Revolutionary LED lighting to illuminate Super Bowl LV Stadium

The eyes of the sporting world will be on Raymond James Stadium as it hosts Super Bowl LV, and its LED lighting by Sportsbeams will showcase the new benchmark in stadium lighting.

To be played Sunday evening (10:30am Monday morning Australian Eastern Daylight Time), the 2021 edition of the Super Bowl sees the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on the Kansas City Chiefs. For the Bucs, they become the first team in NFL history to play in a Super Bowl hosted at their home stadium.

But it’s not only the game and half-time entertainment that’ll attract attention, the stadium’s futuristic LED lighting installed as part of its $160 million (USD) upgrade will also be on display, and it may not be too long until we see the same technology in use in Australia stadiums.

The stadium, located in Tampa, Florida, is one of just two stadiums worldwide fitted with the state-of-the-art LED lighting fixtures, featuring tuneable white light and full RGB capabilities, capable of instantly switching from various tuneable tones of broadcast white light to one of 2 million colour options.  Though this may sound like competition for Sportsbeams, it is not since it is their patented technology in each as will be explained below.

LED lighting is the new standard for stadium lighting, with new Australian venues including Bankwest Stadium and Optus Stadium utilising the technology, while older venues such as the MCG and Rod Laver Arena have replaced old halide lamps with new LED lighting. While these are dimmable, have the ability to turn on instantly and use less energy, they are a single colour only – being white.

Sportsbeams has recently entered the Australian market, meaning their patented LED technology has become accessible to stadiums around the country, including the under-construction Sydney Football Stadium, and is also an option for retrofitting existing venues such as AAMI Park and other venues around the country.

The LED lighting has also been installed by Sportsbeams at Austin FC’s new Q2 Stadium nearing its completion in Texas, as well as Shanghai’s F1 track and the Detroit Convention Center.  Of particular interest is that Austin FC’s design is similar to many rectangular stadiums in Australia except it has no light towers, with all of its lights situated under the roof.  Additionally, there is no gantry, which is a testament to the venue’s faith in the robust nature of the technology to not fail.

The Australian representative of Sportsbeams, Spencer Kassimir, says “Our lights are planned for technology that will be arriving in 20 years. Think about TVs 20 years ago. Old, fat TV boxes with low resolution. We want to make sure our lights are ready for the next 20-plus years of innovations that nobody today could possibly dream of.”

The lighting can also reduce dead zones and blind spots with its symmetrical fixtures making them the strongest candidate in providing athletes, cameras and fans the best lit view of the ball no matter how high it may fly while still being dark sky compliant and more efficient, while boasting 10x less flicker than the industry standard makes them more broadcast-friendly now and into the future than completing LED lighting on the market.

In addition to superior lighting for in-game action, Chromabeams fixtures leave the potential for one-of-a-kind, showstopping light shows drenched in millions of different colours, adding a visual experience for sports fans and concert-goers unlike any other.

Chromabeams are the new standard for what sports lighting is capable of, using patented technology that keeps the fixture cool and allows the addition of double the number of LEDs in a regular light while delivering the least glare of any sports fixture available.

Speaking with Austadiums, Kassimir mentioned his excitement to work with Australian engineers to make sure they get the most out of what the Sportsbeams line has to offer saying that he, “looks forward to bids and tenders where we are given the opportunity to compete directly head to head with the competition based on the merit of the product itself.”

Though Sportsbeams entered the lighting industry just four years ago and has pushed the envelope on what is technologically possible, with decades of technology manufacturing experience, three Emmy Awards in Lighting Technology, combined with more than 15 years of professional LED lighting experience, the company has been able to make more advances in sports lighting than any other of its kind.

Sunday will mark the third time Raymond James Stadium has hosted the Super Bowl, and due to Covid-19 restrictions, there will be a limited crowd of 22,000 spectators in attendance, including 7,500 vaccinated health care workers from all 32 NFL markets. The Halftime Show will feature a performance by Canadian performer The Weeknd, with the stadium’s lights expected to enhance the production and wow viewers.