Old Trafford Cricket Ground

Old Trafford Cricket and MIW

Manchester’s Old Trafford Cricket – home of Lancashire Cricket Club – takes pride in being one of the most sustainable sporting grounds in the UK. Recently awarded a Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS) Gold Award, the club has taken pains to reduce the environmental impact of the grounds, switching to LED lights, solar hot water and highly efficient appliances. As hosts to the ICC World Cup, and the concomitant projected increase in visitor numbers, this spring the ground’s managers made the decision to install free-to-use public bottle filling stations throughout the site. The aim being to reduce waste plastic while providing an additional service for visitors. MIW Water Cooler Experts was commissioned to manage those installations.

The Brief

As a prestigious sporting venue with extremely high visitor numbers, Old Trafford Cricket had a detailed set of requirements for MIW Water Cooler Experts to fulfil.
 

• The initial stage of this project was to conduct a full site assessment to gauge how many bottle fillers would be required, where they’d be best situated for maximum impact, and which units would most suit the ground’s requirements.

• The bottle fillers would need to be able to cater for a large number of users – the grounds’ capacity is 26,000, with most seats filled during tournaments. The majority of the units would need to be suited to outdoor use, highly durable and accessible for less able users in line with the Equality Act (2010).

• MIW would be required to liaise with Old Trafford Cricket’s Technical Division to ensure that the bottle fillers met with strict water authority guidelines.

• Prior to installation, all of the bottle fillers would need to be customised to Lancashire Cricket’s specifications, including hand-painting and adornment with the club’s livery.

• It was essential that all installations were completed within a 1 week period, ahead of the ICC World Cup.

• Post installation, MIW would be contracted to sanitise and service all of Old Trafford’s bottle filling stations.

The Process

Working under a turnkey rental agreement, MIW identified locations for, customised and installed nine outdoor bottle refill stations for fans to use, and two indoor stations for Old Trafford Cricket’s hospitality suite.

MIW recommended the selection of WRAS-approved (Water Regulations Advisory Scheme) units, thus guaranteeing that they met the highest safety standards and were compliant with water authority guidelines. Working closely with Old Trafford Cricket’s Project Management team, MIW was able to identify units that would be able to answer the unique requirements of the grounds, selecting models that were vandal-resistant, able to withstand a high degree of usage at speed, and function in exposed conditions. MIW was also able to recommend bottle filling units that were easily accessible for less abled users, in line with the Equality Act (2010), as well as recommending equipment upgrades where necessary to ensure the longevity of each unit.

Once the bottle fillers had been selected, MIW managed the sourcing, customisation, logistics and installation of each unit, working successfully with the Old Trafford Project Management team and appointed contractors. The customisation of the units was the most time-consuming element of the brief, with each bottle filler being specific to Lancashire Cricket’s brand guidelines and finished in a powder coated blue (RAL codes were used to ensure the seamless merging with the ground’s aesthetics), and the club’s livery being worked into the final design.

The Completed Project

During the course of a 2 week period, MIW supplied and installed nine outdoor bottle refill stations and two indoor units. The team worked closely with Old Trafford project managers to ensure that their exact needs were met.

The installation took place two months ahead of the scheduled deadline, and on budget. MIW continue to oversee the servicing and sanitisation of the Old Trafford bottle fillers, in line with the company’s standard rental agreement.