It was evident to Manchester United that their ‘Theatre of Dreams’ could become a ‘Theatre of Nightmares’ if power went off during a match.

Manchester United’s home is Old Trafford and is often the host of major European football matches.  It is simply not possible to be without floodlights and have to abandon a match because of a utility failure. 

TV and governing football bodies take a dim view of abandoned matches and can impose swingeing financial penalties which hurt the host side very much.

Ian Collins is the main Facilities Manager at Manchester United and, together with Carl Niland of Hannan Associates, they came with a list of demanding constraints.

Firstly, a delivery of two weeks was required for 2 400 kVA generators.  Then AVK needed to take a close look at the kind of load the two new generators would supply in the event of a power outage

Secondly, the new floodlights also being installed at the same time all come with electronic control equipment.  AVK had to ensure that the generators could cope with the required step loads and that the electronic governors fitted onto the generators were of a high enough specification to inhibit any voltage drop or frequency intolerance as the floodlights would not be able to re-strike quickly and enable play to resume.

Thirdly, AVK had to provide 16 changeover switches located throughout Old Trafford which would be timed to bring on various sections of the floodlights.

Everything needed to happen swiftly and the provision of layout drawings, schematics, and detailed information all require instant responses.

Fortunately, AVK keep a stock of standby generators so delivery was not a problem.  The actual standby generators at Manchester United Football Club have Scania engines and Newage alternators.  They were supplied with a 75 dBA close-fit canopy arrangement.

AVK then had to prove the system through functional testing which was done with other parties involved in this project.