx Field, has a solar system five times as large as Levi's Stadium."
KRON 4 News
YouTube user TVman1981 posted a video highlighting pollution at a creek next to Levi's Stadium. This simply goes to show that environmental impact goes well beyond construction and maintenance of a facility; other environmental items must be considered as well.
