Pond Is Unlikely Candidate for Blackout

Chances for a blackout at the Arrowhead Pond during this week’s NCAA West Regional are small.

Mike O’Donnell, assistant general manager of the Pond, said he is not worried about that possibility because the arena receives its power from Anaheim’s city-owned utility. He said Anaheim has contracts in place so it does not have to scramble for electricity on the wholesale market.

The city avoids impacting large venues when it institutes blackouts, officials said.

“If we had to go to rolling blackouts, they wouldn’t be the first one we’d look to,” added Melanie Nieman, spokeswoman for Anaheim Public Utilities.

She said it would take a severe power emergency, such as a major power plant going down, before a venue such as the Pond would go dark.

Today’s team practices at the Pond are open to the public at no charge. Georgetown is scheduled to practice from noon until 12:50, Cincinnati 1-1:50, Maryland 2:10-3, and Stanford 3:10-4.

Georgetown plays Maryland at 4:45 p.m. Thursday, followed by a 7:15 matchup between Stanford and Cincinnati. Winners play Saturday.