by Shane Henson — June 11, 2012—Marlins Park, home of the Miami Marlins baseball team, was recently awarded LEED Gold environmental certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The recently constructed facility, which sits on 17 acres of the historic 42-acre Orange Bowl site in the Little Havana section of Miami, boasts the fifth retractable roof built over a ballpark in the United States and is the first retractable roof building in the world to receive this coveted certification.
LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is an internationally recognized mark of excellence. LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a building, home or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at achieving high performance in key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
The Miami Ballpark District, comprising Marlins Park and four City of Miami public parking garages, set forth the initial goal of achieving LEED Silver Certification. By incorporating a comprehensive sustainability strategy throughout the design and construction process, including site selection benefits, water use reduction, energy use reduction, a recycling program, regionally-sourced and recycled content materials, construction waste management, and care in the design of healthy interior environments, the Miami Ballpark District was able to surpass the initial goal of LEED Silver.
Marlins Park received 40 points toward LEED Certification—four more than Populous-designed Target Field, thus becoming the most sustainable new ballpark in the country, notes the USGBC. Many of Marlins Park’s LEED points were based on operations measures, innovative design, and construction, which includes the construction of the retractable roof. As a LEED Gold Certified building, the energy efficiency of the retractable roof is essential. The regenerative drive system reduces the power consumption during braking at times when the moving panel is being pushed by the wind. It is estimated that opening and closing the roof costs approximately $10 or less in electricity.
