Superdome spokesman Eric Eagan said, “We sincerely apologize for the incident.”
Officials in New Orleans have said the 34 minute blackout in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome that stopped the Super Bowl was the result of an “abnormality in the system.” Entergy New Orleans and SMG, the companies that jointly manage the Superdome released a statement late Sunday:
Shortly after the beginning of the second half of the Super Bowl in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, a piece of equipment that is designed to monitor electrical load sensed an abnormality in the system. Once the issue was detected, the sensing equipment operated as designed and opened a breaker, causing power to be partially cut to the Superdome in order to isolate the issue. Backup generators kicked in immediately as designed. Entergy and SMG subsequently coordinated start up procedures, ensuring that full power was safely restored to the Superdome.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that meeting minutes from the public authority that owns the Superdome make multiple references to emergency electrical work over the last few months. Mitch Landrieu, the current mayor of New Orleans has called for a full review of the incident. He said, “The power outage was an unfortunate moment in what has been an otherwise shining Super Bowl week for the city of New Orleans.”
The Associated Press reports that most of the fans took the power outage “in stride,” even starting up a stadium-wide waive to pass the time. Spectator said Amanda Black from Columbus, Mississippi, said, “So we had to spend 30 minutes in the dark? That was just more time for fans to refill their drinks.”
This is the 10th Super Bowl that has been hosted by New Orleans, but Forbes asserts the blackout may hurt their chances to host another, calling it “an embarrassment” for facility operators, and a “black-eye for NFL operations.” They explain that the recent trend for the Super Bowl is to head to newer facilities, such as the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, and the New Meadowlands Stadium in New York.It appears New Orleans may need a new stadium, at least they will if they hope to host an 11th Super Bowl.
How do you think the power outage will affect New Orleans’ chances in the future?
How did the power outage effect your own Super Bowl viewing?
Many people on Twitter mentioned being reminded of the horrors of Hurricane Katrina when they saw the darkened Superdome, thinking back upon the stranded families who suffered for days on end inside that very arena. Will the Superdome be able to escape the blights in its past, or is this power outage a final sign that it’s time for the Superdome to be retired?
Photos: AP/File