- The new Moses Mabhida Stadium, one of the primary stadiums hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, uses Crestron commercial lighting solutions to control general illumination and LED lighting throughout the 70,000-seat sports complex. The advanced LAN-based system combines a simple touchpanel interface with Crestron control processors to enable lighting control and management of more than 2800 loads for all flood lights, bowl lights, and general area lighting in restrooms, concourse levels, VIP boxes, dressing rooms, kitchens, parking lots, and other common areas.
- Gerrie Coetzee, Manager of Electrosonic SA KZN, confirmed that the fully-integrated system is the largest single Crestron lighting system installed in South Africa to date. “We have 10 individual processors linked together as one global system, and with all of the other items it amounts to more than 350 Cresnet devices in total,” explains Coetzee. “We pushed the boundaries to get the system to do more, and we knew without a doubt that Crestron would deliver the results.”
- Delivering the scalability that building architects wanted, the Crestron system interfaces seamlessly with different lighting and building control disciplines throughout the stadium – from power switching to dimming, to controlling DALI and DMX systems, to interfacing with the stadium BMS system – and provides the scalability necessary to evolve building automation functions in the future.
- “With a control concept that demanded a simple user interface and flexible customization for switching lighting and power circuits to all areas of the stadium, the obvious choice to meet these requirements was a Crestron control system,” said Coetzee.
- The design features Crestron AV2 processors linked via LAN to multiple Crestron DIN Rail 2-Series Automation Processors, which control more than 350 Crestron relays. The system allows the main control room to switch power to individual areas or activate specific preset lighting modes using a Crestron touchpanel, providing flexibility and ease of use for operators.
- When a preset scene is selected, the Crestron system will sequentially switch on the proper flood lights required to ensure the correct Lux level for cameras, and to minimize incoming power surges. An operator simply selects the appropriate preset button from the touchpanel and the Crestron system automatically provides the desired lighting scene requirements for the area based on the event.
- “Using the Crestron system gives us the peace of mind to know that the system will give stadium facility managers the flexibility and room for growth to handle any possible requirements that may arise,” Coetzee says. “We are currently working with the stadium management team to further refine the system and add Roomview management functionality.”
- The FIFA World CUP is one of the largest sporting events in the world and is staged in grand fashion. In hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the first time ever on African soil, the new Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban has garnered praise from architects, visitors and players, both locally and internationally. Located at the heart of the new King’s Park Sporting Precinct, the world class multi-function arena is already a landmark structure.
