Location: Rockford, IL
Venue
The BMO Harris Bank Center is a 10,000 multi-purpose arena that plays host each year to a wide variety of events, including concerts, professional sports, rodeos, Cirque de Soleil and holiday performances. The arena is home to the Rockford Ice Hogs, the AHL farm team for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Challenge
The facility lighting system consisted of a 1000W metal halide system. The system was aging and light levels had degraded to the point that lighting was poor and inconsistent for the levels of play that took place in the facility.
Scope
Replacement of the current 1000W metal halide system with Ephesus LED to provide better uniformity and more consistent levels of light and installation of a wireless control system to improve operational use and fan experience.
Solution
72 Ephesus LED sports lighting fixtures were installed and mounted onto a catwalk bracketing system. An Ephesus wireless control system was integrated to control the lights for specific lighting modes and fan entertainment.
Results
Estimated energy consumption was reduced by 75%, based on lower wattage of the new lighting system and the unnecessary need for side light usage over fan seating areas. An average of 140fc was generated on the playing surface, exceeding ice hockey and HDTV broadcasting standards. The upgrade also eliminated shadows and dark spots on the playing surface for improved photography, telecasting, player performance and fan visibility. The simple plug and play of the Ephesus solution meant minimal installation time and no costly rewiring.
The change is drastic – we had uneven lighting on our ice surface – some areas were twice as bright as other areas. Now we will have even lighting throughout the playing surface and we are tripling the light exposure with a true, white light. The change is dramatic.Gordon Kaye, Executive Director/General Manager of RAVE
