The first Brazilian stadium to receive recognition as a "green stadium" is the Arena Castelao in Fortaleza, which will host six games during the upcoming World Cup, according to Rafael Molina of EL CONFIDENCIAL. Of the 12 venues that will host World Cup matches, the Arena Castelao is the first to receive accreditation from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a green building council based in the U.S. The certificate recognizes "the stadium's exemplary construction practices in regards to rational use of water, energy efficiency and use of environmentally friendly materials, among other aspects." The Arena Castelao has a capacity of 63,903 and received a 351.5M reais ($145.3M) investment from the Brazilian government during construction. The stadium's architect, David Douek, said, "On other projects, like factories or commercial buildings, the access for the population is more limited because 99% of those projects are private. Nevertheless, these stadiums represent an excellent opportunity to make a significant portion of the population aware of the benefits of building houses and buildings in a more sustainable fashion, mainly through reducing the use of natural resources." To receive the certification, the Arena Castelao "reduced by 67.61% the amount of drinking water used in the construction of the stadium through the use of water-saving metals and technologies." Together with saving water, "there was also a special emphasis during construction on how light was used, including a system of sensors for more intelligent illumination that avoided wasted energy" (EL CONFIDENCIAL, 1/30).
