Skift Take
Super Bowl LVIII will take place on February 11 in Las Vegas, with sustainability as a top priority for hosts and organizers.
The NFL is looking to make Super Bowl LVIII as green as possible. The NFL Green Week wrapped up on Sunday with a tree-planting initiative. The day also included the ceremonial passing of the Golden Shovel to the host committee of the next Super Bowl.
Peter O’Reilly, Executive Vice President, Club Business, International & League Events, National Football League spoke at Preview Las Vegas 2024 about the NFL’s work with community partners and sustainable venues.
“We’re very proud of the legacy components and the number of community events around the Super Bowl – it’s the most we’ve ever done by far the most sustainability and NFL green events we’ve ever done,” said O’Reilly. “Making sure the Super Bowl is as sustainable as possible and producing zero waste around the events we’re hosting – that’s part of our lens.”
Super Bowl Stadium’s Sustainability
Allegiant Stadium will now serve as the venue for Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, February 11. “It’s been that multi-year lead-up where you try to get all your ducks in a row have the base plan, and now we’re in the mode of bringing it all to life,” O’Reilly said.
Allegiant Stadium opened in July 2020. The nearly 1.5 million sq. ft. facility is home to the Las Vegas Raiders. Leading up to the Super Bowl, the venue hosted the NFL Draft in 2022 and the NFL Pro Bowl in 2023.
Allegiant Stadium achieved LEED Gold certification in June 2023. It focuses on water preservation, energy performance, waste reduction, indoor environmental quality performance, and an overall innovative approach to sustainability.
Allegiant Stadium actively engages with clients to strategically reduce each event’s footprint. Renewable energy sourced in Nevada powers 100% of the stadium.
Sustainable Experiences Beyond the Super Bowl
O’Reilly says there will be a plethora of opportunities to enjoy the Super Bowl experience even without attending the big game. From February 7 to 11, fans can enjoy the NFL theme park hosted at Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Fittingly, MGM has been working to make the venue as sustainable as possible.
“MGM Resorts has a huge commitment to sustainability efforts of our industry and especially meetings,” said Mandalay Bay Vice President of Sales, Catering and Convention Services, Ernest A. Stovall. A 28-acre solar array panel sits atop the convention center and produces 8.5 megawatts of power. “It is the largest rooftop solar array in North America that powers 25% of the daytime electricity usage at Mandalay Bay,” he said.
Mandalay Bay took over a dry riverbed located roughly 30 miles north of the convention center, which produces 90 megawatts of power. Both solar arrays feed back into NV Energy’s power grid and provide daytime power to all MGM properties.
The property has a large on-site recycling center that processes any non-consumable items used during large events. “We end up recycling 90% of all post-consumable items from the tradeshow floor and the entire convention center,” Stovall said.
Mandalay Bay’s Green Refresh
Phase two of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center refresh will be completed the Friday following the Super Bowl. Phase three is expected to be completed by the end of April.
The venue now features several new sustainable elements, including refillable water stations, which the company says will result in lost revenue. “It’s a large loss of revenue for us, but if you look around the refresh – we now have them all throughout our campus,” Stovall said.
MGM is also eliminating the water garden at the edge of its property. It will it with desert landscaping to better align with its sustainability goals.
The property’s sustainability efforts are going a step beyond recycling non-consumable items left over from large events. The latest refresh also included the installation of eight large digital screens to provide signage and advertising.
