I don’t know if I have stated this before but I am a football fan. Even though I enjoy watching the sport, it doesn’t mean I am gung ho about everything they promote. Such as commercials, excess consumption, and the constant battle for the newest and biggest stadium. I still remember when the Dallas Cowboys opened their new stadium in 2009 and all the hype about it. I really didn’t understand the hype or the massive screen in the middle of the field, but some people were excited about it. It just seems so wasteful to build a new stadium. I don’t understand how that is easier and more cost effective than just updating an old stadium. Because what happens to the old one? It is usually demolished and the space turned into something else. How is that sustainable to just demolish an entire stadium? But there isn’t much sustainable about the sport in general to be fair. I feel they should at least try to be sustainable where they can be, maybe that is asking too much.
The most recent project is the Atlanta Falcons getting a new stadium. The biggest issue I have with this is that their “old” stadium isn’t that old, it was built in 1992. As one source puts it,” Neither building is falling down, but they are out-dated in terms of generating revenue for the ballclubs.” Which really means they want something new to make more people come and spend more money. In Atlanta both the football and baseball teams are getting new top of the line stadiums.
I am really tired of hearing teams complain about needing more money because as a fan that attends games I don’t see how they aren’t getting enough. Between sponsors, fans paying for parking (often +$20), game tickets (cost varies here but they are not cheap), concessions, fan gear etc I just don’t see how they are not making enough. My guess is that they like most Americans, just want more and bigger and to have it all; when most likely what they have is enough.
But back to the point. The need for new stadiums every 20 years really highlights how bad our consumption is lately. We need newer, bigger, and better. This cannot be sustained though, especially when a new stadium costs up to $1 billion. These stadiums are often supplemented with local tax dollars so we should care a bit more about these unsustainable practices. I think a key issue is we just don’t think long term about many situations. So while you may not pay much for the stadium itself, what about the environmental costs of using all new materials for a massive structure and just tearing down the old one?
