What it takes to add A/C to Williams Arena for Lynx playoffs
MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - When the Minnesota Lynx begin their postseason run next week, it will be in a temporary home at the Williams Arena and getting “The Barn” ready is no easy task.
It was months ago that the Lynx realized they'd need a new playoff home with the Target Center and the Xcel Energy Center unavailable.
Moving to Williams Arena brought the problem of no air conditioning. The WNBA has a particular temperature band they require for their games.
“So the other challenge around this site specifically was around where to put it,” said Dan Fisch, the account manager for Aggreko.
The engineers from Aggreko first had to figure out where to put all the equipment at a site never designed for the technology. They say the University of Minnesota has been very accommodating.
“Demanding x amount of square footage of valuable real estate and asking to mess up their lawn and all these other things, so identifying the footprint we have available and how we can make that set up happen,” said Fisch.
Now, along the building are three big diesel generators that power eight chillers, which feed into 16 air handlers. They had to engineer a temporary port into the side of Williams to tie into the building’s own internal air handling system.
It may not be the prettiest thing outside the building, but it's the only way to get it done and it's temporary.
“A lot of work, a lot of labor, a lot of man-hours, but it's going to give the audience, it's going to give the fan base, it's going to give people what they want,” said Fisch.