Cowboys' new stadium a reminder of how to waste energy

Owen Glubiak - (08/18/2009 11:27 AM EDT)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=219401004

"Everything is bigger in Texas" as the slogan goes on a T-shirt in the fan store of the new Dallas Cowboy's stadium. I couldn't think of how true that statement was in relation to the new stadium's carbon footprint. I recently just got back from a family wedding in Dallas, Texas. During our stay, we toured around the new Dallas Cowboy's stadium as my cousin has always been a big fan. The stadium is set to hold 80,000 people with the ability to expand to a 100,000. The structure is beyond big and resembles the alien aircraft in the 1996 film "Independence Day".

We took a guided tour of the facility which needless to say was jaw-dropping and not in a good way. There seemed to be only one goal of this stadium: to break records. Largest this, the most number of that, tallest this, it was flat out disgusting at the enormity of resources that were wasted to make this structure.

During the tour, I raised the question, "How much are the utility bills?" The tour guide giggled and said "I'll get to that in a minute". About 5 minutes later he pulled together the large group to announce what seemed like an accomplishment in his eyes. "The stadium averages roughly $200,000 in monthly utility bills," he claims. My brain went wild with figures as I tried to translate that into energy terms. Assuming that the electric bill will be the majority of the purchase i.e. air conditioning, lighting, and equipment, the total amount of energy consumed based on Texas's average commercial $/kWh is 2,036,560 kWh per month, or roughly 24,439,918 kWh per year. To give you some perspective, this is equivalent to the same amount of energy as the city of Santa Monica, CA (Pop. 88,000) uses per year. Why is a stadium that is only used for about 5 hours every other week during the NFL season consuming as much energy as an entire city?

What really blew my mind is when I returned home to look into the stadium's environmental initiatives. According to the Sports Business Journal, "those goals include reducing solid waste by 25 percent, cutting energy use by 20 percent and saving 1 million gallons of water annually compared to what would be produced were green measures not in place." One of the first things I noticed was the lighting. They were incandescent bulbs in many of the fixtures. They couldn't even consider the most basic of approaches by using energy efficient lighting. The fact they were using conventional lighting these days, with so many efficient lighting options available is just incomprehensible and to put it bluntly, idiotic. The payback for more efficient lighting such as CFL's and LED's is less than a year and they last 10 times longer. The only positive to the lighting is the natural lighting from the operable wall windows but if you have a game at night then it negates it. It is one thing to claim that you are reducing energy consumption by not using conventional systems but I ask what conventional systems are they using? Conventional systems are largely undefined. Therefore, you can skew any data you would like in order to make it seem like you are going the "green route".

What is even more hilarious about the environmental design is that they banked on the retractable roof and operable glass walls to make claims how they are improving their performance by having those open during the games. Well, our tour guide pointed out that they will only open the roof if it is above 76 degrees and the operable glass wall windows will be opened under the same temperature conditions and the wind speeds are less than 6 mph. Basically, they will only be able to use them during the very small time table of a winter that they have and the glass windows will almost never be open due to the low wind speeds that are needed in order for it to be viable.

<SNIP>

watch: in 20 years it will be obsolete & need replacement.

I'll bet it won't last a dozen years, and more likely 10 years or less before the Cowboys organization is bitching about how it needs a new facility to house America's Team. Naturally, the good citizens of Dallas and its environs will fall all over themselves to accommodate their white elephant.

They have a waste of a former pResident living within their midst as well.

Such a disgrace.

Bastard.

and shouldn't get a dime from taxpayers.

At least the Redskins' shitty stadium was paid for by Jack Kent Cooke. His name should not be pried off.

TV advertising is a major source of income to the networks, and they pass a lot of that on to the sports teams.

Future TV contracts will not be so fat as TV advertising continues to decline in the face of on-line advertising.

The one time I was there, I quickly learned not to order a large or even a medium of any food, because they overdid it on the portions. I left a lot uneaten there and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

in Texas.

They spend it on ballparks, but can't spend it on homeless people.

I said they should use the Astrodome as a homeless shelter.

Then durng Katrina, damn if it didn't come true.



Bread and circuses.

:wtf:

rates or if they are buying power off the grid. If so, the actual energy consumption could be much, much higher.

I have read the dimensions of the HDTV hovering over the field is 160'x76'. That is larger than the lot my house sits on.

They could be using twice as much as the article estimated.

Back in the days of Staubach, Golden Richards and Tony Hill, with Harvey Martin and Ed Jones on defense, when being two touchdowns behind with 3 minutes to go was not only no problem, it was an exciting challenge to see the 'Boys come back to beat the Eagles or the hated Redskins.

What I didn't see then was that the Dallas Cowboys were always emblematic of Corporate America, and the tip of the pro sports iceberg that keeps TV humming, products moving and men from really talking to each other about important things. This new stadium, while dismaying, is just the inevitable temple of our true religion.

I hate that team. I ALWAYS cheer for them to LOSE!