NFL says it was ready with backup power system
9:46AM Monday
February 4, 2013

By BARRY WILNER
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the Superdome had a backup power system that was about to be used during the Super Bowl electrical outage but it wasn't needed because power started coming back at that time.

Goodell says Monday that the backup system was ready, but Entergy New Orleans, which provides power to the stadium, and Superdome operator SMG were able to reboot the original system.

The 34-minute delay in the third quarter forced the league to consider contingency plans if the game between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers couldn't resume. But NFL vice president of business operations Eric Grubman says there was virtually no chance of not being able to continue play Sunday night.

Baltimore led 28-6 when the lights went out, and wound up winning 34-31.

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NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Mayor Mitch Landrieu says he doesn't think the 34-minute power failure during the Super Bowl will hurt New Orleans' chances of getting the NFL's championship game in 2018.

In an interview Monday with WWL-AM, Landrieu said league owners were impressed with the city's performance as event host.

Officials for the company that manages the Superdome and power provider Entergy New Orleans said an "abnormality" occurred where stadium equipment intersects with an electric feed early in the third quarter of Sunday's game. Much of the stadium's interior lighting was shut down while the system recycled.

Landrieu joked that the game got better after the blackout. He said it was getting boring, and fans were leaving. "We had to do a little something to spice it up," he said.

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NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The mayor of New Orleans says he's expecting a full report in the coming days from everyone involved in last night's power outage at the Superdome. It caused a delay of more than a half-hour during the third quarter of the Super Bowl.

The Baltimore Ravens, who had been leading by 22 points when the outage happened, barely held on for a 34-31 win over the San Francisco 49ers.

The outage has been blamed on what's called an "abnormality" in the arena's power system.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu called it "an unfortunate moment" in what he said was an "otherwise shining Super Bowl week" for New Orleans.

The city was hosting its first Super Bowl since 2002, and was eager to show that it has been rebuilt since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Billions of dollars were spent sprucing up downtown, the airport, French Quarter and other areas of the city in the past seven years.

A joint statement from the utility that provides power to the stadium and the Superdome operator said that a piece of equipment that monitors electrical load "sensed an abnormality in the system." It says the equipment "operated as designed," and caused power to be partially cut to the Superdome so the issue could be isolated.

Copyright © 2013 Associated Press

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