BCGR - Green Ballparks

America's favorite pastime is going green. Ball parks around the country are seeing the value of being environmentally conscious. It's a value that's being passed on to fans. Medlar Field is located in Central Pennsylvania and is the home of Penn State University's baseball team and the State College spikes, a single a-club. It's the first environmentally certified ball park in the country.

Rick Janac, the Spikes General Manager tells us  "with 250,000 people passing through this ballpark every year, we can make a huge impact as far as how much waste we're recycling" Recycling is one of the best ways a ballpark can go green. Fans say they're happy to pitch in as long as it's convenient. One fan explained that: "[she] thinks it's much easier than it has been in the past but we can still make it easier if all the communities around would have recycling bins."

Recycling is just part of the game plan. To earn its "Leed" certification the park meets a host of other environmental standards. To begin with a premium was placed on using recycled construction material. The green parking lots were designed to better manage rainwater run-off. Inside you'll find automatic lights and faucets as well as waterless urinals. The green technology is saving money on energy. That keeps prices in check at the ticket booth and concession stands.

Janac note it is "helping us keep our costs down, in turn doesn't lead to passing it along to the customer" Education is another benefit of the green ballpark. Fans spend hours here. They can learn something when they see green ideas at work. The spikes hope their green ideas hit a home run. Another way to go green when you're heading to the ball park is to take public transportation.