Fielding a major league sports team is one of the great ways for big U.S. cities to enjoy being cities. There are many benefits to having a pro team in your community – it helps the local residents bond, it brings in tourism from out of town and it invites a great deal of publicity and positive press coverage.
"You've got to have a smart strategy for managing your stadium's water responsibly."
All of the above are good things. But here's the downside – fielding a sports team also requires using up a great deal of resources. Every day that your stadium or arena is open, it's a tremendous drain on the area's water and energy supplies. If you're running the day-to-day operations of such a facility, you've got to have a smart strategy in place for managing these resources responsibly.
In this regard, it helps to read some prior success stories and learn about teams and stadiums that have done well with managing resources – in particular, water – in recent years.
Baseball's Miami Marlins lead the way
One of the most successful sports franchises in recent years when it comes to eco-friendliness in general, and water efficiency in particular, has been baseball's Miami Marlins. Marlins Park recently became the first retractable roof structure ever to earn LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, but that's not all. The stadium also made tremendous gains with water.
Marlins Park made a special point of reorganizing its plumbing fixture design. That, along with other operational strategies, helped to reduce water use by an estimated 52 percent compared with other Major League Baseball stadiums. The Marlins also implemented a new landscaping design strategy that helped maintain the stadium's collection of native plants without significantly increasing water demand.
Efficiency is key with stadium water use
For any stadium that's looking to emulate the Marlins and find success with water maintenance, one of the keys in that regard is efficiency in water heating. If your facility makes the move to install a high-efficiency water heater right away, you're sure to uncover a whole range of benefits:
- Recovery efficiency – Heat will be quickly transferred from your heater to your water, minimizing water waste in the meantime.
- Reduced standby losses – Heat is typically lost when water sits unused in storage – high-efficiency heaters reduce this loss.
- Reduced cycling losses – As water cycles through pipes, heat starts to dwindle. More efficient cycling means better heat retention.
Count on the experts for superior service
Is it time for your sports facility to install a better water heater? If so, don't settle for anything less than the best. Going with a commercial tankless water heater will help your organization maximize efficiency and minimize spending.
Over 1 million such units have already been installed over the last 25 years. Your stadium or arena could be the next to embrace this growing trend. If so, your fans, your organizational leadership and your bottom line will all be appreciative.