The St George Illawarra Dragons wish to update Members and Partners with important details about the power outage in the Kogarah area that impacted the event at UOW Jubilee Oval on Thursday, April 12.
An unexpected high voltage cable outage in an electrical substation located on Jubilee Ave caused all electricity supply linked to this station to experience difficulties and varying levels of power between 3.00pm and 11.00pm.
UOW Jubilee Oval was not the only the facility impacted, with homes and property across six surrounding streets being left without power.
This power outage complicated all areas and components of the Dragons Match Day experience and delivery including: Football, Corporate Partnerships, Memberships, Merchandise, Community and Communications.
Dragons Management and key Game Day Service providers reacted quickly to enable the event both on and off-field to continue with a summary of key problems and outcomes as follows:
- Additional generators and mobile lighting were sourced, Ausgrid supplemented power from other areas and non-essential power was minimised or closed down
- Catering and concession outlets in particular the exhaust systems were impacted by the low voltage, requiring some to be closed down
- Air conditioning, exhaust systems and lighting in the player dressing sheds were also impacted while the hot water also had to be turned off
- Ticketing turnstiles at Gates A and B were not operational
- Planned Match Day Entertainment that relied on electricity was cancelled
The Dragons apologise for the impact this had on patrons who attended the Round 10 fixture and assure all Partners, Members and fans that the appropriate steps were taken pre the fixture to have the venue ready for its opening game of the season.
Of course, external complications such as the problems with the substation were not expected.
The Club would like to acknowledge and thank the key stakeholders involved in the delivery of the event – Ausgrid, The NRL, Canberra Raiders, Channel 9, AVS Security, Stadium Australia Catering, Traffic Logistics and VIPeople Customer Service, Screencorp and CMG Audio Visual.
Their cooperation, flexibility and positive attitude in dealing with the extraordinary circumstances enabled the event to continue.
Detailed debriefs are underway to ensure the UOW Jubilee Oval experience is not affected in the future.
