The New York Mets are scheduled to begin play at the new 45,000 capacity Citi Field on opening day of the 2009 baseball season.
According to the Environment News Service, this ballpark is much different then the ordinary MLB team stadium for the fact that about 95 percent of the 12,500 tons of structural steel used to construct Citi Field is recycled. Using recycled steel not only saves money, but also reduces energy consumption, compared to making steel from virgin materials.
The Queens Ballpark Company will build and operate the major league baseball team’s new $800 million (thats the price with “saving money” for use of the recycled steel) stadium using some of the latest green technologies and practices. Recycled steel beams, concrete made from coal combustion ash, energy and water conservation, stormwater runoff controls – all will play a part in the construction and operation of the Mets’ new ballpark in the borough of Queens.
During construction, the builders will use at least two million pounds of recycled coal combustion products instead of newly manufactured portland cement. When all is done, the whole process saves over 800 tons of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, CO2, and is equivalent to taking 1,000 cars off the road for two months, the federal agency says.
Once the ballpark is in use, the Mets will use metered hands-free faucets, toilet flush-o-meters, and waterless urinals, which will conserve more than four million gallons of water a year.
This is a whole new breed of ballpark and hopefully this will be the future for upcoming new fields and another step forward in saving the environment.
