The sun typically shines on
Dan Munn’s work at arenas and stadiums.
Munn, a senior principal and national engineering leader for DLR Group in Seattle, is the firm’s go-to designer in its partnership with energy provider NRG to design solar installations at big league facilities.
The utility has sponsorships with eight NFL teams among its roster of 12 big league clubs. About half of those deals cover building solar displays as part of a commitment to sustainable energy for sponsor and client, and to date Munn has designed solar installations for five NFL stadiums, including Gillette Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field and MetLife Stadium.
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AmericanAirlines Arena’s solar pavilion is to open this year.
Photo by: COURTESY OF MIAMI HEAT
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His newest project is the $4 million solar-powered pavilion in development at
AmericanAirlines Arena, home of the Miami Heat. It’s NRG’s first solar display at an NBA arena.
The pavilion, situated on the east plaza outside the arena, will provide new roof cover for the 23,000-square-foot space facing Biscayne Bay. It gives the Heat more room for sponsor activation, and the new destination features an outdoor bar and a Wi-Fi hotspot, Munn said.
The agreement with NRG does not include naming rights to the pavilion, and the Heat is searching for a separate partner to sponsor the space, said John Vidalin, the team’s executive vice president and chief revenue officer.
But NRG’s brand will be shown on curved LED displays on structural columns, which also can stream video and show Heat games, Vidalin said.
Beneath the roofline, it’s not just a standard solar panel, Munn said; the pavilion will use building-integrated photovoltaics, or BIPV, a form of sustainable technology that embeds solar panels into sheets of clear glass. The pavilion’s skylight wells are rimmed with LEDs that shine on the glass and form colorful light patterns over the covered space. It’s the second time Munn has used BIPV technology; he designed FedEx Field’s project showcasing “Solar Man,” a 30-foot-tall statue of a quarterback with solar panels embedded in his shoulder pads.
In Miami, the intent is to develop an eye-catching display to improve the fan experience and draw attention to renewable energy, he said.
The solar pavilion should be completed in October in time for the start of the 2015-16 regular season.
Munn also is working on a new solar display at NRG Stadium on bridges connecting a parking lot for premium seat holders to the Houston Texans’ venue. It’s similar to the three NRG-branded solar bridges at the San Francisco 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium.
> BYPASS SURGERY: Ovations Food Services is upgrading its operation at Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum with a new Bypass Mobile point-of-sale system.
The concessionaire is funding the $200,000 investment to install 130 tablets at all arena concession stands, ranging from 10-inch devices to 4-inch units similar to smartphones, confirmed Scott Johnson, the coliseum’s deputy director.
The system replaces cash registers supplemented by smaller machines that accepted credit cards.
All Bypass Mobile tablets accept credit cards directly and have the flexibility to be moved around to the coliseum complex’s other venues, including White Oak Amphitheater for outdoor concerts, Johnson said.
The tablets will provide speedier transactions and can track sales data much deeper than the old registers, but it was the system’s credit card component that was most attractive to coliseum officials, Johnson said. Bypass also will be used by parking lot attendants to accept credit cards.
The new system should be operational in time for the ACC men’s basketball tournament March 10-14. The coliseum complex next month will also play host to the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships and the NCAA D-I Women’s Basketball Regionals.
The point-of-sale upgrade is tied to negotiations for a long-term extension between the coliseum and Ovations, a Comcast-Spectacor subsidiary.
Don Muret can be reached at dmuret@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @breakground.
