Ten of the 30 MLB stadiums have solar panels installed on them. The first to do so was the San Francisco Giants for the 2007 All-Star game. The Padres have the largest array in the MLB at 336 kW. Fenway Park has solar thermal panels that provide hot water at the stadium. The Dodgers are Bums when it comes to solar power. Maybe their new owners will do better.
I'd like to think so, but new owners aren't so new at this point...have owned the Dodgers since 2012. Not a single EV charger in the vast parking lots.
We like to celebrate all these sustainability measures and hope the Dodgers get with it too, at least in preparation for the '28 Olympics. They are a host venue and leaders are all promising a green games here in LA. But no amount of solar panels erases the sportswashing any one these teams do. Stop advertising for fossil fuels.
"As far as I’m aware, this was the first national day of protest against fossil fuel advertising in U.S. sports history."
I can promise this won't be the last. In the dead of winter, protesters came out in ten cities. When the weather improves this summer, we'll do it again.
These protests, though small, are incredibly encouraging to see. As a huge Premiere League and Major League Soccer fan, I've been disgusted with FIFA's leadership, which has dampened my excitement about the upcoming World Cup. Perhaps persistent US citizen protests like these at MLB, NBA, and NFL stadiums will tip across the pond and inspire others to reject the ongoing sportswashing of Premiere League owners and sponsors.
It'll be really interesting to see how the IOC, FIFA, and individual sports teams respond to the latest string of fossil fuel protests. I'm sure these leagues/teams would have a fairly easy time replacing the sponsorship revenue. But of course these sponsorships are much more than just a simple transaction -- they represent a form of institutionalized propaganda (i.e., sports-washing) that provides fossil fuel companies with a social license to operate. Unfortunately, I think it might take some kind of climate disaster at the 2026 World Cup or 2028 Summer Olympics for sporting organizations to feel brave enough to revoke that license.
I do wonder what it will take for that first domino to fall. I hope it's not a climate disaster, and I'm also sadly not sure how much that will matter — LA had the fires last year and the Dodgers didn't even comment on Phillips 66. Wonder if the public pressure just needs to reach a breaking point somewhere.
Yeah I don't think extreme weather is enough to move the needle either. It's too easy for the Dodgers (or FIFA, IOC, etc.) to deflect blame for a heat wave or a bad storm. But if a famous athlete collapses from heat stroke (terrible but inevitable), then maybe that shifts the conversation from collective responsibility to corporate responsibility. We've already had a few close calls in major tennis tournaments, which did result in some concessions from the tennis authorities. So I'm sure FIFA has a bunch of crisis strategists on stand-by if something terrible happens on a football pitch this summer.
I'm going to be bold: I got Disney to commit to convert the polluting gas cars of its Autopia ride, which they have until this fall to do. See Sammy's LA Times articles on that. And I organized the 10-city protest. I believe we can turn the tide, we can stigmatize sportswashing and inspire team leadership near and far to lead in a new way and dump the fossil fuel sponsorships. Belief is a superpower. So is hard work, but yeah :)
Great job, Sammy and Zan. Do you know how much money the Dodgers accept from Phillips 66? What would it really take for them to stop, and maybe sell that sponsorship of the two spheres in the stadium (or take them down??). In other words, what is a good substitute strategy to make this a reality?
Alas, I'm not sure the amount of money — wish I knew! Have wondered for a long time what it would talk for clean energy companies or other sustainability-minded parties to replace the Phillips 66 sponsorship.
Ten of the 30 MLB stadiums have solar panels installed on them. The first to do so was the San Francisco Giants for the 2007 All-Star game. The Padres have the largest array in the MLB at 336 kW. Fenway Park has solar thermal panels that provide hot water at the stadium. The Dodgers are Bums when it comes to solar power. Maybe their new owners will do better.
I'd like to think so, but new owners aren't so new at this point...have owned the Dodgers since 2012. Not a single EV charger in the vast parking lots.
Well at least Steve Balmer has shown how to go platinum in LA with Intuit Dome
We like to celebrate all these sustainability measures and hope the Dodgers get with it too, at least in preparation for the '28 Olympics. They are a host venue and leaders are all promising a green games here in LA. But no amount of solar panels erases the sportswashing any one these teams do. Stop advertising for fossil fuels.
"As far as I’m aware, this was the first national day of protest against fossil fuel advertising in U.S. sports history."
I can promise this won't be the last. In the dead of winter, protesters came out in ten cities. When the weather improves this summer, we'll do it again.
These protests, though small, are incredibly encouraging to see. As a huge Premiere League and Major League Soccer fan, I've been disgusted with FIFA's leadership, which has dampened my excitement about the upcoming World Cup. Perhaps persistent US citizen protests like these at MLB, NBA, and NFL stadiums will tip across the pond and inspire others to reject the ongoing sportswashing of Premiere League owners and sponsors.
Really appreciate your reading, Ben!
Watch this space. I organized the 10-city protest and we are eyeing FIFA in June....They'll be staging games in a dozen U.S. stadiums....
Love, LOVE to hear this Zan, thanks for all that you're doing, and I'll be happy to join at protest at Levi's in the Bay Area!
Ben! Thank you and Levi's is on our list! I'll DM you so we can keep in touch.
It'll be really interesting to see how the IOC, FIFA, and individual sports teams respond to the latest string of fossil fuel protests. I'm sure these leagues/teams would have a fairly easy time replacing the sponsorship revenue. But of course these sponsorships are much more than just a simple transaction -- they represent a form of institutionalized propaganda (i.e., sports-washing) that provides fossil fuel companies with a social license to operate. Unfortunately, I think it might take some kind of climate disaster at the 2026 World Cup or 2028 Summer Olympics for sporting organizations to feel brave enough to revoke that license.
I do wonder what it will take for that first domino to fall. I hope it's not a climate disaster, and I'm also sadly not sure how much that will matter — LA had the fires last year and the Dodgers didn't even comment on Phillips 66. Wonder if the public pressure just needs to reach a breaking point somewhere.
Yeah I don't think extreme weather is enough to move the needle either. It's too easy for the Dodgers (or FIFA, IOC, etc.) to deflect blame for a heat wave or a bad storm. But if a famous athlete collapses from heat stroke (terrible but inevitable), then maybe that shifts the conversation from collective responsibility to corporate responsibility. We've already had a few close calls in major tennis tournaments, which did result in some concessions from the tennis authorities. So I'm sure FIFA has a bunch of crisis strategists on stand-by if something terrible happens on a football pitch this summer.
I'm going to be bold: I got Disney to commit to convert the polluting gas cars of its Autopia ride, which they have until this fall to do. See Sammy's LA Times articles on that. And I organized the 10-city protest. I believe we can turn the tide, we can stigmatize sportswashing and inspire team leadership near and far to lead in a new way and dump the fossil fuel sponsorships. Belief is a superpower. So is hard work, but yeah :)
Great job, Sammy and Zan. Do you know how much money the Dodgers accept from Phillips 66? What would it really take for them to stop, and maybe sell that sponsorship of the two spheres in the stadium (or take them down??). In other words, what is a good substitute strategy to make this a reality?
Alas, I'm not sure the amount of money — wish I knew! Have wondered for a long time what it would talk for clean energy companies or other sustainability-minded parties to replace the Phillips 66 sponsorship.