Green Design Features Announced for Mets’ Citi Field

March 14th, 2008 • Related • Filed Under

Newsday and MLB.com reported yesterday that the Mets are planning to incorporate a variety of sustainable features into the new Citi Field, set to open in April 2009. The $800 million stadium is being built using 95 percent recycled steel, and will be lit for night games using energy-efficient field lighting. The bathrooms will feature low-flow plumbing elements like hands-free faucets and waterless urinals that the EPA estimates will save 4 million gallons of water a year. The Mets also plan to install a 15,000 square foot green roof on the administration building in order to cut down on heating and cooling costs and are working with the MTA to continue to encourage people to take public transportation to games. “We set out to create a world-class environment that would be fan-friendly and environmentally friendly,” Met Chief Executive Jeff Wilpon said. The club has also partnered with EPA’s Energy Star program and will implement a recycling program with its concessions vendor, ARAMARK.

As gbNYC wrote over the summer, the Mets are not currently seeking a LEED rating for the project, unlike the new ballpark in Washington for the Nationals that will open up this spring. The Nationals hope to earn the first LEED rating in the country for a stadium, while the Minnesota Twins’ new park will also pursue the designation as well. Another ballpark currently under construction here in New York- in the Bronx for the Yankees- has been revealed in very little detail, with no word to date on potential sustainable design elements.