Colorado University Athletics
Major Energy Upgrades Nearly Complete At Coors Events Center
BOULDERGÇöThe Coors Events Center, located on the main campus of the University of Colorado Boulder and home to the menGÇÖs and womenGÇÖs basketball and womenGÇÖs volleyball teams for the Buffaloes, is undergoing major energy upgrades this summer.
Funded fully from future operation and utility cost savings, the project will reduce the buildingGÇÖs current annual energy consumption by over 44 percent.
While new construction on the CU-Boulder campus in the last decade has received LEED certification for best-in-class green building standards, including the Practice Facility attached to the Events Center, which is one of five buildings on campus that has the highest available LEED Platinum certification, the Events Center will be one of the first buildings on campus that will look to improve upon its energy baseline in this manner.
GÇ£CU has long been a leader in sustainability, and the athletic department has consistently shown its commitment to this effort,GÇ¥ CU Athletic Director Rick George said. GÇ£From Folsom Field being the first stadium in the college or pro ranks to drive toward zero-waste on game days to the practice facility at the Events Center earning LEED Platinum status to building our new football Indoor Practice Facility with a net-zero electricity standard. Upgrading the energy consumption at the Events Center was the next big project, and to be able to fund it through future savings is huge for us.GÇ¥
GÇ£Athletics has taken a leadership position on the energy and sustainability front, and this effort dovetails nicely into the broader campus sustainability efforts,GÇ¥ CUGÇÖs Sustainability Program Manager Jon Bortles said. GÇ£It is synergistic with the construction of the LEED certified, net-zero energy Indoor Practice Facility currently being built at Folsom Field.GÇ¥
The project will be completed by McKinstry, a full-service design, build, operate and maintain firm that advocates collaborative and sustainable solutions that are designed to ensure occupant comfort, improve systems efficiency, reduce facility operational costs and optimize client profitability for the life of their building.
"With quite a few CU grads and interns on our team, McKinstry is excited to implement the much needed improvements at the Coors Events Center,GÇ¥ said Leslie Larocque, McKinstryGÇÖs Rocky Mountain Regional Director. GÇ£The University of Colorado Boulder is a national leader in sustainability and McKinstry is honored to partner with CU on this project."
Included in the project are efforts at water conservation, lighting upgrades that will include new LED lights and new control systems that will aid in automation, new mechanical equipment and insulation and a recommissioning of existing systems and controls.
The part of the project the fans will most likely notice is the upgrade to the lighting system. In the past, the lights at the Events Center took several minutes to turn on and the Buffs were unable to turn the lights off during introductions. That will change this year.
GÇ£Not only do our new lights make us even better from an environmental standpoint, but the enhanced capabilities of this lighting system will allow us to improve our fan experience,GÇ¥ CUGÇÖs Chief Marketing Officer Matt Biggers said. GÇ£Namely, being able to go lights out during team introductions and other parts of the game like halftime. This seemingly simple measure will have a big impact on the energy of our crowd and game presentation.GÇ¥
The project began in July and is estimated to be complete in this month, however most of the lighting work within the arena was complete prior to the start of the volleyball season.
LINKS
CU Sustainability:
CUGÇÖs Green Stampede: http://www.cubuffs.com/green
McKinstry: