It is common to hear about
professional sports franchises building a new stadium or arena in the news. The
motors of construction crews have replaced the cheering and chanting of season ticket
holders and while a big dunk use to “bring down the house” now the building
literally is torn to the ground.
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| Deconstruction of the 'old' Amway Arena |
Buildings that use to get
prime time exposure in front of tens of millions will now have only a short
demolition video on the local news or the internet. However, the recycling and
responsible disposal of materials from these old sports cathedrals, where
millions have been supported both physically and emotionally, is an under appreciated process that deserves just as many highlights as a close game.
Often times the demolition and reselling of materials is one of the primary
reasons the new stadium possible.
A recent example is the
Orlando Amway Arena, the previous home of the NBA’s Orlando Magic.
Deconstructed by ZMG Construction, approximately 4,500 tons of steel has been
salvaged and recycled. The money returned from properly disposing of the
material helps mitigate a portion of the costs that, with recently built
athletic complexes, has continued to climb.
The Orlando Magic may have
lost a center in the offseason, All-Star Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles
Lakers, but they will continue to play in the recently constructed Amway Center.
The home of three professional teams, along with numerous other events, is
triple the size of the old arena and LEED-certified Gold, partially for its use
of recycled steel in the building process.
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| The New Amway Center |
“The demolition of the Amway
Arena is part of a larger redevelopment project called Creative Village,”
described Vice President of Development, Sean Flanagan. “The plan is for Sonny
Glasbrenner, Inc. to dismantle the balance of the structure and process the
materials on site into smaller sizes for shipping to a salvage company.”
“ZMG strives to be a leader
in environmental stewardship, and we look for opportunities to recycle on all
of our projects,” continued Flanagan. “We understand the importance of
diverting waste from landfills, as well as the benefit of reducing the demand
on natural resources by recycling/reusing existing materials.”
“Recycling reduces solid
waste, which benefits our environment as well as our community.”
For a live camera of the Creative Village redevelopment project, click here.