As the leaves fall and the air grows colder, there’s one thing which draws an opinion from almost everyone:

Whether it’s football, basketball, hockey, or another fall sport, people love to play, watch, and talk about athletics. While we love sports at McKinstry, they’re also part of our job.

Much as teams have to practice and plan in order to play their best on game day, McKinstry has to work hard behind the scenes in order to make sure the stadiums and arenas hosting millions of fans are up to that task.

Here are the stories of three athletic facilities where McKinstry’s work has had a major impact on fans and players alike:

University of Colorado, Boulder

The Coors Events Center, located on the main campus of the University of Colorado, Boulder and home to the men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball teams for the Buffaloes, is currently undergoing major upgrades—led by McKinstry.

Overall, the upgrade project will reduce the building’s current annual energy consumption by more than 44 percent.

Throughout the process, McKinstry has advocated for collaborative and sustainable solutions designed to ensure occupant comfort, improve systems efficiency, reduce facility operational costs, and optimize client profitability for the life of their building.

“With quite a few CU grads and interns on our team, McKinstry is excited to implement the much needed improvements at the Coors Events Center,” said Leslie Larocque, McKinstry’s Rocky Mountain Regional Director. “The University of Colorado Boulder is a national leader in sustainability and McKinstry is honored to partner with CU on this project.”

Included in the project are water conservation efforts, lighting upgrades that will include new LED lights and new control systems aiding in automation, new mechanical equipment and insulation, and a recommissioning of existing systems and controls.

CU fans will most likely notice the lighting system upgrade.  In the past, the lights at the facility took several minutes to turn on and the Buffaloes were unable to turn the lights off during introductions. That will change this year.

The project is wrapping up now, and should be complete by year’s end.

Seattle Seahawks

Since 2011, McKinstry has partnered with the Seattle Seahawks to transform their home—CenturyLink Field—into a community leader in sustainability and energy efficiency.

In the first phase of the work, McKinstry has been monitoring and maintaining an extensive solar panel array on the roof of the Event Center, adjacent to CenturyLink Field. Based on current utility rates and meter data, that array has saved at least $41,000 (and as much as $47,500) annually in electricity costs since 2011.

Secondly, McKinstry completed a varied energy project in 2011 at the stadium, which included arch lighting upgrades, installation of low-flow urinals, controls upgrades to air handlers, and installing variable-frequency drives on heat pumps. As a whole, this project is generating more than $265,000 in gas, water, and electricity cost savings every year.

Lastly, McKinstry just completed a LED lighting upgrade in the CenturyLink Field Event Center earlier this year, and that alone will save about $60,000 annually in electric costs.

First and foremost, CenturyLink Field is a great place to catch a football game or a soccer match. McKinstry is proud to keep it that way by continuously improving the performance and efficiency of all the lights, systems, and technology that make for a superior fan experience.

Eastern Washington University

Though it might be far away from any major metropolis, Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Wash. is home to more than 12,000 students. Quite a few of those students—and the surrounding community—are dependent on the EWU Aquatics Center, as it’s one of the only places to swim and dive in the immediate area.

When McKinstry started work on the aquatics center in 2006, the facility was dealing with aging equipment that was no longer functioning properly, poor energy performance, poor lighting quality, ceiling tile safety hazards, structural degradation due to poor ventilation, and difficulty controlling overall space and water temperatures.

Five months later, McKinstry had both developed and executed a plan to completely renovate the facility. Nowadays, the aquatics center has an efficient lighting system, a heat-recovery air handling unit, a new control system throughout the facility, an improved exposed ceiling concept, and even a new pool liner that reduces future maintenance costs and pool downtime.

Best of all, the guaranteed energy savings for all of these measures totals about $50,000 annually.

While much of McKinstry’s work is behind the scenes, we’re proud to partner with all of these facilities to create a superior experience for the fans, athletes, and community at large.