Visite AEE Nevada T-Mobile

Our members and guests of the Nevada Chapter of the AEE, took a sunny Friday afternoon to go inside the new $375 million dollar T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas. An overview of the buildings energy practices and management techniques were provided by  the on-site team.  This facility has been open about one year and has already hosted many events that larger, more famous arenas would love to host, including many televised, world recognized events. The arena was built to hold sporting events, music concerts and awards shows.  The  facility and its team are ready and able to handle the operations and energy demands that require experienced, top notch professionals.  The team that hosted our group included the Facility Manager, Director and a representative of the electrical contractor.  (Thanks for the super tour…!)

Our first stop was the chiller room where ice making operations and chilled water inflow from the Aria central plant. New facilities often retain the “new car smell” and even the back of the house at this facility looked sharp and we saw water distribution equipment and the primary heat exchanger that appeared brand new.   The control center for HVAC was modest and located within this mechanical area.

Our second stop was overlooking the “Bowl” of the arena on the uppermost level where a posh night club is located.   This stop took us into the details of lighting, controls, best practices and general operations for energy practices.   Some tidbits from this part of the tour included:

• Pratiquement tous les équipements mécaniques étaient basés sur un entraînement à fréquence variable (VFD).
• Virtually all lighting is light emitting diode (LED) and as a result, even the central scoreboard (69,000 lbs. and enormous…) has very low heat generation.  The scoreboard has a vertical garage where it retracts upwards when not in use.
• Les artistes ont une énorme influence sur la température de l'air ambiant maintenue dans l'installation et leurs conditions contractuelles stipulent souvent des limites de température confortables pour le groupe/les artistes.
• Les douze ventilateurs de 50 000 CFM utilisés pour évacuer l'air près du toit sont souvent utilisés pour éliminer la brume théâtrale (fumée) et pour changer rapidement les températures de l'arène.
• Les capteurs de dioxyde de carbone sont utilisés pour maintenir la qualité de l'air et ils ont pour objectif de maintenir les niveaux bien en dessous de 1100 ppm.

The two last stops on our tour were of the arena floor that was currently vacant and a “Bunker Suite” used by the well-heeled sponsors that can afford a VIP experience with proximity to the floor, leather arena seats, well-appointed rooms used for restaurant and bar services and even exclusive viewing of athletes entering the arena.   The design and finishes of these suites were finer than most luxury homes.

When asked what was on the wish list of our hosts, they indicated more lighting controls would help, but with such a new facility, they were pleased with the responsive and modern design of the facility.  There are two other arenas – Mandalay and MGM Grand in the portfolio of the company, but this was clearly the flagship site.

Quelques faits amusants sur le site inclus :

• Les événements de hockey ont un laboratoire dentaire sur place pendant les opérations de jeu.
• La portée libre intérieure de cette arène de 17 000 places (ils en ont déjà serré 19 000 une fois) est de 112 pieds.
• La Ligue nationale de hockey exige une température de glace de 23 à 25 degrés et un niveau d'humidité spécifié.
• Five full time facility engineer positions are planned for this site.   They currently operate with three.
• Lorsque Pro Bull Riding arrive, ils déposent simplement une couche de terre sur la glace pour s'adapter au trafic animal et humain.

Nous espérons revenir sur ce site dans le futur et le revoir avec nos amis de l'énergie et même en tant que clients à la recherche de sports et de divertissements de qualité supérieure.