Breaker caused Kenan light outage

A faulty breaker caused the 21-minute power outage in Kenan Stadium during Saturday’s football game, athletics officials said.

Lights in the northeast corner of the stadium shut off unexpectedly during the third quarter of the game against the University of Connecticut.

Electricians then shut off a second bank of lights and postponed the game until they found the problem, said Steve Kirschner, director of athletic communications.

The band played, the dance team danced and the athletic department played Carl Douglas’ 1970s hit

“Kung Fu Fighting” to keep energy up during the break.

“I think our fans enjoyed it,” Director of Kenan Stadium James Burling said of the entertainment.

Fans also started a wave that circled the stadium multiple times.

“It was fun for three or four times, but then it kind of got old,” said Andrew Bannister, a first-year student who attended the game.

Chelsea Cook, a sophomore women’s studies major, said she thought the excitement from beating a ranked team helped fans maintain energy.

“We actually had a really fun time with it,” she said. “I know a lot of people got frustrated and left, but we were standing up on the bleachers and dancing.”

While fans were dancing, electricians worked to turn back on the lights. They couldn’t fix the defective lights because there was no replacement breaker on hand.

The electricians then turned off a second bank of lights in the northwest corner of the stadium because they thought it might pose a problem, said William Scroggs, senior associate athletic director.

“Their idea was that the northeast corner would come back up to full power quicker if they shut both banks off on the same side,” Kirschner said.

The game resumed after the lights came back on, but the defective breaker caused the northeast bank to shut off again during the fourth quarter. This time, officials continued the game without the lights.

The power outage is the second problem with Kenan Stadium to disrupt football fans during a game this season.

In September, a structural engineering firm repaired cracks in the stadium’s ceiling after a small chunk of concrete fell into the stands during the season opener against McNeese State University.

The lights were added to Kenan as part of a renovation in 1987-88, one of many renovations the stadium has undergone since its completion in 1927.

Kirschner said the problem is unusual and hasn’t happened since a game against Marshall University in 2000.

Officials assured that a new breaker has been ordered and the problem will be completely fixed when the Tar Heels take on the University of Notre Dame this weekend.

“I promise it won’t go out this Saturday,” Burling said.



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.