The Padres are partnering with a pair of companies to expand real-time monitoring of utility usage at Petco Park in downtown San Diego.
The Padres are teaming up with a San Diego-based Qualcomm subsidiary, Qualcomm Intelligent Solutions Inc., and OSIsoft LLC on the project. The monitoring equipment is powered by Qualcomm technology, which streams data to OSIsoft, located in San Leandro, near Oakland.
The goal is to reduce energy and water consumption at the ballpark.
“We are thrilled to be working with Qualcomm Intelligent Solutions and OSIsoft on this project, with the potential to increase efficiencies, reduce operational expenses by more than 25 percent in the next five years, and support our ongoing efforts to make Petco Park a smarter, more sustainable venue,” said Randy McWilliams, senior director, facility services, for the Padres.
“By using the gateways together with the open data infrastructure, we can see exactly how much water, power and gas each operation uses ballpark- wide, and can work with our operators and tenants to manage usage and increase the reliability and overall performance of the venue,” McWilliams said.
According to Qualcomm, utilities are difficult to manage at stadiums, where the number of occupants can zoom from a handful of employees to full capacity and back to a small amount in a matter of hours. Also, many major venues were not built with sophisticated instrumentation and control systems to manage water or power, according to the company, which is mostly known for producing technology for mobile devices.
The project will allow McWilliams’ staff to keep an eye on the use of potable, non-potable and chilled water, as well as natural gas and electricity consumption via sensors throughout the park during games or other events. The equipment will also allow the Padres to help vendors and tenants understand their utility usage.
Martin Otterson, senior vice president of sales, marketing and industry at OSIsoft, said the Padres’ project could inspire operators of other big facilities.
“There are approximately 12,000 stadiums in the world, and many are in regions and cities mapping out plans to use energy and water in smarter ways,” Otterson said.
–City News Service
