It's Super Bowl weekend in Las Vegas. The city's bright lights and grand marquees sparkle as thousands of fans arrive by plane or car. Taylor Swift will almost certainly fly on her jet. 1,000 private planes To be expected at local airports. On Sundays, countless cars fill the parking lot. Upon entering Allegiant Stadium, fans are greeted by lights and lighting. 2,200+ screens. They order cold beer and hot coffee, and eat burgers, nachos, and other grilled, fried, or seared snacks. The entire 1.8 million square foot facility is climate controlled to ensure the comfort of the 65,000 fans and cheering players.
In short, the day's festivities will be ruined. a lot of energy, approximately 28 megawatt hours estimate NZero is the company hired by the Las Vegas Raiders to monitor stadium emissions.
That's a lot of power no matter how you look at it, and the NFL recently rebranded itself as a champion of sustainability, even though it doesn't care about its image at all. Over the past few years, the company has started a waste reduction program. The stadium is powered by solar energy In some way. But even by that measure, the league is touting this year's Super Bowl, featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, as the greenest yet. Powered entirely by renewable energy. The company's sustainability arm, NFL Green, works with each year's host city to offset other emissions through community gardens and tree planting.
„We strive to leave a positive 'green legacy' in the communities where we host our events, and we tailor our greening projects to the needs of each community,“ said NFL Green Director Susan Groh. . told Forbes.
The Las Vegas Raiders, who moved to Allegiant Stadium in 2020, have a 25-year contract to purchase electricity from NV Energy, which manages a 621,000-panel solar farm in the desert northwest of Las Vegas. There is. The power company says the amount of energy flowing to the game from the panels and small amounts of wind, geothermal and hydroelectric power will be enough to power 46,000 homes across the country to watch the game for four hours.
The NFL does not have much say in the energy configuration of a particular arena, and Allegiant Stadium, like nearly every other facility in Las Vegas, will be powered by the grid, which relies on natural gas. . However, according to Jonathan Casper, who studies the intersection of sports and sustainability at North Carolina State University, the amount of energy expected to be used at this weekend's Super Bowl will exceed It is said to have approximately the same capacity as a photovoltaic power plant. . The stadium has made pre-arrangements with NV Energy for heavy electricity use and has batteries on-site to store power after sunset.
„Teams view energy as a major expense,“ Casper said. While the „100 percent renewable“ claim may be a bit greenwashed, it remains a positive sign that sports leagues and their teams are becoming increasingly serious about decarbonizing. No, he says.
„The importance of sustainability is becoming the norm in stadium construction,“ he says.
Most new stadiums, like the Las Vegas Raiders' $1.9 billion home, will be LEED-certified, will source and dispose of food more sustainably, employ recycling, and feature LED lighting and water efficiency. This means that energy-saving methods such as piping are used. This was rare even a few years ago. The Raiders hired NZero to track and independently verify it. Full range of emissionsproduced by air conditioning and award-winning (Really) Reduces the emissions required to get everyone to the venue on match day.
NZero CEO Adam Kramer said: „As America's biggest sporting stage, this shows we can bring renewable energy to sporting events.“ He added that agreements with power companies are essential to this, as achieving the same amount of energy capacity would require a massive 60 acres of solar panels on site.
What's happening in the NFL reflects the global momentum to advance sustainability in sports. A group called the Green Sports Alliance got involved. United Nations Sports Framework for Action to Combat Climate Change In 2019, major league teams like the Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees signed pledges to reduce emissions. In Europe, Teams are starting to track carbon emissionsin part Hope A more standardized accountability system may be introduced.The fans Recommended Join us in this effort by riding your bike to the game or using public transportation. As a result, many European football clubs have reduced their emissions. According to one reportHowever, only direct emissions can be easily measured.
Transport-related emissions are the largest contributor to the sports industry's carbon footprint. Casper said the biggest events would struggle to manage events like the Super Bowl and the Olympics because all the fans in the venue are part of the fun.
It takes a long time to turn a ship as big as the NFL and other sports leagues around, but a few turns could go a long way toward raising public awareness of the need for and benefits of decarbonization. , Casper said. . The claim that this year's Super Bowl will be powered entirely by renewable energy may be too PR-biased, but the 60,000 fans in the stands and millions more watching on TV It certainly helps sell the idea of clean energy in general.
“There are only a few opportunities where so many people can come together and see it,” Casper said.