Allianz Field will be the home of professional soccer in Minnesota, but a major part of making a good home is being a good neighbor. That means being welcoming to all and taking care of more than just yourself. To that end, a great deal of thought has gone into planning the greenspace that will surround Allianz Field and turn what used to be concrete into a beautiful urban park.

The Great Lawn on the north side of the stadium will cover 28,000 square feet, including 20,500 square feet of grass. That much grass needs water, and the primary water source for the site will be rainwater captured from the roof of Allianz Field and stored in the 675,229 gallon tank beneath the Great Lawn. That adds up to over 2 million gallons of captured rainwater every year.

If you’ve driven past the site, you may have noticed the mature trees that have already been planted. Selected for their survivability in an urban environment, these trees are largely native to the area, including a wide variety of maple trees with fun names like Autumn Blaze, Fall Fiesta Sugar and Northwood Red. Come the autumn, all those trees will light up in a brilliant display of fall color.

The water that’s captured and used is then cleaned by the tree trenches the trees are planted in before it travels downstream. Likewise, rainwater runoff from the west parking lots flows into two raingardens that “clean” it before it’s sent to the public storm sewer system.

In all, Allianz Field was designed for the world’s game, but also with an eye squarely on preserving and — where possible — revitalizing its environment.