U of M's TCF Stadium awarded LEED certification

The University of Minnesota's new football stadium has been designated as a LEED certified building.

The U of M's 50,000 seat, on-campus football stadium received LEED Silver Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The LEED program certifies green building design, construction and operation.

The stadium gets the designation in part because it was built with 90 percent recycled steel. It also uses an underground system to drain and filter rainwater before it's discharged to the Mississippi River.

Silver is the third highest LEED certification a building can achieve, behind gold and platinum. The U's stadium is the first collegiate or professional football stadium in the country to achieve LEED status.

Stadium features:

- A storm water management system that allows rain water to be captured into a comprehensive underground filtering system outside the stadium, where it is harvested, filtered and drained into the Mississippi River.

- Steel for the stadium is 90 percent recycled and was fabricated primarily in Minneapolis.

- A reflective roof to reduce heat island effect.

- Paint, carpet, sealants and adhesives that are low in volatile organic compounds, which can aggravate health problems.

- 98 percent of the construction waste from the site was recycled.

- A 50 percent reduction in the use of potable water for landscape irrigation.

- A 30 percent reduction in indoor potable water use.

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