Patten Cat Power Rental to power three sports events
ELMHURST — Patten Cat Power Rental, a division of Patten Cat will be providing the remote power and temperature control support for three major sporting events in the Chicago area the week of Sept. 14-20.
Patten Power Cat will be providing the services at the BMW Championship, ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Chicago, and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
“It certainly is something we've never done before, but we are confident in our equipment and fleet, our knowledge and expertise, and the Patten Cat people to pull this off,” said Mike Madej, manager of Patten Cat Power Rental. “We think it says something for these three great venues to put their trust in us. We're excited to be involved with each and every one of them.”
The three events collectively will require over 122 generators that will supply over 17,350 kilowatts of power; require some 22 miles of cable; have 58 air conditioners providing approximately 1750 tons of cooling; and rely on 12 technicians with over 179 man years of experience.
Each venue represents a different application for Patten Cat Power Rental services. The BMW Championship is relying fully on Patten Cat generators to support the whole event over the 209 acre Conway Farms Golf Course except at the main club house facilities. Additionally, Patten Cat will provide temperature control (A/C) for merchandise tents, hospitality suites, the media tent, and other temporary facilities where air conditioning is needed. The generators will also power all of the scoreboards around the course.
The ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Chicago presents mixed use of equipment over the large, diversified course in an urban setting — downtown Chicago. As part of the power system, Patten Cat will supply redundant generators used for the television feed so loss of coverage will be avoided should first-line power fail.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup is relying on Patten Cat for power in key spectator-focused areas critical to the event's success. Since some of the races will be held in the evening, Patten Cat will provide backup for lighting on the racetrack to ensure safety for the drivers in the event there is a power outage.
Patten Cat has worked with the BMW Championship (formerly Western Open) for over 20 years and has worked with the Chicagoland Speedway for 50 NASCAR events over the past 14 years. The Triathlon presents a new challenge because of a very short time frame for set up and the challenges of working at a venue in a busy urban setting, such as downtown Chicago.
The logistics and coordination it will take to support these events are enormous, according to Madej. Equipment will be transported from Patten Cat's five locations, including its main power rental facilities in Elmhurst, Ill., to the venues spread over a 60 mile radius. “Yes, the requirements are a bit staggering, but we have the capabilities to get this done,” said Madej.