For years, South Florida baseball fans have lamented about the local teams' lack of green thinking, but the Marlins' new ballpark will have tree-huggers dancing in the aisles. Environment-friendly features in the new palace will include everything from motion sensor lights in offices to recycled steel used to build the massive 37,000-seat stadium.
CBS Miami reports that new manager Ozzie Guillen's home locker room floor is made from recycled Nike sneakers.
It gets cooler -- literally. The retractable roof of the new hardball venue is covered with special white membrane to help dispense heat more evenly during those famous tropical Florida summers and provide cooling to areas around the ballpark.
There are 276 spaces reserved for fuel efficient vehicles. Waterless urinals will save 4.4 million gallons of water each baseball season while stadium kitchen appliances are energy-efficient and self-cleaning.
An impressive 98 percent of the extra construction materials will be recycled, with just 2 percent ending up in the landfill.
The Florida Marlins will be known as the Miami Marlins when the new ballpark opens its green doors in 154 days on April 4, 2012.
Popular Stories On ThePostGame:
-- Famous Athlete-Celeb Marriages -- And Divorces
-- Fifteen Preps On Long Island Get Hypothermia Symptoms During Homecoming Game
-- Dear Golf Santa: One Writer's Wish List For 2012
-- New Basketball Documentary Is Like 'Hoop Dreams' But More Uplifting
