RSS
Home
Big league energy: Giants vs. Dodgers
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Hefty utilities bill in Dodgertown
Big league baseball teams unquestionably need many things to succeed. There is one ingredient that rises to the top of importance to turn a club into a champion (no, not steroids). Crucial to successful major league teams are the ballparks they play in. Energy needs of these stadiums are substantial and clubs are now looking on how to green their ballparks. As of now, the Giants have an early lead over the Dodgers.
Major League Baseball has proven that there are no hallowed grounds in the national pastime. Tiger Stadium and the former Yankee Stadium were grounds where baseball was played for over one-hundred years and are now memories. Tradition is very nice, but not enough to stop the nation’s historic ballparks from being replaced with something more profitable. The constructs that take their stead are ballparks with more seating (especially for the corporate luxury box owners), more concession stands and more ways to generate revenue. New ballparks should be required to consume less energy as they are built or renovated.
California baseball is relatively new. The Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958 as the Giants left New York City for San Francisco. These moves were caused, in large part, by the promise of better ballparks in the West. The Dodger’s home grounds, Ebbets Field, was thought of as insufficient for owner Walter O’Malley and the Giants were playing their games in a crumbling venue called the Polo Grounds.
Los Angeles offered a new stadium to the Dodgers and history was made. The Dodgers play at Chavez Ravine as they have for nearly 50 years and the Giants have played their home games at AT&T Park since the 2000 season. Both are beautiful ballparks and considered to be among the best in the league. AT&T Park has taken the next step in stadium evolution by being a profitable and aesthetically pleasing park, which is making great strides to reduce its carbon footprint. The owners have installed 590 solar panels at the park, encouraged vendors to build green concession stands and have utilized the 7th inning stretch to collect recyclables. One would be amazed how many empty beer cups this adds up to.
Just as important as the energy consumption of the ballpark is the energy spent by fans to get to the game. The downtown location of AT&T park makes it accessible by the San Francisco light rail (the MUNI) and the San Francisco Train Station (CalTran). Much energy is saved by using public transport to get to the game.
While the Dodgers are behind now, it is still early in the game. Major renovations to Dodger Stadium were made at the end of the 2005 season. Unfortunately, no attention was given to greening the park. Comfort and aesthetics were given top priority. New investment should be taken immediately to make Dodgertown more energy efficient, which in time could lead to lower operation costs. And public transportation must be made available to Dodger Stadium (for a good fan-rant about getting to and exiting Chavez Ravine read: http://www.robyontheweb.com/dodgerstadium.htm)
Think about energy next time you head to the ballpark.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
.JPG)
