Energy-efficient sports facilities earn accolades

Two exceptionally energy-efficient sports facilities in Pennsylvania have earned accolades this month because of their flexible design and energy-saving features.┬á The Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, in State College, PA and Penn State Recreation Hall Wrestling and Student Fitness Center were designed and engineered by L. Robert Kimball & Associates, an architectural, engineering, technology and consulting firm.  ┬á"The entire country has finally caught onto sustainability, especially with the President's initiative," said Kimball's lead on the ballpark project, senior vice president and principal of sports architecture, Chris Haupt. "Most universities now have made sustainability their policy for their buildings, and the sports industry is now following suit."┬á The 5,500-seat Medlar Field topped a list of 67 facilities eligible for consideration for the Baseball America honor, and serves as the home field for both the minor-league State College Spikes of the New York-Penn League and the Pennsylvania State University Nittany Lions ballclub. ItÔÇÖs the first professional and college baseball stadium to receive recognition from the US Green Building Council for the green techniques used in its construction and operations.┬á Medler Field contains full-service themed concessions, a 600-person picnic area with its own commissary, 18 luxury suites, two party suites and a press box enclosed in a impact-resistant glass and exterior finishes, a large "fun deck" accommodating hundreds of people, and high barstools and LCD screens for each seat above the first-base-side bullpen.┬á Since its opening season in 2006, Medlar Field at Lubrano Park has generated one of the highest per-capita revenue rates in the league for the Spikes, has led to an increase in the quality of recruits and attendance for Penn State, and has proved to be a park that fans love. "I haven't heard a bad report from a fan yet," said Haupt.┬á Kimball's Penn State Recreation Hall Wrestling and Student Fitness Center addition and renovation earned LEED gold certification this month. ┬áAbout 20 percent of the old Rec Hall building was renovated, and 19,800 square feet of new, energy-efficient space was added to make a new entrance that guides people to the second-level gymnasium for wrestling and volleyballÔÇö making a two-story club-like fitness center connected by a monumental staircase.┬á The Rec Hall has an energy-efficient glass facade that eliminates the greenhouse effect that might trap heat, and enables the facility to avoid the use of artificial light for most of the day, and has become a beacon for campus sports and fitness activities. ┬á The field's green credentials exceeded the standard ratio for undisturbed land to building site, and exceeded the required energy-efficiency code by as much as 10 percent.┬á The LEED certification also gave the project credit for minimal site disturbance, access via public transportation re-use of existing facilities, exceeding the energy-efficiency criteria required by code, use of recycled materials, and use of low-flow fixtures for all plumbing.┬á "As with Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, Rec Hall was ahead of the curve," said Haupt. "Before these two projects were in their design phase, only one or two college sports facilities had earned LEED certification. In the LEED arena, Kimball is a forerunner."