Sustainable Sports: How San Diego is Cutting Stadium Costs 25%

By Kevin Ebi

During a game, a ballpark basically becomes a small city. But a few hours before or after it can practically be a ghost town. Those dramatic usage swings set up a tremendous opportunity for waste.In San Diego, however, the cost of running Petco Park could be cut by at least 25% with the help of Council Lead Partner Qualcomm and OSIsoft, as you’ll read in the news release here.The project will give stadium managers not only a real-time look at the energy and water consumption of the ballpark, but the individual usage for every vendor. Rather than just trying to mandate a certain level of across-the-board cuts, this level of insight will help managers develop more tailored — and effective — strategies to improve overall sustainability.From population growth to climate change, sustainability is an increasingly critical issue for cities and this project is noteworthy for several reasons. First, there are more than 10,000 stadiums around the world, so finding ways to manage them more sustainably will have a positive impact.But this project also serves as a blueprint for any sustainability initiative. The combination of data and analytics unlocks truly valuable insights that can allow you to make a big difference quickly. Whether you’re running a ballpark, a business park or a city, as San Diego shows, this really works. Read the full story here.