New stadiums making positive environmental impacts
By Ryan Schumpert, UT Daily Beacon
Sports play a major role in millions of people’s lives all over America and the world, something that’s shown even greater during the coronavirus. Massive stadiums and arenas across the world have the capability for a massive carbon footprint.However, these arenas and stadiums can also lead the way for implementing environmentally friendly features and practices helping reduce its carbon footprint while also encouraging fans to follow similar practices.Stadiums across the United States and Europe have been moving to more environmentally conscious practices in recent years. Some of these include solar panels, LED lights and scoreboards, composters and water saving practices.All of these make a difference but there are only so many ways for stadiums and arenas to adapt after being built. To see major changes, you often have to look at new stadiums.You’d be hard pressed to find a stadium that represents this more than Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Stadium. Home to the Atlanta United Soccer Club and Atlanta Falcons, Mercedes-Benz Stadium opened in 2017, with Tennessee ironically playing the second ever game in the stadium — the Vols’ 42-41 win over Georgia Tech in the 2017 season opener.From the get-go plans of environmental innovation were paramount for building the 71,000-seat stadium.“We were trying to send a message to the construction industry to be efficient but also build great buildings,” Atlanta United and Falcons owner Arthur Blank said. “I told them it was important to me and for the environment and the community. They knew from Day 1 that it was a priority.”