Thursday, April 17, 2008

Why Nationals Park Left The Green Miles Warmed and Chilled

I've already blogged about how the new Nationals Park is a green diamond. When I made my first visit last weekend, what I noticed most was how much of an impact the new stadium's green features had on the fan experience.

None.

The green roof, the water filtration system, the drink cups made from corn ... as a fan, I would never have guessed I was in a LEED-certified building.

But one burning question remained. What about the beer?

Last spring, I blogged about how the Washington Nationals struck out my beer craving at RFK Stadium, offering warm beer that was hard to buy in a wasteful process.

So at the beer stand, The Green Miles got all misty-eyed when he saw this:
That monolith is a refrigerator, a quantum leap over RFK's comically deficient ice chests. My beer was almost too cold. I did not complain.

As I finished my Bud Light, I looked for the vaunted recycling bins:

Aluminum on one side, plastic on the other. Heartwarming.

Of course, beyond the bin, there's another huge environmental challenge - the polluted Anacostia River. Think someday we'll have a river walk with bars and restaurants overlooking a clean waterway?

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