6 minute read
Featured Project: Lambeau Field
from Architectural SSL - September 2022
by Buildings & Construction Group
Project: Lambeau Field Location, Green Bay, Wis.
Stadium Capacity: 81,441 Photos: Crestron Electronics Text: Jeff Pitts
The Challenge:
Much has changed at home games for the NFL’s storied Green Bay Packers since the team first kicked off in 1919—they no longer dress at a nearby high school, for instance. Instead, Wisconsin’s proud pro-football franchise plays at Lambeau Field. The stadium’s capacity—approximately 80,000—has more than doubled since the team began occupying the hallowed gridiron back in 1957.
More than likely, most Packers fans—also known as “Cheeseheads”—are hyper-focused on the players and their on-field exploits and not the stadium’s lighting system, but for the people who work at Crestron Electronics, the lights at Lambeau Field are serious business.
Bill Schafer is one such person. Crestron’s Executive Vice President, Commercial Lighting was kind enough to take time from his busy schedule and converse with Architectural SSL magazine about how the company helped get the Green Bay Packers ready for some football.
What was the issue at Lambeau when the team called Crestron? To keep up with the times, Lambeau began a series of renovations, starting in 2001, that left its facilities team to contend with over a dozen separate lighting control systems from different manufacturers that were not fully integrated. On game days, this meant the facilities teams were responsible for navigating nearly 10 miles of combined steps across over 2 million sq. ft. of stadium space just to turn on all the lights, which, of course, needed to be turned off afterwards as well. This already tiresome exercise became even more complex as the stadium’s primary control system began to fail.
Yikes. What then? When the Lambeau facilities team evaluated this primary system for repair, they discovered that the product, which had neared the end of its lifecycle, had been sunsetted by its manufacturer. This meant that repair components were no longer available, and the team needed a wholesale replacement of the system.
Looking first for inspiration to the other systems they had on-site, the facilities team realized many of those were failing as well. The decision to standardize on a single control system flowed logically from there.
What were some of the features and functionalities that were
CRESTRON UNIFIED LIGHTING CONTROLS FOR LAMBEAU FIELD’S TWO MILLION SQUARE FEET THAT INCLUDES CONCOURSES, SUITES, CLUB SEATS, EVENT SPACES, PARKING LOTS, EATERIES, OFFICES, AND MORE.
important for the new lighting control system to possess? The Lambeau team was looking for a new lighting system that covered a few key priorities: future-proofing, security, interoperability, and scalability.
What was delivered? Crestron delivered a system that satisfied each of these conditions; The system is standards-based, so if the product sunsets or the manufacturer goes under, replacement components will be easy to find and administer.
An open protocol ethernet backbone dramatically increases command execution speed and eases future maintenance relative to past systems that relied on proprietary wired connectivity.
Strict IT security standards that included Active Directory Credential Management integrated authentication on the control device with the stadium’s enterprise-wide IT.
The system is able to integrate all across the stadium, including into AV control room systems, so that after touchdowns or other significant events the facilities team can sync lighting scenes in the seating bowl with lighting elsewhere in the stadium.
Flexibility for future growth was a final mandate. The overhaul of existing lighting control was only Phase 1 of Lambeau’s plan; the team needed lighting control to scale alongside future renovations, too.
WHEN IT IS TIME TO TURN OUT THE LIGHTS, THE FACILITIES TEAM NO LONGER NEEDS TO NAVIGATE NEARLY 10 MILES OF COMBINED STEPS ACROSS THE STADIUM’S SPACE TO DO SO. IT CAN NOW BE DONE IN ONE CENTRALIZED SPOT.
How does the facility and its staff benefit from the system? The single, unified system has unlocked savings in time, energy consumption, and cost of ownership. Stadiums that standardize on a single system have also recouped considerable energy consumption costs, as lights are now in use only for the exact amount of time they need to be.
How much has Lambeau saved since the installation of the new system? Though Lambeau is still gathering a full year’s worth of data to pin down their true savings relative to past years, a comparable stadium, Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena— home of the Detroit Pistons and Detroit Red Wings—shaved nearly 20% off their annual energy cost when they switched from a disparate matrix of systems to a single solution. A switch to more efficient LED bulbs accounts for a share of these savings, but that’s just further proof the more you look at stadium commercial lighting, the more areas for improvement you will find. Does the fan experience improve? According to a Deloitte study on stadium experience, fans have four core experiential concerns: a safe, comfortable and clean environment, a satisfactory view from their seat, a high-quality game, and an exciting stadium atmosphere.
While gameplay is the responsibility of the teams themselves, the remaining three concerns are far more dependent on the facilities team. Onboarding Lambeau’s commercial lighting onto a single system should help the facilities
LIGHTING FOR LAMBEAU’S EXHIBITS, DISPLAYS, HALL OF FAME, GIFT SHOP AND OTHER SITES ARE NOW CONTROLLED AT ONE SINGLE POINT.
team improve on each of these three fronts.
How so? Instead of assigning two unlucky team members the job of traversing the concourse to turn on the stadium’s lighting, facilities managers can simply press a few buttons on a single panel to engage a building-wide lighting scene.
Released from their miles-long lighting control traipse, staff can focus on improving other elements of fans’ four core concerns. A welllit space always makes spectators feel safer and is easier to keep clean. Although commercial lighting will not have much impact on gameplay, the fans’ process of getting to those seats is improved through better lighting. Dynamic lighting control in stadium concession areas, bars, and pro shop spaces improve fan experience as well—and can drive additional retail spending.• Crestron’s products that were central to implementing the control system at Lambeau.
LIGHTING CONTROL PROCESSOR PANEL: Zūm Expanded: A pre-assembled lighting control cabinet for commercial lighting applications to combine Crestron Zūm with other Crestron systems and devices.
CAMEO KEYPAD, STANDARD MOUNT: Crestron’s wall-mount keypads feature customizable buttons, auto-dimmable backlit text, enhanced LED feedback, control ports and Cresnet wired communications.
WALL MOUNT TOUCH SCREEN: This 10-in. wall mount touch screen features web browsing, Crestron HTML5 and Smart Graphics software technology, custom-programmable icons, H.265/H.264 streaming video, a Rava SIP intercom, Wi-Fi network connectivity and Power-Over-Ethernet-Plus network power. In addition, built-in applications are provided for room scheduling, conferencing and home control.
GLEP-MLO SPACEBUILDER SYSTEM: Great for spaces without easily accessible ceilings, such as sports venues, large parking structures and auditoriums. The MLO cabinet boasts space for up to 42 zones.
POWER LOSS SENSOR, 3-PHASE, 120 OR 277 VOLTS: This unit senses a loss of power on each leg of a 3-phase feed. It’s used to satisfy UL 924—Emergency Power Equipment—requirements.
ACTIVE DIRECTORY CREDENTIAL MANAGEMENT:
Stadiums are complex places and as control devices in stadiums become more powerful, they also become juicier targets for potential bad actors. Having adequate security to prevent issues is critical. This unit integrates the authentication on a Crestron device with the stadium’s enterprise-wide IT infrastructure. Through Crestron monitoring, facilities personnel can proactively keep track of their system instead of having to react to situations, ensuring that on gameday, they know the system will work as intended.
Visit www.crestronlighting.com or Circle 231.
