Baseball, basketball, and football are considered as American as red, white and blue. But now it’s all about red, white, blue, and green! Several sports stadiums seem to be vying for the title of most eco-friendly. Sure, building a gigantic new stadium is not the most carbon footprint-friendly thing to do. But check out what certain stadiums are doing to try to lessen the blow.

Philadelphia Phillies Citizen’s Bank Park

Photo Source: Justin Brockie/Flickr
Last season, the stadium purchased 20 million kWh of renewable energy credits to offset all electricity usage for the park. Not impressed? The EPA states that this is the single largest purchase of 100% renewable energy in pro sports. Citizen Bank Park uses rainwater for landscaping and field irrigation, as well as bio-based and compostable service ware and cups.

Dallas Cowboys Stadium

Photo Source: Stephen Hanafin/Flickr
The new Cowboys stadium is certified by the EPA’s Performance Track program, which some call better than the LEED system. Further, buffers have been maintained with surrounding creeks, and parking lots are made of a “permeable pavement” that will help storm water runoff soak into the ground. Cowboy owners Jerry Jones says, “We are committed to maximizing the impact of the world’s most recognizable sports franchise and use those forces as a powerful means to enhance our local communities and the world around us.” He doesn’t point out that the new stadium has also been involved in several eminent domain scandals.

New Yankee Stadium

Photo Source: Ed Yourdoun/Flickr
Yankee Stadium has eco-lighting fixtures that save nearly 207,000 lbs of CO2 emissions per night game. Recycling, compost, and trash bins throughout the stadium prevent 40% of waste from going into landfills. Leftover food from games is sent to shelters, soup kitchens, senior centers, youth programs, and more. Even the concessions cups are made from bio-based plastic

Minnesota Twins’ Target Field
Photo Source: kala4067/Flickr
Scheduled to open in 2010, this stadium is contributing an extra $2.5 million dollars to achieve an LEED rating. It is constructed with local building materials, and low-VOC carpets and paints. The stadium is also in the city's warehouse district, which has an excellent public transportation system.

Giants and Jet’s New Meadowlands Stadium
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This stadium, also to open in 2010, has the goal of being the most eco-friendly stadium in the nation. Its owners and CEO recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Environmental Protection Agency. This means that all three phases of building the stadium will be green, from design, construction and operation. Its construction will incorporate the use of 40,000 tons of recycled steel, environmentally friendly concrete and seating made partially from recycled plastic and scrap iron.

Phoenix Suns, US Airways Center
Photo Source: Kenlund/Flickr
Recently, the US Airways Center added more than 1,100 solar panels to their facility. In a land of eternal sun, this will generate enough energy to power the equivalent of 26 home games a year. The city of Phoenix recently implemented an ambitious carbon neutral plan to make the city the greenest in the nation – which naturally includes their sports stadium.

Met’s Citi Field
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Opened just this spring, this new stadium is built of 95 percent recycled steel, features energy-efficient field lighting, waterless urinals and a green roof. It also has easy public transportation access, and the club is encouraging its employees to bike to work.