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“The Greening of American Sports Stadiums”:
Stephanie Katsaros, Sustainability Consultant Allstate Arena
This 18-thousand-seat arena is host to numerous sporting events and other live entertainment. Find out how this existing structure has re-engineered their daily operations to become not only more environmentally friendly, but more profitable.
Crain’s Chicago Business. April 12, 2012
Wicker Park fair aims to inspire small firms to go green
… Our next sustainable event is the Green Music Fest, planned for June 23 and 24. A new Green Village will be part of the music fest this year, which will be a designated area that will have lots of educational demonstrations of ways the general public can go green. We’re also greening the fest with a robust recycling program that will be run by Bright Beat (a local green event consulting firm). We want these events to be as sustainable as possible, too.
Green Sports Alliance – News. March 2, 2012
Allstate Arena Wins EPA Award for Green Efforts
Chicago Tribune – TribLocal DesPlaines. February 16, 2012
Rosemont’s Allstate Arena honored with U.S. EPA award
The WasteWise Gold Achievement award was given to the Allstate Arena for their “Green for a Reason” initiative that aims to reduce the amount of waste going into landfills and encourage public awareness about conservation.
Daily Herald. February 16, 2012
Rosemont’s Allstate Arena wins EPA award for green efforts
In 2010, the Allstate Arena in Rosemont amassed 73 tons of recyclable material.
Because of that and several other “green” initiatives, the Allstate Arena has earned the U.S. EPA’s 2011 WasteWise Gold Achievement Award — the first major public events venue in the Chicago area to do so.
“By improving the efficiency of waste management we were able to not just divert from landfills and reduce the carbon footprint, it reduces the consumption of fossil fuels from the transportation,” said Stephanie Katsaros, the arena’s sustainability manager. “It also reduces operational cost,” she added.
Allstate developed the ambitious Green for a Reason campaign to raise recycling awareness among performers, athletic teams and patrons. The arena — home of the Chicago Wolves, Chicago Rush, Chicago Sky and DePaul University men’s basketball — hosts hundreds of entertainment events and seats nearly 20,000 fans.
Chicago Sun-Times. July 28, 2011
When Lollapalooza Popped: Perry Farrell Looks Back To 1991
Stephanie Katsaros, a Chicago sustainability consultant who was 16 at Lollapalooza ’91 at the World, got her view by standing on the pavilion armrests, “headbanging and fist-pumping to ‘Head Like a Hole’ during NIN.”
Her experience at the first Lollapalooza was so satisfying and eye-opening, she’s been to every one except 2008. The music was great, she says, but the crowd was amazing.
“The scope of the people — it was almost like the high school cafeteria, with punks on one side and preps on the other, had been mixed up,” she says. “This melange of people and ideas. It was the first time I’d seen that kind of movement. It started in the parking lot. People had coolers and food and drinks at their cars, just hanging out. It was definitely not a Grateful Dead parking lot scene. I remember black T-shirts and piercings and mohawks. All these people kind of finding each other. We didn’t know there was an ‘us’!”
Crain’s Chicago Business. January 13, 2011
Green Scene: Turning green-minded Chicagoans into potential policy-makers
A citizen-driven website focusing on policy solutions for Chicago’s green economy and local sustainability issues just got a face-lift… Crain’s met with Ms. Katsaros to find out more about how business owners and others could benefit from participating in the 2.0 version of the site.
Daily Herald. Fall 2010
Allstate Arena Goes Green
As a kid, Stephanie Katsaros vividly recalls attending the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus at Allstate Arena. As an adult, she still heads to Rosemont on a frequent basis. Only now, she does so as a consultant. Katsaros was hired to provide strategic advice on recycling and the development of a sustainability plan at Allstate Arena. Katsaros already made a difference. “A lot of people say it is too expensive, but sustainable initiatives don’t have to be cost prohibitive.”
Download the Daily Herald feature
The DePaulia. November 08, 2010
Blue Demons Make A Green Effort
Allstate Arena, which hosts DePaul’s most highly attended sporting event, men’s basketball, hired Bright Beat, an environmental consulting agency, in November 2009. From January-October of 2009, Allstate Arena hauled away 240 tons of trash. Due to the recycling initiatives put in place with the hire of Bright Beat, Allstate Arena had 202 tons of trash and roughly 50 tons of recycling hauled away during the same time frame in 2010. “Recycling is kind of the part of sustainability that you can touch and feel,” said Katsaros. “When you can… participate in the reduced impact on the environment I think that that’s really the exciting and important part of getting these public facilities to sort of communicate these initiatives and demonstrate the commitment to it.”
Billboard Green Issue. April 17, 2010
Realize the Financial Benefits of Going Green
Stephanie Katsaros, Sustainability Consultant for venues, including the Allstate Arena outside Chicago:
“Dispel the myth that recycling is too costly. Crunch the numbers, and your accountant will advocate your green initiative. Venues can enjoy reduced disposal fees and electric efficiency incentives as they gain valuable “green cred” with artists and fans. Hold your industry partners accountable. Ask questions – don’t assume your plastics are being recycled because it said so on the rider, or was thrown in a green bin.”
Download the Billboard article.
Journal & Topics Newspapers. November 18, 2009
Rosemont Taking Allstate Arena Into ‘Green’ Territory
The village of Rosemont, like many communities throughout the country, is getting on the “green” bandwagon to help preserve the local environment.
Village board members recently approved an agreement with consultant Stephanie Katsaros to provide advise on matters involving recycling, the reduction of paper and other materials generated at the Allstate Arena.
According to Katsaros’ website, her efforts will include “developing a recycling program, environmentally preferable purchasing policy and energy/water efficiency assessment for the indoor stadium with a goal of reducing its environmental impact and fostering change in the environmental consciousness of the community at large.”
Mayor Bradley Stephens recently stated that Katsaros will also meet with Allstate Arena custodial personnel and concessionaires to help make the property more green and environmental friendly.
