A dozen stadiums are either being built from scratch or redeveloped ahead of the tournament and officials are seeking to meet or even exceed FIFA’s new recommendations aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of the event. “We are no longer accepting engineering works that do not take into account environmental sustainability,” Jose Roberto Bernasconi, the head of the Sao Paulo architecture and engineering syndicate (Sinaenco-SP), told AFP. Belo Horizonte’s Governor Magalhaes Pinto stadium is currently being redeveloped and expects to host six 2014 World Cup matches and three Confederations Cup matches in 2013. Stadium planners say they have exceeded FIFA’s sustainability guidelines and are looking to secure an official certification from the US Green Building Council.
Stadium workers are adding a six-million-gallon rainwater collection system and are deliberately sourcing local materials in a bid to reduce fuel emissions. Meanwhile, all concrete removed from the original structure was reused in the redevelopment or in other nearby projects, 800,000 cubic meters of dirt removed from the site was used to repair mining damage in the area, and the stadium’s original 50,000 seats were donated to local venues and gymnasiums. “Everything was reused. There was no other waste or discarded materials that could have been reused,” said Vinicius Lott, of the state government’s Sustainable Cup project.
The new-look Governor Magalhaes Pinto stadium is also set to provide a benchmark in the usage of solar energy in Brazil. A US$6.5 million solar plant will see the installation of some 6,000 solar panels on the stadium’s roof to provide electricity to 1,500 nearby homes. After the stadium’s opening, the state government plans to launch similar projects at another stadium and an international airport. Alexander Heringer, an electrical engineer involved in the project, added: “There’s an idle roof receiving a lot of sunlight. So we decided to cover it with photovoltaic cells and turn it into a solar power plant.”
Source: sportbusiness.com
