The ultimate LED challenge

Stadium Articles 3 of 6:

An impressive video of National Slovakian Athletic Stadium in Banska Bystrika.

The Národný atletický štadión is a multipurpose stadium in the center of Slovakia. With a capacity of between and 7.000 – 14.000, the venue is mainly used for athletics and football. AAA-LUX partner Abatec has equipped the stadium with 4 masts and 208 luminaire LED lighting installation complying to TV broadcasting requirements of IAAF and UEFA Level C. Next to the main stadium there is a smaller athletics and football accommodation has a 24-luminaire installation. It is where young athletes dream of future successes in the main stadium for a live TV audience.  

Tested to the extreme

Projects like this an interesting challenge for a luminaire manufacturer. AAA-LUX product manager Rogier Grotenhuis: “People often think that a stadium with a ring-of-fire is the ultimate challenge, but that is not the case. The level of difficulty of a 4-mast installation providing a 360-degree vertical illumination for TV, is where the quality of a luminaire is tested to the extreme. It has everything to do with the distances that light must travel between a luminaire and the aiming point where the light from a luminaire is directed. Distance is the biggest challenge with flood lights, so only an effective LED beam can bridge this distance without losing to much of its punch. It leads to a lower number of luminaires required to reach the objectives. The good thing is that AAA-LUX – besides a ring-of-fire solution – can provide narrow beam for a 4-mast solution like this”.  

All in luminares

The well designed 45 masts are accessible and suitable for the all-in luminaires, including driver. In AAA-LUX’s design concept drivers are in top to benefit from natural wind, reduce operating temperature and increase lifetime. The extreme low weight and wind surface reduces stress loads and as a result make the mast more cost efficient. Thanks to the absence of inrush current, the generators do not have to withstand an enormous start-up peak because of which they can be relatively smaller, less expensive, and a lower carbon footprint.    

Controls

Controls are based on radio frequency communication directly to the antenna at the driver, so expensive cabling for controls is not required. The system can be set to the require settings, as in TV games, lower training levels or the lowest event level. InControl is also used for remote control via the Project Dashboard and for monitoring. Abatec can do service checks from the office in Brno in Czech Republic.