SCG Redevelopment Powers Ahead With Active Air

The Situation

The Sydney Cricket Ground’s (SCG) state-of-the-art pavilion is well under construction. The new stand replaces the existing Noble, Bradman and Messenger stand and will provide unprecedented viewing, facilities and atmosphere.

Part of the redevelopment process required the 55m tall north light tower’s power to be temporarily removed. But with the AFL and NRL seasons firmly in progress having light was essential.

Installing a temporary power supply wasn’t a straightforward process. Difficult access, a lot of power and sensitive topics were just some of the issues that had to be navigated.

Specifically, the power supply had to:

• Be quiet – with it right next to Fox Studios and the stands it couldn’t be noisy
• Have a small footprint
• Never fail – with 10 games over the 22 week hire period the light could not go out

Luckily electrical contractor, Barnwell Cambridge knew just who to call to help with the temporary power supply.

“It presented a difficult hire.” Comments James Quintal, NSW State Manager, Commercial Division for Active Air Rentals. “The most logical place to put the generator wasn’t available. And we only had 30 minutes to come up with a solution.”

The Solution

Working in close collaboration with Barnwell Cambridge, the SCG Trust and Fox Studios the Active Air team proposed a unique solution.

“We gave them the 500kVA generator because it can handle the load, is very compact and relatively quiet.” Explains James. “That was the easy part. Refuelling was the issue. We had to put the generator in a position so as to be out of the way of Fox Studios, the stands and the construction crews but it made refuelling a challenge. To refuel we navigated underneath the stands as far as we could go, threaded the refuelling hose through a small opening and then went back out and around and dragged it up a large flight of stairs to get to the generator.”

This process and a thorough check was completed before and after every game.

The Outcome

“It’s been great to work with such an icon and to support the SCG as it goes through its redevelopment. Our team did a great job and we have a really happy client.” Said Brad Sweeny, Active Air Rentals Director. “The lights never failed, there were no noise problems and there were no mechanical issues. It’s another example of our team thinking outside the box and coming up with a great result.”

About Active Air Rentals

Active Air Rentals is Australia’s all round cooling, heating and power rental company. Specialising in hire and rental of temporary air conditioning, power generation, climate control and refrigeration equipment.

Founded in 1972 by Managing Director, Jim Sweeny, Active Air Rentals has grown from humble beginnings as air conditioner installers and sheet metal manufacturers, to an all round national cooling, heating and power rental company.

Today we are a multi-faceted business with four branches, two distribution centers and employing over forty permanent staff across Australia.

Active Air Rentals is renowned for providing outstanding service, excellent customer relationships and addressing difficult, unusual or specialised projects.

Active Air Rentals has over 40 years experience installing temporary air conditioning into every conceivable location. From crane towers to coal mines, from war ships to entire inner city villages, from emergency civil defence camps to enormous events such as the Australian Open and thousands of offices and server rooms along the way.