LED Signage at ANZ Stadium Sydney from Hills SVL

Lighthouse Distribution Lights up ANZ Stadium

Sydney Olympic Park's major stadium has a new sponsor and a new look. When ANZ wanted to go up in lights it required some strategic designing to create a 'Hollywood' effect.

State of Origin legends Laurie Daley and Wally Lewis recently inaugurated the new ANZ Stadium signage that lights up the Stadium's eastern and western grandstand exteriors. Daley and Lewis featured in a Nine Network 'Footy Show' presentation involving the giant signage lighting up for the first time.

The signs are 42m x 9m and feature the biggest letters of any illuminated signage in Australia at 3.9m tall. Hollywood-style spotlights showcase the high-tech LED signage, which uses half the energy of a comparable neon sign. Working with Claude Neon, Stadium Management and the project design and installation team, Lighthouse Distribution provided the lighting element of the ANZ Signage.

The first phase saw Lighthouse Distribution provide fixtures for a temporary installation of one sign for the Inauguration on the Footy Show by Laurie Daley and Wally Lewis. Lighthouse provided eight DTS Delta LED Projectors, which produced a vivid blue wash over the ANZ sign and four Clay Paky Mini Scan HP3s to create the spotlight effect.

The second phase involved the permanent installation of the fixtures. An additional eight Delta LED Projectors were added to the sign on the eastern side of the stadium. Also, the Mini Scan HP3s were replaced by four Clay Paky Alpha 300 Beams on each sign. Each night visitors see the ANZ sign shining brightly, with the spotlights used for major events, such as the State of Origin.

The DTS Delta's are IP65 rated full colour LEDs providing the ideal low power weatherproof solution. The Delta is the brightest LED Colour Changer in its category with a 370 Lux output at 5m (white colour medium flood lens). The Delta's light source comprises 40 RGB Full colour LEDs. This full colour technology produces a uniform light beam, which eliminates any annoying colour separation found in traditional tricolour LEDs.

As the area to light the ANZ Stadium sign was very small, the installation team needed to light the sign with the largest beam possible in a fraction of the normal space. Traditional lighting fixtures come with a pan and tilt option, which limits how close a light can be placed to an object. However, DTS have taken this further by offering a third axis. It allowed the fixtures to be placed closer than normal, but still produce the same beam size as a normal fixture placed further away.

The Delta's were also fitted with a parabolic lens to increase beam spread, this is unique to the DTS Delta range. The parabolic lens produced an enormous beam spread, which offers a cost effective solution as the wide spread means that less fixtures can be used to produce the same effect.

ANZ Stadium wanted a 'Hollywood' style beam effect panning across the ANZ Signs. Lighthouse had the perfect solution with eight Clay Paky Alpha 300 Beams. These fixture produce a super concentrated near parallel light beam and a "long throw" that breaks through the Delta LEDs. The Alpha 300s were also a low power option with a 300W lamp that produces three times the brightness when compared with an ordinary 1200W projector.

To protect the Alpha 300 Beams from weather damage the installation team used eight custom made Perspex boxes that were wide enough to allow the fixtures to create the Hollywood spotlight effect.

The DTS Delta LED Projectors and the Clay Paky Alpha Beam 300s were programmed using a ChamSys MagicQ PC. The ChamSys MagicQ PC is a software application that can be used on any computer, while producing the same functionality as a MagicQ Console. For this application a ChamSys PC Wing was also used, to provide a physical control surface as requested by the lighting designer who preferred the feel of a traditional lighting console. This was a more cost effective option than using a full lighting console.

The program was then downloaded into an Enttec Streamer Playback Unit. The Enttec Streamer Playback Unit is a real time DMX recorder preventing the need for a permanent lighting console.

ANZ Stadium CEO, Ken Edwards believes the lights will have a great impact on fans. "The new ANZ Stadium signage creates a majestic aura as you approach the Stadium. The Hollywood-style spotlights add that sense of occasion that comes with a big event. The signage looks sensational and I'm sure it will make an impact on all the fans that come to our venue, starting with the big Origin crowd."