Do I not like this one! The Allianz Arena, best known as the home of Bavarian legends Bayern Munich, is putting on the glitz with some help from LED lighting manufacturer Philips.
The 71,000-capacity stadium has a collar draped around it like a Hollywood starlet on a red carpet walk. But the stadium’s gems are not emeralds or diamonds, they’re LED lights capable of creating ‘moods’ of up to 16 million colours on its 26,00m2 façade.
More than 300,000 LEDs were used to illuminate the stadium’s inflatable outer covering, and as well as delivering an estimated 60% saving on energy consumption and 362 tons less CO2 each year, will be used to help to inspire and orchestrate crowd responses during games. Maintenance and operating costs are also lower, says Philips.
The LEDs have an average lifetime of 80,000 operating hours and the system is robust, even under extreme weather conditions with temperatures as low as -50⁰C, according to the company.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, CEO of FC Bayern Munich, said:
‘’The all-round lighting effects in the façade roof above the stands will accompany the action on the pitch in a dynamic way, for example by creating a Mexican wave or goal celebration effects in red and white.’’
Philips Lighting managing director Roger Karner said:
“The system is fully digital, featuring intelligent controls, and it has been tailored specifically to the unique architecture of the Allianz Arena.”
For non match days lighting concepts featuring subtle movement and colour changes are planned:
“The color and intensity of the light can be adjusted continuously, and the image refresh rates of up to 40 images per second guarantee smooth and flowing motion sequences,” said Philips.
Modern football may be rubbish, but I doff my hat to this technology.
While we’re on the subject of Bayern Munich, let’s also just pause a while to savour the seventies memories of Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller, Sepp Maier, Paul Breitner, Uli Hoeness…
Ah, where were we?
