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Sustainable Sports Stadiums

Will Brown by Will Brown, December 09, 2025

Seattle Climate Pledge Arena Sustainable Stadium

One of the biggest trends in sporting infrastructure in recent years has been the move toward more sustainable stadium designs. Not only does this approach have benefits for the environment, but a focus on sustainable design can also be more cost-effective and energy efficient in the long run. In this article, we’ve looked at the features of sustainably designed sports arenas, how these are certified, and why this approach is so important.

What is the Most Sustainable Stadium?

Interestingly, the United States is now home to some of the most sustainably designed stadiums in the world, including the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle and the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Atlanta. These have been setting the standard for international designers to follow, proving that the infrastructure can not only be environmentally beneficial but also attractive.

In this guide, we’ve started by looking at why traditional stadiums are unsustainable, before going into how to make a stadium sustainable. Other topics we’ve covered include the certification of sustainable stadiums, how regulations and incentives can promote their construction, and the future outlook of the approach.

The Unsustainability of Traditional Stadiums

The strongest argument for a move toward sustainable stadium design can be found simply by looking at the massive resource consumption of traditional stadium operations. Sports stadiums require significant amounts of energy for lighting, scoreboards, and temperature control, while vast volumes of water are required for field maintenance, cleaning, and lavatories.

Considering that the average number of seats in an NFL stadium is around 70,000, there is also huge amounts of waste generated from single-use packaging and wasted food. Audience travel to stadiums also generates a large carbon footprint, especially if visitors are expected to drive rather than take public transport.

Driving the shift toward a more sustainable construction approach includes evolving consumer attitudes, with a cleaner environmental approach helping to improve community relations and public image. It can also help to attract more environmentally conscious sponsors and even serve to educate visitors on the benefits of sustainable design.

Modern Sustainable Stadium Design Features

First and foremost, one of the clearest things that a sustainable stadium can do to make its operations more sustainable is to implement renewable energy systems. This can include installing solar panels on roofs and carparks or wind turbines to generate electricity, as well as installing batteries for storage.

In some cases, stadiums will also purchase renewable credits or offset their emissions through environmental schemes. Stadiums can conserve water by collecting and storing rainwater, using waterless urinals or low-flow fixtures, landscaping their fields to be drought-resistant, treating and recycling water on-site, and improving their irrigation methods.

Helping to improve efficiency is the installation of LED lighting throughout venues and smart HVAC systems for temperature control. On the waste front, stadiums can compost food waste, choose compostable natural eating materials over single-use plastic, improve recycling programs, and source food from sustainable, local providers.

Low-emissions stadiums will also ensure that transportation infrastructure is reliable. This includes better integration with public transport, parking for bikes and e-bikes, charging stations for electric vehicles, and safer designs for pedestrians. Of course, many of the emissions reductions can be found in the materials of the building itself.

This could include using repurposed or recycled building materials, green steel, green concrete, natural materials such as bamboo, double-glazed glass for heat retention, recycled plastic, and modular prefabricated elements such as shipping containers. You can already see some of this sustainable sports stadium construction in effect if live betting at online sports betting sites on home games of the Seattle Kraken NHL team.

How Sustainable Stadiums Are Certified

In the USA, the most widely recognised green building certification system is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). There are four levels of the system: Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum, with Platinum being awarded to the most sustainable stadium designs. These are awarded based on points across several categories, including energy efficiency, construction materials, and waste management.

Outside of the USA, there are several other well-known certification systems, including BREEAM in the UK and Green Star in Australia. However, the most widely used system remains LEED, with many international architects seeking the classification due to its broader scope and standards.

The Most Sustainable Modern Stadiums

While the USA may not be leading the world in terms of the renewable energy transition, it has been a trailblazer in sustainable sporting infrastructure. Several of the world’s most sustainable stadium designs exist across the nation, with many new projects seeking to earn the highest LEED certification. Some of the world’s most eco-friendly stadiums include:

Climate Pledge Arena – Seattle, Washington, USA

As the world’s first net-zero carbon certified sports arena, the Climate Pledge Arena is certified by the International Living Future Institute. Home to the NHL’s Seattle Kraken and WNBA’s Seattle Storm, the 18,000-seat arena runs on 100% renewable energy. It uses rainwater to maintain its ice rink, uses electric appliances and humidifiers, offers free monorails for fans, and has extensive EV charging stations. It has also eliminated all single-use plastic and aims to reduce its food waste by 90%.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium – Atlanta, Georgia, USA

The Mercedes-Benz Stadium was the first professional sports stadium in the world to achieve LEED Platinum verification. The home to the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, the stadium consumes 29% less energy than standard stadiums thanks to its LED lighting installations and 4,000 rooftop solar panels. The stadium collects and manages stormwater to reduce its water use by 47%, and diverts 90% of its waste from landfill. It also donates uneaten food to charity, proving that sustainability can also have other community benefits.

Johan Cruijff ArenA – Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Amsterdam’s Johan Cruijff ArenA has one of the most sustainable stadiums in the world and is one of the few sporting venues to have ambitions to create a net positive environmental impact by 2030. The site has more than 4,200 solar panels and second-life batteries to provide backup power. Its escalator generates energy, while its rainwater collection system maintains the pitch. It also has easy access to the metro to reduce the need for car travel.

Sustainability Regulations and Incentives

Helping the shift toward sustainable stadium design are various government and organizational regulations and incentives. The federal Energy Policy Act encourages efficient lighting and HVA systems, with tax incentives rewarded for renewable energy adoption, water-saving management, and eco-friendly construction materials. There are also federal grants often awarded to support more sustainable infrastructure.

There are also state and local regulations that can encourage investments in sustainability. California’s Title 24 energy standards push venues toward high-efficiency systems, while New York’s Climate Mobilization Act mandates significant emissions reductions from large buildings such as stadiums. Many cities also have green building codes for large public buildings.

Major sporting leagues have also established voluntary sustainability programs, including the NFL, MLB, NBA, and MLS, that encourage waste reduction and renewable energy use. Individual teams and owners also tend to partner with organizations such as the Green Sports Alliance to pursue high standards of low environmental impact.

Challenges Facing Sustainable Stadium Design

While there are many clear benefits to pushing for more sustainable stadium designs, there are still challenges facing the pivot. This can include higher initial construction costs and more challenging pipelines to source construction materials. Installing multiple energy and wastewater systems can also be technically complex.

It’s also not possible to have a one-size-fits-all approach to stadium design, with different regions having unique needs based on their temperatures, humidities, and location in cities. While many fans are open to sustainable practices, too, some may find the elimination of conveniences such as single-use packaging to be an uncomfortable adjustment.

On the regulatory level, incentives to create more sustainable designs can also fluctuate depending on which party is in government, which makes standards more confusing and difficult to plan over a long time. That said, we believe that sustainability will become standard practice in the future.

The Future of Stadium Design

One of the most exciting elements of sustainable construction is that renewable energy technology is constantly evolving. Already, solar power and battery storage systems are reaching new efficiency benchmarks, will carbon capture technology is seeing greater investment and interest. There have also been advancements in building materials that are carbon-neutral and durable.

We expect that as these technologies evolve, so too will the standards for certification. We hope that even net positive stadiums become the norm, with stadiums generating energy that can benefit the surrounding community. Whatever happens, though, it’s clear that climate resilience is a necessity, and without it, many leagues and live sports events will suffer.

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