Oxford United have announced plans to build the first stadium’

Oxford United have announced plans to build the first stadium in the country powered solely by electricity to create a sustainable new home.

In keeping with its promise to build a cutting-edge stadium, the team has provided more information about the low-impact development that is underway. The team would build a “all electric” stadium using a low-carbon energy source that would also include solar power.

Oxford United’s Development Director, Jon Clarke, stated: “The stadium’s unique feature is that it will be the nation’s most environmentally friendly mid-sized sports arena. It would be among the greenest football stadiums ever constructed, therefore we want to take advantage of the chance to build something truly unique.”

The proposed 16,000-seat stadium at the Triangle, close to Kidlington in Oxford, would not rely on fossil fuels with a high carbon intensity, like petrol. Every year, electricity surpasses natural gas as a cleaner fuel.

Radical reductions in carbon emissions could be achieved by the combination of energy efficiency measures and renewable energy sources, such as the 3000m² of solar panels installed on the roof. Every year, the solar panels would produce enough energy to boil about three million three-liter kettles.

To enhance thermal efficiency, contemporary building fabric design and heat recovery techniques would also be applied. When combined across a year, using air source heat pumps—an additional low-carbon energy technology—as the development’s main heat source would result in an approximate 80% annual reduction in CO2 emissions when compared to gas boilers.

The club stated a few days ago that it had signed the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework in an effort to address the climate catastrophe. The club has reaffirmed its commitment to doing its share to help the sports industry reach a low-carbon future by joining the Framework. The club has pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040 and to cut its carbon emissions in half by 2030.

In addition, the stadium would have rainwater collection and recycling capabilities, drainage systems, and efforts to improve biodiversity on the Triangle property would result in a large net benefit.

“The stadium design has sustainability and visitor experience at its core,” Mr. Clarke continued.

“We’ve made the most of contemporary technology, architecture, and forward-thinking thought to set the standard for stadium design in the future with a strong emphasis on environmental preservation.

“By avoiding natural gas usage on site and by using highly efficient equipment to serve a high-quality building, the carbon emissions associated with this unique venue will be radically reduced resulting in a very low impact home.”

Apart from utilising solar panels to generate renewable energy on-site, the stadium’s design optimises efficiency across the board to reduce energy consumption and related carbon emissions. It would consist of:

High-performance building with improved thermal performance to keep heat in the winter and lessen the need for cooling in the summer.
High-efficiency air source heat pumps for home comfort that draw heat from the surrounding outside air to generate heat for undersoil pitch heating, domestic hot water production, and general heating.

The implementation of a fully automated Building Energy Management System will oversee, regulate, and generate reports on energy use in order to guarantee peak performance throughout all seasons and sustainable reduction of energy usage.
A 180-bed hotel, restaurant, conference centre, health and wellness area, gym, and community plaza are all planned for the stadium. The club is getting ready to submit its complete application for planning right now.

While sustainability is a problem in many fields and something that everyone should consider, it is especially important in the fields of design and building. Forest Green Rovers (“planning to build the world’s greenest stadium”) are a League Two team.

Project director for Forest Green’s Eco Park Stadium project is Jim Heverin, a director at Zaha Adid Architects who has worked on projects including the last World Cup in Qatar and the London Olympics.

In an effort to increase awareness of sustainability in sports, Forest Green Rovers has set out to build the greenest stadium on the planet. Eco Park will be advertised as “the world’s first timber stadium.”

In all aspects of life, and in particular architecture and construction, sustainability is a critical issue for us all to deal with. When we think about stadiums, whether it is a national stadium like Wembley or a club stadium like Tottenham, the image the club or the nation projects about sustainability and their position on that is incredibly important. For us as architects, it’s a critical part of our design process.

Heverin is optimistic that the project can assist demonstrate what can be done going forward as environmental issues continue to dominate people’s minds. Heverin feels that football has a responsibility to help spread awareness of sustainability.

“The amount of carbon involved in stadium construction is a big subject,” he stated. Football, more than anyone else, needs to be aware of that.

Making ensuring that everything is moving in the direction of net zero is a duty.

“The brief at Forest Green was to make the stadium net zero,” he stated. According to the owner, the stadium must embody his low-carbon and sustainable beliefs.

When you look at a club like Forest Green Rovers, it’s interesting how good they are at chasing net zero and their carbon considerations through the whole supply chain.

“It’s not just stadiums, where is the kit coming from? Where is the food coming from? What do we use as fertiliser? Where is that coming from? They question everything and are making sure it’s sustainable and coming from renewable resources. They are taking responsibility for all of that and if a small club can do it, the bigger clubs need to be doing it too.

I hope that is the value that comes out of a stadium and initiative like Forest Green Rovers. It demonstrates the necessity of doing this and the fact that being progressive both on and off the pitch will depend on it in the future.”