Full Load, Full Emotion – Powering Stadium Operations
From kickoff to the final goal, those 90 minutes are pure emotion for soccer fans, whether in the stadium or watching from home. But this experience depends on a reliable infrastructure working behind the scenes, often covering multiple systems within large venues.
Experts like Karl Knappe, Senior Expert Electrical Engineering, are responsible for planning, implementing, and monitoring this infrastructure. These systems are essential to safe and reliable stadium operations. They cover everything from lighting on the pitch to underground service corridors, while ensuring that players and spectators can clearly follow every detail of the game. At the same time, the power supply supports climate-controlled VIP lounges, chilled beverages, and food services.
Electrical infrastructure also plays a critical role in safety. Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems keep the stadium fully operational, independent of the public grid. In an emergency, this ensures that spectators and first responders can safely find their way along evacuation routes using emergency lighting. “You have to be able to evacuate a building like this safely—and emergency services must be able to operate without risk,” explains Karl Knappe.
Modern stadiums are also equipped for advanced broadcast capabilities, designed to scale as needed. Major events in particular require extensive on-site technical infrastructure. “As broadcast production becomes more complex, stadiums increasingly rely on temporary mobile data centers deployed on-site,” says Knappe.
Only then can operators deliver live video, audio, and additional content from as many perspectives as possible. Today, UHD is standard, bringing with it raw data volumes in the terabyte range.
Data as a Competitive Advantage
Strictly separated systems are key to ensuring safe and reliable operations. Building services and broadcast infrastructure are clearly separated. Dedicated, fully independent networks supply temporary installations such as mobile data centers or outside broadcast units. This means stadium operations can run independently of the external power grid. “No matter what happens inside the stadium—or in the upstream grid—these systems are completely isolated,” Knappe explains.
At the center of it all are energy management and power quality monitoring. Energy management tracks consumption—no small task, considering that large stadiums have a connected load of 2 to 3 megawatts, equivalent to the demand of 200 to 300 households. Knowing exactly how much energy is consumed in each area becomes a key factor for cost control and competitive advantage.
Power quality monitoring minimizes operational risks. These risks arise from modern lighting systems, intelligent HVAC systems, variable frequency drives, and electronic ballasts. Such systems can generate harmonics, flicker, transient overvoltages, or voltage dips—each of which can jeopardize the reliable operation of the stadium or the temporary data center.
If an outage occurs during a live broadcast, operators may fail to meet contractual availability requirements—often resulting in financial penalties and liability risks.
Efficient and Sustainable with Janitza
Janitza’s solutions address all of these challenges. Karl Knappe relies on them for a reason: “You need precise, reliable measurement technology to identify and manage these phenomena. That’s the only way to operate local grids safely—and efficiently,” he explains.
The quality and real-time availability of energy data are critical. The more accurate and reliable the data, the better operators can make decisions in critical situations. “That’s why I’ve long decided not to leave this to chance, but to rely on measurement technology and software that meet all these requirements.”
Beyond the technical aspects, one topic is becoming increasingly important: sustainability. Maximum efficiency gains can only be achieved when energy management across heating, ventilation, and cooling systems is fully coordinated.
As Knappe puts it: “I want to design and size systems correctly from the start. With historical data, I have a solid basis for planning and don’t need to build in excessive safety margins.”
That’s how, even from a technical perspective, 90 minutes of soccer become a perfectly executed performance. Or simply put: a winning goal.
Watch the full episode of the Janitza Energy Podcast “UMGehört,” Episode 1: Powering Events & Large Venues.
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