Ephesus Lighting, a leading developer of digital lighting solutions for sports arenas, stadia and fields of all sizes, has been selected to create an LED arena lighting solution for Bridgestone Arena, Tennessee, home of the NHL’s Nashville Predators and the host site for the 2016 NHL All-Star Game. The announcement of the switch to LED lighting was made by Mike Lorenz, president of Ephesus Lighting, and Tim Friedenberger, vice president of facility operations for Bridgestone Arena.
“Since we illuminated the first sports arena in North America with an LED lighting solution in 2012, facility operators have come to understand that our digital lighting solutions create the optimal stage for fans and performers,” said Lorenz. “Our success at venues of all sizes has established a new standard of what fans, performers, television broadcasters and facility operators expect from lighting.”
Bridgestone Arena, a multipurpose facility located in downtown Nashville, has been the home ice of the NHL’s Nashville Predators since the team’s inception in 1998. The arena, which was named Pollstar’s 2014 Venue of the Year, also hosts a variety of other major events including: the SEC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament, the Country Music Academy Awards, and concerts for many of the biggest names in music.
“The combination of the improved lighting and fan entertainment elements coupled with the environmental benefits and lower operating costs made this solution an easy choice to add to our upgrades to the Bridgestone Arena this summer,” Friedenberger said. “We are especially excited about showcasing the new system during NHL All-Star Weekend, when the eyes of the hockey world are upon Nashville.”
The Ephesus Lighting LED solution features Ephesus’s color-tuning fixtures in the arena as well as Prism full spectrum color fixtures both inside and outside of the arena to allow for the creation of colorful light shows and other lighting experiences. These fixtures will be controlled by an advanced DMX system to create these unique effects. Despite reducing the number of fixtures by half, the new system is projected to improve the light levels to over 200 foot-candles on the surface, while yielding projected energy savings of more than 75%.
“The system provides us greater control over the lighting than ever before,” said Predators senior director of broadcasting and entertainment, Bob Kohl. “Everything will look better and crisper for fans at the arena, viewers watching at home and the players, who will appreciate the elimination of shadows and glare on the playing surface.”
September 17, 2015
