Etihad Stadium

Case Study

The integrated lighting solution we provided to the Etihad Stadium had to be as exceptional and comprehensive as the football which is played there.

Shining a light on the most beautiful game

Apollo Control System • Integration • Design

The Brief

At the start of the 2001-02 football season, Manchester City were once again facing life in the second tier of English football. Twenty years later, and they are not only one of the most revered football teams in England, but in the world. From its administrators right down to the quality of football played on the pitch, the club stands out as a bastion of sporting excellence. It was time their stadium shone a light on that.

As much a world-class concert arena as it is a formidable sports venue, the Etihad Stadium needed a lighting solution which could host the likes of David Gilmour one day and David Silva the next. With Pitch Floodlights, Seating Lights and Moving Lights all on the menu, and with a need to integrate them seamlessly into the stadium’s existing Network & Audio Systems, we once again turned to our Apollo Control System.

The Solution

The cutting-edge demands of the Etihad made this one of the most comprehensive solutions we’ve provided to date, with two Apollo User Interface Control Touch PCs, two Apollo Servers, 16 Power and Data Distribution Boxes and a Touch Button Station allowing the Security Office to control the lights in case of emergency. But, working hand in hand with our friends over at Musco, we were able to overcome the complexities with ease.

On top of this, working closely with Manchester City’s Match Day team made sure the event staff got exactly what they wanted to have at their disposal. Installing a Guest Input Box alongside designated mounting points has also allowed incoming production teams to safely and speedily take control of the Lighting System, something which will be of huge importance whenever the Etihad finds itself hosting some of the world’s biggest artists.

The Result

Despite the UK being in the early stages of lockdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and despite the technical difficulties that working through a global pandemic brought, we supplied our solution entirely to spec and on schedule. As a result, the Etihad Stadium became only the 4th stadium in the UK to have a moving lights infrastructure, with power, data and rigging pre-installed.

Thanks to the work of Stadium FX, the Etihad is ready to ensure that, when it opens its doors to fans once more, it can really put on a show. And, with plans to increase the capacity of the stadium to 63,000 in the near future, we can’t wait to see our Apollo Control System light up the beautiful game, played the way it should.

Turning the lights on: Etihad Stadium

The Etihad Stadium in numbers

2 x Apollo User Interface Control Touch PCs

2 x Apollo Servers – Main and Clustered Active Backup

1 x Data Management Processors

1 x Stadium FX Show-Server Rack hosting Lighting and Audio Controllers

1 x Touch Button Station for Security Office

2 x Data Cabinets hosting 3 x DMX Nodes 8 x DMX Splitters

16 x Power and Data Distribution Boxes

1 x Guest Input Box