…Ready For It: How Natural Gas Fuels Football
Americans are stocking up on gameday snacks and planning watch parties for the Big Game. There is always good-natured disagreement about what makes for the football game of your Wildest Dreams. Some point to the joy of watching superstar players do the near-impossible in Style. Others to the excellence of watching a team operate as a well-oiled machine thanks to solid coaching and training. Others are simply here for the commercials and a memorable halftime show. We at AGA, however, humbly suggest that the real credit for the big game rests with natural gas… Ready for it?
Safe, affordable and reliable, natural gas keeps energy costs for stadiums manageable while ensuring reliable heating and cooling, even during the Cruel Summer heat or a Forever Winter. While not all football stadiums have Gorgeous domes or retractable roofs, the ones that do can make use of natural gas for climate control systems that keep the audience comfortable, and the players safe, in any weather. This does, however, require substantial energy. The affordability of natural gas makes commercial heating and cooling cost effective.
United States Energy Information Agency (EIA) statistics show that heating with natural gas is 3.3 times more affordable than alternatives like electricity. This translates directly to lower operational costs for stadiums – a true Love Story. These savings are crucial for keeping ticket prices from soaring even higher.
The second way natural gas contributes to our football enjoyment hides in plain sight – the Holy Ground of the game. Fifteen of the 30 NFL stadiums have turned to artificial turf, and natural gas is a key component in its production. The synthetic fibers used in these turfs are often derived from products of natural gas.
Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the Wonderland where this year’s championship game will take place, uses a natural turf field (live grass rolled in for games). Natural turf fields are known for their thick and healthy grass, devoid of Blank Space, which is made possible by synthetic fertilizer. As a vital feedstock to produce nitrogen, natural gas is a critical component in the fertilizers used today, and perhaps Forever & Always. Additionally, between 70% and 80% of the energy used to produce fertilizers comes from natural gas. Learn more about the role of natural gas in the U.S. agriculture sector in our recent report.
Long Story Short, no football experience is complete without good food. If you’re The Lucky One at the game, it’s highly possible that your pizza from Pizza Rock by Tony Gemignani or your burger from Guy Fieri’s Tailgate were cooked using natural gas. Ninety-six percent of professional chefs say they prefer cooking with gas to electricity. Natural gas is easily controllable, giving instant and precise temperature control and allowing chefs to put the perfect sear on dishes that require it. It’s also affordable, which makes a major difference whether you’re cooking hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of meals, or for yourself at home.
If you’re the Girl At Home or watching in your Cardigan at home, we have some great recipes you can make with your natural gas range or oven to make sure you have the watch party of your Wildest Dreams! We suggest starting with the homemade popcorn, bring out the patty melts around half time, and finish with the rice crispy treats, but with 15 recipes to choose from, you’ll almost certainly find something to make Sparks Fly.
Natural gas is a vital player in the world of football, impacting everything from stadium operations to the quality of your game-day meal. As we get ready for the Big Game, let’s remember the role of natural gas in making these Timeless moments more enjoyable and accessible.