Auckland, New Zealand - Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) today announced that its lighting up Eden Park, New Zealand’s premier sports ground with energy efficient lighting. All over the world, our highly efficient lighting solutions 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 further 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 ambience.
The challenges
There were challenges for both projects – any new floodlighting had to be an energy lighting solution that met international High-Definition Television (HDTV) broadcasting standards, and fulfilled the requirement to use the stadium roof for mounting the 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
To light up the playing field we 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, making it the perfect choice for Eden Park.
“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.
To illuminate the south stand we used 24 ColorReach Powercore LED floodlights. 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, consuming considerably more energy.
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.”
Benefits
The new lighting – both on the field of play and the on façade – adds to the ambience and experience of going to Eden Park. Sports fans simply love it. And Eden Park Trust is thrilled with the way we produced multiple solutions that exceeded all expectations. “Working with Philips has been extremely rewarding,” says Tracy 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.”
