As part of their efforts in constructing a state-of-the-art football stadium, the Titans are quite literally planning to set a gold standard for Tennessee’s professional sports teams.
A sign outside the construction site of the future Nissan stadium
More specifically, the Titans want New Nissan Stadium, scheduled to open in 2027, to become the state’s first pro sports facility to earn what’s known as a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Certification.
It’s one of the highest ratings available when it comes to measuring the sustainability and environmental performance of buildings and communities.
The LEED criteria and point system were developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, a nonprofit, third-party evaluator that focuses on nine categories, which include innovation, water efficiency, materials and resources used, energy atmosphere, and indoor environmental quality.
“From every fact-finding and fact-checking that we do, we believe we’ll be the first professional venue in the state to receive that certification,” said Kellen DeCoursey, the Titans’ New Stadium Project Executive.
Kellen Decoursey
“It’s the right thing to do nowadays. … It used to be that it was expensive to do things like sustainable features and environmentally friendly features and design elements. Nowadays it’s become so much more prevalent and commonplace that there really isn’t an expense. So it’s kind of like, `Why not go for it?’”
What exactly does sustainability mean when it comes to building and operating a sports venue?
It refers to a site that is designed, built and operated with a focus on minimizing its environmental impact, which means prioritizing actions like conserving water, using renewable energy and reducing waste.
The concept isn’t new, as Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., in 2008 became the first U.S. stadium to receive the LEED certification. As of last year, more than 60 stadiums around the world, including more than 50 in North America, have since earned recognition on one of four LEED levels: platinum, gold, silver or certified, per Time Magazine.
In fact, Atlanta’s $1.6 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium broke new ground when it opened in 2017 as the first U.S. stadium to earn platinum certification. It’s now considered by many to be the most sustainable sports venue in the world.
So it shouldn’t be surprising to learn that Titans executives paid a visit to the home of NFL’s Falcons as they began planning New Nissan Stadium.
“One of the biggest inspirations for us was when we went down and toured Mercedes-Benz,” DeCoursey said. “Basically, we took some things we learned from them, and then saw an opportunity in the design we have. … We just kind of continued to look at how we could add on to [our design] and make it more functional.”
Construction on the future Nissan Stadium
A few concrete examples of sustainability in the works for New Nissan:
• The roof will collect rainwater, redistributing it in tanks that can hold up to 400,000 gallons. That water would then be used for things like flushing toilets, watering grass and powering HVAC cooling towers.
• The Titans plan to emphasize reusing material, which on a larger scale means using construction items that are reused or of recyclable makeup. On a smaller scale, the hope is to reuse items like cups and silverware whenever possible.
• In total, only 5 to 10 percent of all the stadium trash will wind up going to a landfill, as the Titans will place a priority on using recyclable packaging for food and beverages. Plenty of excess food will be donated, while a large chunk of food waste will likely go to composting facilities.
The bottom line?
The Titans are hoping that going green will result in golden recognition for New Nissan Stadium in a couple of years.
“It’s such a monumental building, for Nashville and the region and what it’s going to mean for the economy,” DeCoursey said. “We were very excited about all the new events we can’t currently host that will be a real big lift to the region. But we also figure it would be a missed opportunity not to try to improve the environment as well.
