Apogee Stadium

Looking out over a flat expanse of Texas prairie land, the University of North Texas’s (UNT) Apogee Stadium is a structure of tremendous scope, both in its size and its sustainability. Manhattan Construction Company (MCC) broke ground on the 31,000-seat stadium, designed by HKS, on Nov. 21, 2009, aiming to replace UNT’s old stadium, Fout’s Field, with a new facility in time for the 2011 football season. The firm first brought in a number of earthmovers to clear the land for construction, and then it got to work putting up the stands around the field by building a steel-reinforced concrete skeleton and outfitting it with metal seating, fencing, and railings. Steamrollers flattened out the center of the stadium bowl before the artificial turf was installed, and toward the end of construction, substantial amounts of glass and brick were incorporated into the press box and luxury-suite structure behind the home-team stands. MCC also oversaw the installation of an energy-efficient HVAC system and low-flow sinks and toilets, and the firm diverted at least 75 percent of the construction materials from the landfill, all of which helped the facility ultimately earn LEED Platinum certification, making it the first collegiate stadium in the United States to do so. In December of 2011, the students of UNT also watched as three wind turbines were built and connected to Apogee Stadium and the electrical grid. It’s estimated that the turbines will generate about 500,000 kilowatt hours of power, supplying the field with substantial renewable energy and preventing roughly 323 metric tons of CO2 from being released into the air. ABQ