In September of last year, the newly opened University of Minnesota TCF Bank Stadium unveiled its impressive LEED Silver certification, approved by the U.S. Green Building Council….Over on the north side of town, the still-under-construction Minnesota Twin’s Target Field began to grow jealous.
Keeping in par with the spirit of friendly competition in professional sports, the Target Field decided to hit back and seek qualification for LEED certification as well. Recently, it was announced that Pentair, Inc. will donate an intensive rainwater recycling system at the Target Field that poses to reduce the need for municipal water by 50 percent. The system will capture and purify water that can later by used to wash down the lower decks of the stadium as well as to water the baseball field. Additionally, Pentair will install their Everpure tap water filtration system in the stadium’s luxury suites, administrative offices, and training rooms in order to curtail the overuse of plastic bottles at sports games. In total, these efforts stand to conserve around 2 million gallons of water a year.
Hold your applause because I’m not about to pat anyone on the back here. Let’s look at the big picture. Having lived in Minnesota, I distinctly remember watching this stadium blitz unfold. First, it was decided that the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome was no longer a satisfactory home for Minnesota’s many sports teams – the University of Minnesota Gophers, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Minnesota Twins. Secondly, it was argued that the most just course of action was to build three new stadiums, one of the Gophers, one for the Vikings, and one for the Twins…
If by just you mean just for business – then yes, but just for the environment – I beg to differ. In the end, plans were approved for Minnesota Twins and University of Minnesota Gophers stadiums. The Vikings are still pushing their stadium bid, I believe, but I’ve stopped listening.
In just a few years, Minneapolis has built one 50,805 seat, $288.5 million stadium on the East Bank of the Mississippi and a 40,000 seat, $425 million stadium on the West. – funded in part by students and taxpayers. Is it sustainable (or necessary) to build two multi-million dollar stadiums in the same city at the same time? Is it sustainable to ask students who are struggling to afford their tuition to throw down for the sports world? Is the “LEED” certification just a bone to get the liberal hippies on board? You’re not fooling me. There is a lot of danger in the myth that we can keep on building whatever and whenever as we please as long as we put some green ivy around the edges. Let this be a warning to the world: We’re just not getting it.
Pentair, Inc.
Pentair is a global leader in providing innovative products and systems used worldwide in the movement, treatment, storage and enjoyment of water.
- Organization Type: For-Profit
- Website: http://www.pentair.com/
- Chairman: Randall J. Hogan
- Founded: 1998
- Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
- See complete company list here
Contributor Profile: Ashley
Ashley is a friend of anyone who is fighting the good fight for social change. She currently resides in Bilbao, Spain where she is teaching English and researching the history of the Basque conflict. Personal blog
Twitter: @socialearth
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