Air Curtains Provide an Invisible Protective Barrier
Challenge
When you bring in the world’s top entertainment venue designers to build an iconic sports facility valued at $1.1B, filling the 1.75M sq ft structure with premium equipment that performs with the latest technology is the name of the game. U.S. Bank Stadium, owned and operated by the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority and home to the Minnesota Vikings football franchise, is big, bold and best-inbreed. Able to hold over 66,000 seated fans, the facility was designed by a team known for unique world class facilities that are destinations in themselves. With 31,000 sq ft of video boards, 1,300 Wi-Fi access points, 2,000 HD televisions and 200,000 sq ft of glass surfaces, it’s no wonder the stadium’s technology capabilities cost more than $60M. Both the facility owners and designers demand the best.
The Solution
While the stadium’s massive glass pitched roof has garnered the lion’s share of the attention, it’s five hydraulically rotating entrance doors (each measuring a colossally 95 feet high by 50 feet wide) inspires their own share of awe. Said to be the largest entirely glass pivoting doors in the world, they host a series of smaller entry doors that serve as the gateway for tens of thousands daily. When you need the most technologically-advanced way to thwart flying pests and keep climatized air inside and harsh winds outside, you call Mars.
Mars has long been the leading partner for those who deliver exceptional indoor experiences. Now with 25 sizable Mars air curtains, fans experience a halo of heated air during Minnesota winters and an invisible protective barrier from dust and pests year-round. Down below, the dock doors that service the facility with over 430 food points of sale, have their own protection with a cluster of Mars industrial air curtains designed for environments that need heavy-duty brawn. And as the stadium plays host to Super Bowls, Final Fours, X Games, and more, Mars air curtains are on hand to do their part to create a winning experience.
MARS SUPERIOR CONSTRUCTION IS A NATURAL PARTNER FOR TODAY’S NEXT GENERATION STADIUM EXPERIENCES
MAXIMIZE MONEY-MAKING INTERIOR SPACES
Being asked to partner with what may be the most beloved American treasure is a big responsibility. It means helping to create a special experience for the more than four million tourists (Americans and foreign visitors) who visit the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island every year. While studies consistently affirm that consumer buying intention increases with warmth (Journal of Consumer Psychology), the prevailing winds off the Atlantic created an ongoing chill at this national monument, causing discomfort for gift shop visitors. But when four of Mars Air Systems’ electric-heated air curtains were installed to form an invisible barrier to the wind gusts and contribute to a consistent temperature at the site’s gift shop, the entire interior space (including entryways) was liberated from the wind and restored to profitable comfort.
BALLS KEEP FLYING, PESTS GET GROUNDED
Camelback Ranch Stadium — home turf to two Arizona League teams and spring break host to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox — sits amid 141 acres 5,000 plants and trees that invite flying pests of every kind. Add to that a fully-stocked lake (to attract pests that breed in standing water) and frequent dust storms, and its clear why the powerful Mars air curtain units were on in demand in every concession stand. With the installation of a host of Mars units, including those at the main kitchen receiving doors and the large opening at the White Sox training kitchen, the result is an effective embargo on flying pests, unconditioned air, and dust in the food at this important facility that fosters baseball love. Now 118,000+ sq ft of clubhouse space, 13 full baseball fields, three half-fields, and up to 13,000 daily guests enjoy a shield of protection from unpredictable Arizona desert haboob dust storms and uninvited pests.
TOP CHAINS ORDER UP PEAK PERFORMERS
While a Health Department code may prescribe air curtains to create cleaner, pest-free food prep areas, the real mandate comes from patrons. Creating a pest-free space with evenly–distributed conditioned air does more than give guests the impression of cleanliness, it’s actually a building block to designing a truly hygienic venue. Food poisoning is directly linked to flies who carry pathogenic organisms that cause E. coli, salmonella, and shingles, and introduce other bacteria. Working hand-in-hand with the sanitation protocols you already have, Mars Air Systems’ air curtains above entry doors, pass through windows, and back receiving doors become silent sentries that seize control to keep out the uninvited. We’ve been doing that for over 50 years for iconic hospitality brands such as Panda Express, In-N-Out Burger, Taco Bell, Subway, and Olive Garden as well as growing up-and-comers like Smashburger and Five Guys Burgers. Whether you need a recessed unit that blends seamlessly with a well-defined décor, or defense against brutal weather conditions (hot or cold), or vigorous defense for food storage areas, Mars products have been the solution of choice for the most demanding operators world-wide.
MANAGING WIDE OPEN SPACES
Cavernous manufacturing centers grapple with complexities — numerous staff, high traffic, inconsistent climate control, and ongoing pressure to create productive working environments to hit output goals month after month. In the Campbell Soup Company’s sprawling, 2.4 million-sq.-ft. facility, an array of exterior doors continually introduce outside air into the workspace. Facility managers were using propeller-based fans in an inefficient attempt to block the unwanted airflow responsible for drafts and shrinking productivity. The fans were doubly ineffective because they used excessive horsepower to produce a wide flow of unfocused air. The Mars Air Systems air curtain solution was able to produce a precision air barrier with a concentrated blast of air that used only 3 HP versus the old system's 15 HP. Better still, the Mars solution completely eliminated the view obstruction of the fans while consuming the energy equivalent of one standard metal parking light with a 1500-watt metal halide bulb operating for one hour.