STATE COLLEGE, CENTRE COUNTY- America's favorite pastime is going green. Ball parks around the country are seeing the value of being environmentally conscious.

Medlar Field in central Pennsylvania is the home of the Penn State baseball team and the State College Spikes, a single-A club. It's the first environmentally certified ball park in the country. State College Spikes Executive VP Rick Janac said, "With 250,000 people passing through this ballpark every year, we can make a huge impact as far as how much waste we're recycling."

Recycling is one of the best ways a ballpark can go green.  Fans say they're happy to pitch in as long as it's convenient. "I think it's much easier than it has been in the past… but we can still make it easier if all the communities around would have recycling bins," said Janac.

Recycling is just part of the game plan. To earn its "Leed" certification the park meets a host of other environmental standards. To begin with a premium was placed on using recycled construction material.

The green parking lots were designed to better manage rainwater run-off.  Inside you'll find automatic lights and faucets as well as waterless urinals.

The green technology is saving money on energy. That keeps prices in check at the ticket booth and concession stands. "Helping us keep our costs down, in turn doesn't lead to passing it along to the customer," added Janac.

Education is another benefit of the green ballpark. Fans spend hours here. They can learn something when they see green ideas at work. The Spikes hope their green ideas hit a homerun.