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The natural grass field was installed the weekend of Jan. 10, following the Orange Bowl. Thirty 18-wheelers transported 92,000 square feet of sod last month grown on a farm in south Alabama for the last 18 months. Crews worked throughout the day yesterday to replace the end zones following Sunday's Pro Bowl game.

That's where "most of the work is," said NFL field director Ed Mangan. 

While Ed and his team prepared the field, community and private groups greened up the surrounding area. 

As part of the NFL's environmental program expansion, the NFL has partnered with U.S. Forest Service and the Florida Division of Forestry to plant 2,700 trees at a dozen sites in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties to reduce greenhouse gas over time, long after the final score is posted.

The NFL program also includes the diversion of waste from local landfills through reuse and recycling. Leftover food from the Super Bowl will be collected and distributed to local soup kitchens, shelters and other local organizations that provide meals to those in need. Decorative materials, building materials and leftover office supplies will be recovered and donated to local organizations. 

For the third year, the event will be powered completely with renewable energy provided by EarthEra. The renewable energy credits (RECs) provided will be generated by wind and solar energy.

With Pro Bowl attendance recorded at 70,697, it will be no surprise if Sun Life Stadium fills to its capacity at 75,540. But for every fan lucky enough to have a seat, there will be many more fans watching from a distance on television.
 

With technological advances in panel manufacturing, even big screen TVs can be energy efficient. For the maximum energy reduction, consumers can consider LED TVs.

"LED TVs allow you to drive power down significantly," said Scott Birnbaum, vice president LCD Business at Samsung. "The current generation of LED TVs offers an energy reduction of 40 percent with an overall improvement in picture quality." 

As LED backlights become more responsive, energy may be conserved through active dimming. Back lights are dimmed to produce darker scenes and lit accordingly as scenes brighten.

"Active dimming reduces power 15 to 25 percent, up to 90 percent depending on content," said Birnbaum.

The darker the scene, the better the TV's energy performance because the less energy is needed to light the image. Although the Saints were the first team in the NFL to wear all black uniforms, they won't be wearing them this Sunday, even if dark uniforms could save more than a few kilowatts of electricity. The Saints will wear black jerseys with gold pants when they meet the Indianapolis Colts in their home jersey blue this Sunday for Super Bowl XLIV.

hhgregg has a wide selection of big screen TVs to choose from including LED. The Super Sale 2010 at hhgregg runs now through Sunday offering Employee Family Discounts storewide. 

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