New floodlights at “La Bombonera” and at Opel Arena

Most football stadiums are far more than sports venues. That is certainly true of Estadio Alberto J. Armando, the home ground of the Argentinian football club Boca Ju­niors. In 2019, the stadium affectionately called “La Bombonera” or “The Chocolate Box” for its distinctive shape was in need of a new floodlight system. The club also wanted to invest in a solution that would enable dynamic and static lighting scenarios for various events as well as provide television viewers and fans with clear super slow-motion images for a second opinion of crucial plays.

248 Altis floodlights from Thorn were selected for the task. Equipped with three tiltable modules, the high-powered 5700K LED luminaires provide top-quality illumination with uniform distribution in a variety of lighting design optimisations. Their colour rendering of CRI > 80 and flicker free operation more than fulfils the parameters required for HDTV broadcasting. 248 remotely installed LED gearboxes were used to fully integrate all the floodlights with an RDM-based DMX lighting control system. It en­ables static as well as dynamic lighting effects in real time, also customisable, pre-programmed scenarios – all with a simple tablet.

From one future-proof solution to the next – in late spring of 2019, Thorn was tasked with the installation of a new LED floodlight system and main stand lighting addition at the Opel Arena, home of the 1. FSV Mainz 05 football club. The progressive lighting upgrade, which was implemented as a turnkey solution, fulfils the raised requirements for the German Football League (DFL) as well as UEFA Elite Level A.

Following the contract signing in June 2019, Thorn experts got right to work in designing a high quality, future-proof lighting installation. Forming the backbone are 220 high-­powered Thorn Altis floodlights, all of which together easi­ly exceed the new illuminance level requirements of the German Football League for the 2019/2020 season. The brilliant colour rendering (CRI 86, TLCI > 80), uniform light distribution and flicker free operation make the 5700K LEDs ideal for HDTV broadcasting. They also support super slow-motion camera images.

In addition, 163 Aquaforce Pro moisture and dust-resistant luminaires were installed to provide additional brightness to the stand lighting system. DMX interfaces that use the existing IT infrastructure as a backbone enable real-time control of the floodlight system, including dynamic lighting effects and activation of individual luminaires from any point in the stadium.

As an experienced and trusted global supplier of professional as well as recreational sports lighting solutions, Thorn specialises in customised illumination systems for virtually all types of indoor and outdoor facilities – from large-scale stadiums and event arenas to small-scale practice fields. Its modern lighting solutions are designed for low energy consumption and easy maintenance as well as aesthetics and optical performance, highlighting the action on the pitch and the ­stadium experience as a whole.