Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, a $30 million, 5,400-seat baseball stadium on the Penn State campus, has a significant distinction: It is the first ballpark ever to earn LEED certification.

In fact, the university did not require certification, but did specify – without sacrificing schedule and budget – that LEED guidelines be observed. Some measures were straightforward, such as choosing a site that was not environmentally sensitive, and minimizing the need for cars, by arranging easy access to public transportation, providing special carpool parking spaces, and adding bike racks.

However, many energy-saving actions required a lot more planning. Highlights include water-efficient landscaping, use of locally manufactured goods and materials with recycled content, sensors that turn lights off when no motion is detected, high-efficiency lighting fixtures, plenty of daylight throughout the facility, and low-emitting materials, which do not release high amounts of volatile organic chemicals into the air. Fully 76% of construction waste was recycled., and power is provided, in part, by a wind turbine system already in place.

And so – despite the fact that it was not an official project goal – Medlar Field at Lubrano Park earned LEED Certified designation.

The facility is shared by the Penn State Nittany Lions and a minor league team, the State College Spikes of the New York-Penn League. Barton Malow served as construction manager, and L. Robert Kimball and Associates / DLR Group as architect. Mid-Atlantic Construction Magazine honored Medlar Field at Lubrano Park with the Best of 2006 Award in the sports category.