Colored Light Builds Emotion for Eden Park Sportsfans
Royal Philips Electronics announced that it is lighting up Eden Park, New Zealand’s premier sports field, with energy-efficient lighting. All over the world, highly efficient lighting solutions from Philips turn stadia into iconic “theaters of dreams” while delivering the best possible experience for people in and around the arena. Recently, Eden Park stadium underwent significant redevelopment to enhance its big-match experience, and to cater for future stadium events and their differing requirements.
Philips was asked to provide a floodlighting solution that would work for both rugby and cricket as each has different lighting needs. Philips was also asked by Eden Park Trust to present a high-impact way of illuminating the new south stand to enhance the stadium’s atmosphere and ambiance.
There were challenges for both projects: new floodlighting had to be an efficient lighting solution that met international High-Definition Television (HDTV) broadcasting standards, and fulfilled the requirement to use the stadium roof for mounting floodlights rather than traditional towers. Local resident concerns about light spillage and glare also had to be considered. For the new south stand, the lighting solution had to showcase the architecture of the stand without overpowering its unique design.
The solutions
Twenty-four ColorReach Powercore LED floodlights illuminate the south stand. These provide the vivid changing colors that build up the anticipation, excitement and emotion of the occasion for sports fans approaching the stadium. But they are also a highly energy-efficient solution. Each color LED only uses 280 W at full output, whereas conventional non-LED lighting would have required 1000 W floodlights.
The LED system offers virtually limitless options and allows Eden Park Trust to create spectacular color-changing light shows, themed to each specific event. “Creating a solution for the south stand that was visually interesting was important to us,” says Tracy Morgan, General Manager Sales & Marketing for Eden Park Trust. “It needed to have the wow factor and Philips delivered exactly what we were looking for. The solution provides a visual spectacle for people passing by or attending the games and adds to the atmosphere.”
To light up the playing field Philips provided a total of 482 ArenaVision MVF404 floodlights, which were installed along the edge of the redeveloped stands. ArenaVision is specifically designed for outdoor sports stadiums and offers increased light output and optical efficiency.
“Ensuring minimal light spillage and glare was imperative given the close proximity of the stadium to residential properties. Using ArenaVision MVF404 floodlights allowed us to provide a high-quality uniform lighting system that could be contained within the stadium,” says Philips Lighting project manager Allan Stephenson.
ArenaVision MVF404 floodlights use about 10% less energy than conventional stadium lighting systems and require less maintenance, offering a significant reduction in overall running costs. Controlling the lighting is simple, as the Dynalite lighting control system gives computer-based individual control over all the sports lighting in the stadium. This makes it easy for the Trust to switch between lighting for individual sporting codes.
The new lighting – both on the field of play and the on the facade – adds to the ambiance and experience of going to Eden Park. “Working with Philips has been extremely rewarding,” says Morgan. “They are proactive and brought a range of design and capability expertise, which added enormous value to the end result. Philips was able to go beyond what we thought was possible while staying within budget, and this is a testament to their professionalism and experience.”
Source: www.philips.com