Opened in August 2009, the Donbass Arena in Donetsk city, Ukraine, is one of a kind both in terms of cutting-edge technologies and multifunctional usage possibilities. Eaton Corporation, the global technology leader in electrical components and systems for power quality, distribution and control, supplied equipment for the recently opened Donbass Arena stadium in Donetsk, Ukraine. With seats for 50,000 people, the newly opened Donbass Arena is the first football stadium in Eastern Europe designed and built to meet UEFA requirements to elite stadia. The real trial of the stadium is set for the summer 2012, when the arena becomes one of the hosts of the2012 UEFA European Championship.

In addition to football matches, it is designed to host concerts, conferences, exhibitions and corporate events of all kinds. Donbass Arena is also the first stadium in Eastern Europe to incorporate a vast variety of sophisticated IT applications.

“All of the stadium’s functions are controlled by the highly advanced IT infrastructure. This is to guarantee the most pleasant, user-friendly and safe experience for both the players and our visitors. For example, we do not use cash in the public areas of the stadium; instead, a visitor uses a special payment card purchased at entrances. By topping up an amount of money on the card, they can pay for various services and products quickly and reliably,” says Dmitry Teplyakov, IT Director at Donbass Arena LLC.

“It is also a question of safety: the personified card allows the visitor to access only one stadium sector – out of the total of 20 – in which their seat is located. Thus, in case of an emergency, we are able to evacuate the entire stadium in eight minutes,” Dmitry continues.

The Donbass Arena is named the most high-tech stadium in Eastern Europe with good reason. Inside the arena, there are 6,000 network ports installed and 1,200 kilometres of cabling laid. Wi-Fi communication is provided by 150 hotspots, and security is controlled by 450 state-of-the-art CCTV cameras. Visitors can follow the games on two LED screens, almost 100 square metres each, and close to 600 monitors installed throughout the arena.

With such an extensive IT infrastructure to keep on running, the stadium was in need of reliable power supply.

“The mains supply fluctuation is a major challenge in Ukraine. That is why it was crucial to ensure stable power for all of the stadium’s essential applications. This was only possible with online double-conversion topology,” states Kari Koli, International Sales Director at Eaton Power Quality.

The Donbass Arena has several server and communication rooms that manage the IT infrastructure of the stadium. A total of 35 mid- and high-range Eaton UPS units provide uninterruptible power for the stadium’s IT, safety and security, payment and communication systems.

“We equipped the main server room with three double-conversion Eaton 9390 UPS units, 80 kVA each, that are able to power the entire IT infrastructure in case of mains power loss. The units also provide N+1 redundancy,” Koli says.

Other server and communication rooms employ scalable Eaton BladeUPSs that are six in total. With the ability to expand and provide backup power from 12 kW to 60 kW in a standard 19-inch rack, the modular BladeUPS grows in line with the IT applications needs. A total of 26 Eaton 9355 UPSs, 15/30 kVA each, protect stadium’s individual security sectors and communications screens from power disturbances.

“In an emergency situation, UPSs ensure the functioning of the security system, including emergency lights and monitors that show directions to the nearest exit. Stadium’s 20 security sectors also provide redundancy for each other, meaning that despite a power loss in one sector, continuous power is guaranteed to the security system’s needs,” Koli describes.

When choosing the power quality partner, a question to solve is the amount of local support the partner can provide.

“Power quality supplier’s success is measured by the level of service it is able to provide locally. We worked closely with our main partner and distributor Megatrade in Kiev as well as our local reseller and authorised service partner Donbass Inform Communication Service, or DICS, in Donetsk, right from the start of the project. The local aspect was one of the factors that tipped the balance in our favour,” Eaton’s Kari Koli says.

“The feedback we have received from Donbass Arena thus far has been very complimentary. In a project of this scale it is of utmost importance that all equipment is delivered and installed on schedule. This project demonstrated our ability to manage demanding IT projects and meet the customer’s expectations,” states Oleg Metelin, the Technical Director at DICS.

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