While the Los Angeles Dodgers hope new manager Joe Torre can help make an impact on the field, team officials say recent renovations will lessen the stadium’s environmental impact off the field.
“Opening Day meant that we turned on the electricity and water and left them running for seven months straight,” said Howard Sunkin, Dodgers senior vice president of public affairs.
That changed this year when the Dodgers spent $70 million upgrading the 50-year-old landmark.
The most noticeable additions are the Baseline Box Clubs, which offer exclusive food service for premium ticketholders in box seats. But the more extensive modernization efforts focus on the stadium’s energy efficiency and water usage.
For example, waterless urinals produced by Los Angeles-based Falcon Waterfree Technologies have been installed on the field level, which will save approximately 2.4 million gallons of water per year. When other levels are renovated over the next couple of off-seasons, total savings are expected to reach 10 million gallons of water annually.
By comparison, the trough urinals that were removed flushed every 90 seconds, 24 hours a day, for seven months straight during the season.
Overhead lighting in the bathrooms, concession stands and food preparation areas have been equipped with sensors that will automatically shut them off when people aren’t around.
“The stadium was grandfathered in on many building codes,” said Andy Henning, vice president for HKS Architects, the firm in charge of renovations. “We have upgraded the stadium to comply with California’s current Title 24 codes.”
One of the biggest changes, however, won’t be seen by most fans. It is the installation of a chilled-water cooling system, a type commonly found in large office buildings. The system required a 15-foot expansion into the hillside outside the stadium.
A system of large pipes were installed under the stadium. Pumps circulate chilled water through the pipes, which absorb heat from the food preparation areas.
The heat is released outside the stadium at the end of the cycle. The water is then chilled and circulated again. The equipment has the capacity to handle future renovations on the upper levels.
“The food service employees will have much more comfortable working conditions,” noted Sunkin.
Another change is the replacement of fixtures providing field lighting. Upgrades use the same wattage bulbs, but allow the team to operate with less than 500 bulbs, compared with 900 last season. In addition to cutting energy costs by 50 percent, the new fixtures produce better lighting for high-definition TV broadcasts.
Green Prix
The Dodgers aren’t the only local sports enterprise in town with an environmental initiative.
At the 34th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, alternative energy vehicles will be on display and some will perform in a demonstration race around the street course.
The debut of the “Green Power Prix-View” will take place in conjunction with an expanded lifestyle and alternative energy expo at the Long Beach Convention Center during race weekend April 18-20. It will be the first major auto-racing event to focus on innovations in alternative energy. The expo will show off energy-efficient home appliances and vehicles.
On the track, all the cars in the popular America Le Mans Series race, one of six races scheduled for the weekend, will compete on alternative fuels.
Grand Prix Association of Long Beach expects 180,000 fans to attend the weekend’s festivities.
Downhill Downloads
Professional skier Bode Miller has launched a Los Angeles-based social networking Web site for ski enthusiasts at SkiSpace.com. The site was founded by the 2008 alpine skiing world champion, who serves as chief executive.
SkiSpace.com has reached 3 million page views since debuting in December. It is on pace to continue doubling in size on a month-to-month basis.
SkiSpace offers weather updates, vacation planning, equipment sales and ski reports. Other sections allow sharing of user-generated content such as mobile blogs, photo uploads and ski videos. Users can participate in discussion forums with some of the world’s top professional skiers on a variety of topics.
The site was founded in collaboration with Los Angeles-based PathConnect LLC. PathConnect was founded two years ago by Ryan Blair as a way for established name brands to create social networking sites. Other partners with the company include actress Jessica Biel.
Staff reporter David Nusbaum can be reached at
[email protected]
or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 236.
